SFF Chronicles News
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- Oct 20, 2013
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26th June 2013 04:20 PM
Martin Parsons
The one thing that I have learnt from watching Man of Steel is that Kryptonians are impressively stupid. The beginning of the film shows us the well known origin of Superman. He is a Kryptonian baby that is sent into space to save him from the inevitable destruction of the planet Krypton. That is fine, we know that. But the writers of Man of Steel have decided to elaborate on this part of his story and so we are treated to an action packed first twenty minutes where we get to see a little more of what went on during the fall/destruction of Krypton. Big mistake.
Krypton is depicted as a futuristic building site with very little in the way of vegetation. The Kryptonians, having given up natural birthing several centuries earlier, are harvested Matrix style from giant technological pea pods. The film begins with Superman’s real mother, Lara Lor-Van giving birth to him, it is such a secretive birth that the midwife is Jor-El (his father) and they are only watched by a strange floating computer device.
Then we are introduced to the leaders, we know they are the leaders because they are sitting on fancy throne like chairs and wearing silly hats. Jor-El is arguing with them saying that Krypton is going to collapse, something to do with using up all their raw materials. The leaders are deaf to his pleas and cannot comprehend the idea of evacuating Krypton.
Then in rushes General Zod, the leader of the military,* he shoots one of the leaders and arrests the others. He rants on about bloodlines and that somehow it is their fault for the on-coming destruction of Krypton. Later Zod will tell Superman that he was bred specifically to ensure the survival of their people, obviously his breeding didn’t extend to the idea of an organised evacuation instead of a coup. Jor-El escapes, rushes home and instructs Lara Lor-Van to send their baby off in a spaceship. The Coup is thwarted when some other military ship turns up and points a big gun at Zod.
So the remaining leaders of Krypton take the impressively odd decision to hold a quick trial and sentence Zod and his followers to 300 cycles in the Phantom Zone. Lara Lor-Van then strolls back to her house and watches as the world blows up. Obviously the idea of a proper organised (or just mass panicked) evacuation is not one the Kryptonians thought worth while. So the planet blows up and lo and behold the Phantom Zone is allowed back into the real universe. Therefore the punishment for Zod was not jail time but a few hours (or so it seemed) in protective custody whilst the rest of the Kryptonians were blown up on their planet. A planet that they hadn’t evacuated even though Superman’s parents knew about it possibly nine months earlier (I have made an assumption about the length of the Kryptonian gestation period) and planned a mass evacuation of one baby. I’m not an expert in genetic diversity but I’m sure you need more than a population of one to ensure a healthy mix of DNA in future generations (not to mention sexual reproduction).
The Kryptonians are a highly advanced race that fly around the galaxy at unknown speeds, but whilst they can send a signal to every TV in the world (or smart phone) ensuring that it plays out in the relevant language, whilst also cutting the electricity to every other non TV (or smart phone) device they still cannot send a decent picture or sound, or organise a last minute evacuation, or build a prison that doesn’t collapse when the planet implodes.
Man of Steel, was available in 2 and 3D, unfortunately for me the showing of the 2D version wasn’t at a suitable time so we had to see it in 3D. It wasn’t worth it. The film suffers from a common issue with 21st century action movies – too much action. The acting, the real acting by real actors, is perfectly acceptable. I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t pull their weight. Lois Lane is played well by Amy Adams, Jor-El is played decently enough by Russell (fighting round the world) Crowe, Michael Shannon is excellent as General Zod, Kevin Costner plays Jonathon Kent with a sincerity mere mortals can only dream of, even Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White (the editor of the daily planet) is well cast and perfectly acted.
The problem with Man of Steel comes when the actors are no longer acting, when the computer graphics have replaced them with virtual actors. The technology has improved to the point that the virtual actors look just like their real counterparts, but the CGI artists don’t have to make them act. The virtual actors are used as dummies to be thrown through several skyscrapers, or to punched into the ground. I enjoy a bit of action but sometimes the onslaught of action is so relentless that we (the audience) are left drowning in a locked car as it fills up with computerised pixels.
The real problem with this film is not the acting but the script. In a script as vapid and empty as this the characters are so one dimensional that the studio have to film it in 3D to add some depth to the story. If they could bring back decent stories filled with interesting characters with well developed story arcs, instead of filling hundreds of minutes with explosions and gun fire and animated super heroes battling it out like gods in front of screaming innocent humans, then maybe they wouldn’t need the gimmick that is 3D and they could rely on the story to give the film some depth.
I’m not sure what made me think that this film was going to be anything better than dire, maybe it was the cast, maybe it was the hype, maybe it was the director’s filmography or the added production credit for Christopher Nolan, what ever it was it tricked me. There is only so much lens glare that they can pass off as nostalgic and emotional before I see through my squint and notice the film is rubbish.
As the film progresses Zod comes to earth to for a fight, obviously Superman can’t let him destroy the Earth and all its people so they fight and the good guy wins. I’m not an expert in military tactics but I think this situation would have benefited from some diplomacy. I guess when the screenplay ‘Twelve angry men of steel’ a diplomatic drama landed on a Hollywood producer’s desk it didn’t seem as profitable as this storytelling action infested atrocity.
