By Christian Kern
Man of Steel, whilst looking better than the previous attempt at breathing more life into the Superman franchise, still looks like a bad move on Warner Brothers part. The problem with Superman Returns was that it was stuck in the 1970’s and Superman lacked any true physical confrontation. Man of Steel seems to better itself in this respect, however from what has been shown in the trailer it comes across as more of a 'finding one's self' story and that can be rather taxing for those of us who have been following Big Blue for years.
We all know that Superman (played in Man of Steel by Henry Cavill) was rocketed to Earth from a dying planet; that he was found and raised by a Kansas family and thus becomes mild mannered reporter Clark Kent. Like Batman, we all know little Bruce Wayne watched his parents gunned down. Where this is needed for a proper origin story, in some respects Superman's take is such an iconic and well-known part of pop culture do we need it done again?
Like Superman Returns, they skipped all that and thus had so much story time that was wasted. The trailer starts with Pa Kent (Kevin Costner) or Jor-El (Russell Crowe) talking about how their son must find himself in order to become the man he is. When we see Clark with his beard working on a crabbing vessel we can be reminded of scenes from Deadliest Catch. We are then treated to a montage of events. One trailer talks about a school bus that runs off the side of a bridge in which we’re told someone saw Clark do something amazing... even dare they say, 'super'. He then has a talk with Pa about what he should have done where Pa tells Clark that he maybe should have let the kids on the bus die.
Like Superman Returns, they skipped all that and thus had so much story time that was wasted. The trailer starts with Pa Kent (Kevin Costner) or Jor-El (Russell Crowe) talking about how their son must find himself in order to become the man he is. When we see Clark with his beard working on a crabbing vessel we can be reminded of scenes from Deadliest Catch. We are then treated to a montage of events. One trailer talks about a school bus that runs off the side of a bridge in which we’re told someone saw Clark do something amazing... even dare they say, 'super'. He then has a talk with Pa about what he should have done where Pa tells Clark that he maybe should have let the kids on the bus die.
The trailer alludes to this film being deep, getting to the core of the character within Superman and what makes him who he is. The more this trailer is shown the more evident it becomes that it’s not targeted at the audience it should be targeted at, but trying to capture a whole new generation who are not haunted by the ghost of Christopher Reeve, a sterling Superman with huge shoes to fill.
So this is hoping that since Man of Steel is freed from the original movie continuity unlike its 2003 predecessor so that Cavill will have a fighting change out of the gate. The real meat of this trailer is the scene featuring Zod (played by the wonderful Michael Shannon). General Zod, as most fans know him, has somehow survived the destruction of Krypton although it is unknown if he was a prisoner of the Phantom Zone like his comic book counterpart. His appearance in the trailer shows him stood in front of some bright lights with one huge being behind him who some speculate may be Lord Darksied of Apokolips thus setting the stage for the mysterious Justice League film… but maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
So this is hoping that since Man of Steel is freed from the original movie continuity unlike its 2003 predecessor so that Cavill will have a fighting change out of the gate. The real meat of this trailer is the scene featuring Zod (played by the wonderful Michael Shannon). General Zod, as most fans know him, has somehow survived the destruction of Krypton although it is unknown if he was a prisoner of the Phantom Zone like his comic book counterpart. His appearance in the trailer shows him stood in front of some bright lights with one huge being behind him who some speculate may be Lord Darksied of Apokolips thus setting the stage for the mysterious Justice League film… but maybe we’re getting ahead of ourselves.
Zod is aided by Faora (Antje Traue) who both seemingly come to Earth to confront Superman in their suits of armour. Their need for armour is… perplexing to say the least, but they have at least made for some interesting action figures. The subject of armour brings us now to the topic of the costume, which in this writer’s opinion is awful, a reflection of DC Comics' terrible editorial decisions over the last two years. This Superman costume changes drastically from that of others with the removal of the red spandex shorts, which may not seem like a big deal, but strips away a core part of the Superman look.
Also the uniform has a texture, making it look just like the new modern comic book version, which presents itself as a suit of ‘Kryptonian nanite armour’. Why these people need suits of armour on Earth is perplexing, it is make clear in the comics that the a Kryptonian is given their powers (including invulnerability) from the strange effects of the yellow sun's radiation on Earth. Sure under Krypton’s red sun, their armour is entirely necessary, but here on Earth… I don’t know, maybe it’s just a way of excusing the fact that the suit never seems to get damaged.
Also the uniform has a texture, making it look just like the new modern comic book version, which presents itself as a suit of ‘Kryptonian nanite armour’. Why these people need suits of armour on Earth is perplexing, it is make clear in the comics that the a Kryptonian is given their powers (including invulnerability) from the strange effects of the yellow sun's radiation on Earth. Sure under Krypton’s red sun, their armour is entirely necessary, but here on Earth… I don’t know, maybe it’s just a way of excusing the fact that the suit never seems to get damaged.
The cast seems to be up to speed; aside from those just mentioned you have Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, with Jadin Gould as Lana Lang and Christopher Meloni as Colonel Hardy, whose appearance, coupled with shots of Superman in chains and shackles surrounded by armed men, lead us to believe that Superman is viewed as a potential threat to National Security. Man of Steel has a tight cast and what promises to be a good script, written by David S. Goyer alongside producer Christopher Nolan and Director Zach Snyder. Neither of these moviemakers are strangers to comic book films; Zack Snyder gave us Watchmen, Nolan wowed us with the Dark Knight trilogy and David S. Goyer worked on the Blade trilogy of films, the first of which kicked off the comic book film renaissance in 1998.
With an appearance by a character named ‘Captain Carrie Farris’, a possible misspelling of Ferris, the girlfriend of Green Lantern, and the rumours of a Nick Fury-esq Batman cameo, could we be looking at the springboard of a DC Cinematic Universe?
With an appearance by a character named ‘Captain Carrie Farris’, a possible misspelling of Ferris, the girlfriend of Green Lantern, and the rumours of a Nick Fury-esq Batman cameo, could we be looking at the springboard of a DC Cinematic Universe?
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