Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” has hit a divide. Critics didn’t love it, but audiences have flocked to it. Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and more, some of the best scenes were on Krypton at the beginning of the film. Now Russell Crowe said he’d be up for returning the role as Jor-El for a Krypton prequel!
Would you like to see the relationship between Jor-El and Zod played out more?
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Superman’s back and better than ever. Or is he? Zack Snyder’s latest is now in theaters. Is this the Superman film we’ve been waiting for?
The Good
When “Man of Steel” is at its best, it’s absolutely fantastic. The opening sequence is intense, emotional and visually beautiful to watch.
The real stars here are the supporting characters. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Clark Kent’s adoptive parents and Russell Crowe as Superman’s birth father really shine here. They all give powerful, emotional performances. Costner’s performance was my favorite of the entire film. I also like what Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan tried to do with the story. The most interesting parts in the film are the flashbacks to Kent’s childhood when he deals with abilities that no other child has and is struggling with finding his identity and having to hide who he truly is all the time.
In fact, the time spent on Krypton and in Kent’s childhood I feel like would have made compelling stand alone films as it is. Still, though short in span, these sequences are spectacular in their own ways.
The final battle between Superman and General Zod was very fun to watch. There’s a surprising amount of lens flare here (Snyder must have taken notes from J.J. Abrams) and the action can be a little hard to follow. But seeing two superhuman beings go at it is the type of action that Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” sorely lacked. Laurence Fishburne was very solid as well, though his screen time was way too limited.
The Bad
There are glimpses of a truly great film here. Unfortunately, the film also has its fair share of missteps. Most noticeably is Henry Cavill. Like Brandon Routh before him, he looks the part. But, and this isn’t all his fault since he has surprisingly limited dialogue, but he comes off as a little wooden. Also, the plot gets a little convoluted. The codex is never really fully explained and as the movie goes on, it seems as though elements are just added as they go.
Also, while the sequences on Krypton and in Kent’s childhood are the highlights of the film, they feel rushed, as do a lot of things in this film. It’s a longer movie, for a summer blockbuster, but there’s just too much stuff, so we get the cliff notes version and only scratching the surface of what could be deep, rich tales. I also didn’t care for Amy Adams’ performance. She wasn’t terrible, but hers, and pretty much everyone else besides Kent’s, character development were pretty much non-existent and some of the best actors in the film get short changed on time because they have to fit so much in this movie. And, I realize the movie is going for a darker tone, but there’s very little humor in this movie, which I think works against it.
The final fight is good. Initially I was impressed with the action. But the more I thought about it, the rest of the film lacked any real awe-inspiring set pieces.
The Final Word
No, this isn’t a perfect Superman movie. But when “Man of Steel” works, it soars. It’s just too bad there’s a few elements that bring it back down to earth.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
No huge surprise here. Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” has a lot of buzz behind it and should explode at the box office. Now comes news that Warner Brothers has green lit a sequel with Snyder returning as well as writer David S. Goyer. But the real news is that Goyer apparently has a three-picture deal, two Superman films and a “Justice League” film. Does this mean it’s close to coming out? We’ll find out. “Man of Steel” stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane and more.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Here’s the final trailer for “Man of Steel”.
I was skeptical of this film, but it looks like Zack Snyder and Christopher Nolan have a hit on their hands. The anticipated film stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer, Christopher Meloni, Russell Crowe, Michael Kelly, Harry Lennix and Richard Schiff.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Here’s a 13-minute featurette ute on “Man of Steel”.
From director Zack Snyder, the film stars Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Laurence Fishburne, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and more.
Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” is easily one of the most anticipated films of the summer now. Ever since that trailer, Snyder has a lot riding on the film starring Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White along with Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon and Christopher Meloni. In an interview with GQ, Cavill said World of Warcraft presented a bad situation when Snyder came calling.
“I saw it was him [calling] but the thing is, you can’t save World of Warcraft, you can’t pause it. It’s live,” Cavill said.
Perhaps the big news is that Cavill covets James Bond, the role he lost out on to Daniel Craig.
“If I’m in the running again, [if] people don’t just see me as Superman, and they could see me as Bond, then yeah, I’d love to do it,” Cavill said.
Interesting. That would be two big blockbusters he’d star in.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Zack Snyder”s “Man of Steel” is one of the most anticipated films of the summer. Now you can buy a special ticket at Walmart to see the film a day early on June 13! Tickets will go on sale at stores at 8 a.m. on May 18.
“Man of Steel” stars Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon and more.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Director Zack Snyder (“300”, “Watchmen”) said in a recent interview with EW that Kryptonite will not be in “Man of Steel”. Frankly, I’m glad. It’s always used as a convenient tool against Superman, it’ll be nice to see him face challenges different from that. The anticipated film stars Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White and Michael Shannon as General Zod. The film also will feature Christopher Meloni, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane and Kevin Costner.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
This is worse than “Jane Got a Gun”. Paul Higgis and Russell Crowe were once set to direct and star in “The Equalizer”, which is based on an 80s TV series that sees a special ops agent help people. Then Denzel Washington boarded the project. Nicolas Winding Refn (“Drive”) came on board to direct…and left. Then “Rise of the Planet of the Apes” director Rupert Wyatt joined…and left. Now Antoine Fuqua (“Olympus Has Fallen”) is the latest to be attached to it. If he does join, he’ll reteam with Washington for the first time since “Training Day”, which got Washington an Oscar.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
News has been flying as of late about Warner Brothers’ “Justice League of America” film. In previous weeks, we’ve seen the supposed roster for the JL film. And everyone from Ben Affleck to the Wachowskis have been thrown around as possible directors. But we won’t find out who is directing until after Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel”. That’s because reports are that WB is hinging a JL film on the box office success of Superman’s latest adventure, starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe and Laurence Fishburne. So that brings up the question…how will “Man of Steel” fare?
The trailers have gathered some positive reaction. But remember, reviews for “Superman Returns” were solid though that failed to translate to a big box office take. The question is can Superman/Clark Kent appeal to a modern audience. Strangely, if you make Superman darker, you’re actually changing the character, perhaps too much from its source material. Superman was never Batman. And I hope “Man of Steel” doesn’t try to be “The Dark Knight”. I still don’t feel that would work. “Superman Returns” opened to $52 million. I can see this one opening higher, but unless “Superman Returns” is something drastic and different, I can’t see it earning more than $80-85 million. I just don’t think his character has that much appeal. Will that be enough for WB? We’ll find out.
Lukas Eggen can be reached at eggen.lukas@gmail.com.
Lukas Eggen 