Man of Steel [Blu-ray] [2013]

Superman gets as dark, gritty, and Batman-like as he can get in this reboot of the Superman mythology from executive producer Christopher Nolan ("The Dark Knight" trilogy) and director Zack Snyder ("300," "Watchmen"). We know the story all ready -- baby Kal-El is sent from his doomed planet of Krypton across the universe to Earth, where he is raised by good, salt-of-the-earth people, and, upon realizing the full potential of his mysterious super powers, dons the mantle of Superman, the... wait for it... Man of Steel. With an all-star cast (some of them I would argue their "all-star" status), state-of-the-art special effects, and the backstory of Superman, how can it fail? Well, friends, much in the same way that "Superman Returns" failed: it forgot that Superman was a light-hearted tale of the American dream. Many of my quibbles with this films are spoilers, so I'll keep them to myself. So, you're probably asking yourself, "Self, why did Telly1701 even buy this movie?" Because, its faults aside, it is an entertaining film with a great supporting cast (Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, Russell Crowe as Superman's Kryptonian father, Jor-El, "Law and Order: SVU"s Christopher Meloni, and Diane Lane and Kevin Costner in heartrending turns as Superman/Clark's human parents, Martha and Jonathan Kent) and the ambition to be a new, different, kind of Superman movie, not inspired by Richard Donner's classic (but exceedingly goofy) film starring Christopher Reeve. It's worth a watch, and a quick prayer that "Superman Vs. Batman" will acknowledge some of the film's larger problems.

For the most part I am a fan of Zack Snyder and his films. I love his remake of Dawn Of The Dead, and his previous comic book films Watchmen and 300. He always brings a unique take on the action genre, just look at Sucker Punch, an ambitious yet very flawed film with a very different aesthetic. Which could be said of his more recent films too, Man Of Steel included. I respect that Snyder wanted to try to do something different with the Superman character than what had come before, but this movie does suffer from a lot of pacing issues and the editing can be disjointed at times, which can also be seen in Batman vs. Superman, his film that he followed up this one with. Is it the best film to start off the whole DC cinematic universe with? Not at all. Is it an interesting look at the more vulnerable side of Superman? Yes it is. And it's not a bad film at all. It's definitely worth a watch if only to see where the current DC live-action movies started, and is a must see if you want to watch Batman vs. Superman, because that film references this one very heavily. Man Of Steel is an ambitious yet flawed film with a different aesthetic, and it owns it. There's a lot worse films out there that you could spend your time watching, so give it a chance and if you like it, then go on and watch Batman vs. Superman, just make sure you see the Ultimate Cut of that, because it's a MUCH better version of the film that what we were given in the theaters.

Years ago I said that they could never make a new live-action Superman movie that was good. Superman the movie and II did a great job telling the Superman story, and the DC animated movies also did a fun job telling the classic comic book stories. So when Man of Steel was announced I was both excited and scared. Nolan was the writer and producer on the film so that was positive, but also can they make it entertaining? I would say, yes. Is the color off for Superman, yes...but I think the moment that really annoys people is the ending. With that I say, watch Superman II...just saying. It's a good film to open up the DCU, I liked Lois Lane and where they took her character. Kevin Cosner is fantastic as Pa Kent. But ist Micheal Shannon's Zod that really makes the film fun. He was the perfect choice for the retelling of this classic villain. Henry Cavell is a good Superman, kind of an eh Clark though. All in all, I recommend watching this film!

In the pantheon of superheroes, Superman is perhaps the most recognized and revered character of all time. In Snyder's Man of Steel, Clark Kent (Cavill) is a young journalist who feels alienated by powers beyond anyone's imagination. Transported to Earth years ago from Krypton, an advanced alien planet, Clark struggles with the ultimate question: why am I here? Shaped by the values of his adoptive parents (Costner and Lane), Clark soon discovers that having super abilities means making very difficult decisions. But when the world needs stability the most, it comes under attack by the villainous Kryptonian, General Zod (Shannon). Will Clark's abilities be used to maintain peace or ultimately used to divide and conquer? Clark must become the hero known as Superman, not only to shine as the world's last beacon of hope but to protect the ones he loves.

Originally watched this film with some trepidation. How could this film beat out the 1978 classic. The original had Brando! The original had the hilarious trio of Hackman, Beatty and Perrine trying to take over the world. The only way this film could find its way to the top would be if they found better actors for the lead roles (Reeve did an "ok" job, but Kidder was a complete joke) and a more inspired script. Man of Steel accomplishes that in a very big way. Cavill hits the ball right out of the park with his portrayal of Superman. He projects both strength and vulnerability at the same time and he is more "human" than all of the other characters in the movie. Adams turns out a very respectable performance as Supe's best girl; Crowe does a good turn with Jor-El; and Lane was a good choice for his Earth mother. Kevin Costner was excellent as always. I'm just not sure about Michael Shannon's performance as Zod. In some scenes he was very menacing and in others he was a little to over the top. The script was also excellent, especially the parts about humanity's initial fear of Superman and then their eventual acceptance of him as a protector of this world. Altogether this was a great re-imagineering of a classic and a wonderful introduction to a new generation to the wonder of Superman.

Not everyone loved Man of Steel...myself included. It has it's moments and sequences I'm a fan of, but ultimately the last act kind of lost it for me as it was another "lets destroy half a major city" superhero climax, and yes I'm one who was a little peeved Superman didn't show as much consciousness and saving people around him. Compare to Superman 2 when Zod figures out Supes true weakness is his love for humans, and the city is being destroyed while Supes tries to fight them and save people at the same time. Anyhow, my qualms aside, it can be a fun film to experience for a home theater buff. The 7.1 mix was already fantastic but on this UHD the Atmos mix takes it into the stratosphere. Even that climactic sequence I already mentioned was more watchable with how amazing everything surrounds you. The video, despite it's myriad of higher resolution sources, was edited and mastered at 2K and unfortunately this is an uprez 4K. IT was a grainy film to begin with, and now it's even more apparent in that regard. It's not all bad though, there are some real kicks to resolution and detail and the HDR is a good example of how to utilize that grading system.

This is finally the Superman film I've been waiting for! The film is well-paced with the major delight of Superman himself being humanized and made cool again. Kudos goes to David S. Goyer for writing a mature script and taking cues from some great Superman story-lines: Mark Waid's Birthright along with John Byrne's Man of Steel, Geoff John's Secret Origin & Last Son and J. Michael Straczynski's Earth-One. Henry Cavill is amazing as Superman, along with Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent, Diane Lane as Martha Kent, Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, and Michael Shannon as General Zod. One of my favorite directors, Zack Snyder delivers on the mind-blowing action but also the emotional character moments of the film. Finally, due to all the criticism on character development, I'm certain that was intentional seeing as the origin story for Superman is very rigid and this film served to show why he becomes Superman and therefore reporter Clark Kent. Overall, I'd recommend this movie to a Superman Fan, Great Movie!

Like most fans, I was looking forward to seeing this one, but I may have set the bar a little too high. Yes, it is great to see Superman on screen, but the need for a villain who is someone who should make the viewer feel he is a threat and a final battle that is not reliant on spectacle over story end up hurting this effort in the end. If you are a hardcore Superman fan and want to add it to your collection, it won't be the worst one in you library....but it will leave you feeling like you just had a meal full of empty calories. The extras and behind the scenes docs make this a good investment for those who are film buffs who might enjoy the "hows" a little more than the film itself. We shall see if they can work out the bugs from this story in the next planned big screen outing.