Martin Parsons
The one thing that I have learnt from watching Man of Steel is that Kryptonians are impressively stupid. The beginning of the film shows us the well known origin of Superman. He is a Kryptonian baby that is sent into space to save him from the inevitable destruction of the planet Krypton. That is fine, we know that. But the writers of Man of Steel have decided to elaborate on this part of his story and so we are treated to an action packed first twenty minutes where we get to see a little more of what went on during the fall/destruction of Krypton. Big mistake.
Krypton is depicted as a futuristic building site with very little in the way of vegetation. The Kryptonians, having given up natural birthing several centuries earlier, are harvested Matrix style from giant technological pea pods. The film begins with Superman’s real mother, Lara Lor-Van giving birth to him, it is such a secretive birth that the midwife is Jor-El (his father) and they are only watched by a strange floating computer device.
Then we are introduced to the leaders, we know they are the leaders because they are sitting on fancy throne like chairs and wearing silly hats. Jor-El is arguing with them saying that Krypton is going to collapse, something to do with using up all their raw materials. The leaders are deaf to his pleas and cannot comprehend the idea of evacuating Krypton.
Then in rushes General Zod, the leader of the military,* he shoots one of the leaders and arrests the others. He rants on about bloodlines and that somehow it is their fault for the on-coming destruction of Krypton. Later Zod will tell Superman that he was bred specifically to ensure the survival of their people, obviously his breeding didn’t extend to the idea of an organised evacuation instead of a coup. Jor-El escapes, rushes home and instructs Lara Lor-Van to send their baby off in a spaceship. The Coup is thwarted when some other military ship turns up and points a big gun at Zod.
So the remaining leaders of Krypton take the impressively odd decision to hold a quick trial and sentence Zod and his followers to 300 cycles in the Phantom Zone. Lara Lor-Van then strolls back to her house and watches as the world blows up. Obviously the idea of a proper organised (or just mass panicked) evacuation is not one the Kryptonians thought worth while. So the planet blows up and lo and behold the Phantom Zone is allowed back into the real universe. Therefore the punishment for Zod was not jail time but a few hours (or so it seemed) in protective custody whilst the rest of the Kryptonians were blown up on their planet. A planet that they hadn’t evacuated even though Superman’s parents knew about it possibly nine months earlier (I have made an assumption about the length of the Kryptonian gestation period) and planned a mass evacuation of one baby. I’m not an expert in genetic diversity but I’m sure you need more than a population of one to ensure a healthy mix of DNA in future generations (not to mention sexual reproduction).
The Kryptonians are a highly advanced race that fly around the galaxy at unknown speeds, but whilst they can send a signal to every TV in the world (or smart phone) ensuring that it plays out in the relevant language, whilst also cutting the electricity to every other non TV (or smart phone) device they still cannot send a decent picture or sound, or organise a last minute evacuation, or build a prison that doesn’t collapse when the planet implodes.
Man of Steel, was available in 2 and 3D, unfortunately for me the showing of the 2D version wasn’t at a suitable time so we had to see it in 3D. It wasn’t worth it. The film suffers from a common issue with 21st century action movies – too much action. The acting, the real acting by real actors, is perfectly acceptable. I don’t think there is anyone who doesn’t pull their weight. Lois Lane is played well by Amy Adams, Jor-El is played decently enough by Russell (fighting round the world) Crowe, Michael Shannon is excellent as General Zod, Kevin Costner plays Jonathon Kent with a sincerity mere mortals can only dream of, even Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White (the editor of the daily planet) is well cast and perfectly acted.
The problem with Man of Steel comes when the actors are no longer acting, when the computer graphics have replaced them with virtual actors. The technology has improved to the point that the virtual actors look just like their real counterparts, but the CGI artists don’t have to make them act. The virtual actors are used as dummies to be thrown through several skyscrapers, or to punched into the ground. I enjoy a bit of action but sometimes the onslaught of action is so relentless that we (the audience) are left drowning in a locked car as it fills up with computerised pixels.
The real problem with this film is not the acting but the script. In a script as vapid and empty as this the characters are so one dimensional that the studio have to film it in 3D to add some depth to the story. If they could bring back decent stories filled with interesting characters with well developed story arcs, instead of filling hundreds of minutes with explosions and gun fire and animated super heroes battling it out like gods in front of screaming innocent humans, then maybe they wouldn’t need the gimmick that is 3D and they could rely on the story to give the film some depth.
I’m not sure what made me think that this film was going to be anything better than dire, maybe it was the cast, maybe it was the hype, maybe it was the director’s filmography or the added production credit for Christopher Nolan, what ever it was it tricked me. There is only so much lens glare that they can pass off as nostalgic and emotional before I see through my squint and notice the film is rubbish.
As the film progresses Zod comes to earth to for a fight, obviously Superman can’t let him destroy the Earth and all its people so they fight and the good guy wins. I’m not an expert in military tactics but I think this situation would have benefited from some diplomacy. I guess when the screenplay ‘Twelve angry men of steel’ a diplomatic drama landed on a Hollywood producer’s desk it didn’t seem as profitable as this storytelling action infested atrocity.
