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| Superman: The Man of Steel (Photo credit: Wikipedia) |
Starring Henry Cavill and Amy Adams, this reboot sees stylistic aspects reminiscent of other Zack Snyder titles replace the pristine sleekness with more brooding tones.
It is welcome for most sequences which occur on earth, but the view of Krypton itself is more akin to Star Trekesque gritty metallic architecture rather than an alien race with its homologous designs and history.
The score is spectacular courtesy Hans Zimmerman. That coupled with the promising trailer set the expectations high for a great piece around the mythology of Superman origins and first ascension to full power.
However, what occurs is deft foreshortening, in some parts apropos, in an effort to blend the first two sagas of the early 70's visions of the Superman movies. This leaves a gaping void in the mythology, to people familiar with the comic origin arcs or the 70's movies. True no movie would have the duration required to expound the details of the origin story but at least devoting one whole movie to cover the most salient ones would have sufficed.
While a few aspects of the comic arc was illustrated, far few details were overlooked for this to be anything other than a tepid recasting. There is no great gems of wisdom, nothing more than a passing mention of the reason of Superman's abilities, nor exquisite battles which further delves into the abilities or limits of an early Superman coming to maturity. The battles that occur hardly engross the viewer to the brink of hopelessness nor the triumph of overcoming insurmountable odds while promoting the mythology, nothing to merit a re-viewing.
The sequences of the early super boy and wandering recluse is the saving grace of this film. Those sequences were well developed and executed, bar the oil rig fiasco which looked much better in the trailer. Some of the visuals were breath taking, however, that won't be enough to rescue the whole movie. Enough material has been spun into the movie to enable more than a handful of variegations, though. So any takers for sequels to redeem this attempt? Anyone?
