Man of Steel (2013) | The Modern Mythology of a Divisive Reboot

Introduction

It's finally time to get into the DCEU. And begin to really, really get some some divisive responses. Whereas the MCU has been a near-unanimous crowdpleaser, DC's equivalent has been splitting people down the middle from the start. Some people loved the dark tone the early DCEU films were going for while others hated it and finally felt satisfied with the lighter tone of the post-2017 films. Some liked both but only when they go all out, some hate both and just keep demanding Disney buy out the entire franchise because they don't have enough of a monopoly already apparently, etc.. From the very beginning, the DCEU wanted to differentiate itself from the MCU. If the MCU was building blocks, the DCEU was meant to be a tree. Instead of building solo movies towards ensembles it would use a core arc and then branch out with characters from that core saga into their own movies and whatnot. And who was the roots and core of the tree?

Superman of course. Granted, we sort of saw that arc stop halfway, but more on that much later. Regardless, the DCEU's launching pad was to be a solo Superman reboot film already in production at that point. A film that has spawned many arguments. A film many hate, and a film many love, a film I adore. I find this film truly wonderful, and I truly hope to get across why in this review while also bringing mention to the flaws I do have with it (I don't find ANY movie truly perfect after all). This is no doubt the most divisive Superman film ever made, this is Man of Steel.

Production

I think it goes without saying that Superman Returns didn't do as well as WB hoped. Despite initially receiving strong critical reactions, the film's box office failed to make a profit, only breaking even when released to home video. This contrasts with the success that The Dark Knight had. Thus, in 2008, Warner began looking to fully reboot the Superman film series, severing connections with the classic films that Returns had. David S. Goyer had pitched such a story, reinventing Superman for the modern age, and Nolan took it to Warner. While Nolan signed on to produce the film and develop the story (With Goyer taking over the script), he declined directing the film himself, searching for a director who could tap into the visual elements needed for Superman.

Many directors including Guillermo del Toro and Ben Affleck were approached in 2010, but none signed on. That is until Nolan, having been very impressed with the adaptation of Watchmen and the visual splendor of Owls of Ga'hoole, approached Zack Snyder to direct. Snyder also brought on storyboard artist Jay Oliva to help develop the film's visuals, beginning his career with CBMs (Oliva would go on to storyboard Thor Ragnorak and direct animated films like Justice League: War). Casting lasted through the first half of 2011, and filming began in August of that year.

Filming lasted until early 2012, a long production ensuring there would be no reshoots. There was a rule Nolan had on-set wherein they would let no outside influence on-set, in order to maintain the integrity of the film's vision. Some people specifically kept off-set were Jon Peters, Diane Nelson, and Geoff Johns, the latter two of whom expressing a large amount of disappointment with the film's direction (This will be relevant much later). But filming went as planned and 2012 was spent on VFX work, with Hans Zimmer also creating the film's score.

The film finally premiered in June of 2013, and the DC fandom has never been the same.

Man of Steel Review

The film begins with no opening credits. I don't like this. Not only because Superman films usually have opening credits, but because Zack Snyder makes amazingly stylish opening credits. Just look at the opening credits in BvS and Watchmen. Now, maybe they just want the cold open to remain unfiltered, but you could put the opening credits after the Krypton segment ends. I've seen films where opening credits happen 20 minutes into the film, you could totally do it. Or you could put them over Kal-El's birth? Idk, do something dammit (For the record, I'm aware this is major nit-picking. But I freaking love this film so I have to try to find anything to critique to appear even somewhat not-fanboyish).

Anyways the film then goes on to show its version of Krypton. A very different vision of the planet from the 1978 counterpart. THIS Krypton is far more comparable to the jungles of Pandora than it is to the arctic. Lots of modern sci-fi stuff, but also lots of medieval type stuff. I really dig this version of Krypton. And it's here where the film's cinematography immediately begins to impress. For the first time since that original Donner film, we have epic long shots and grand scopes. It is truly a spectacle. The same way Richard Donner and Geoffrey Unsworth created an amazing pastel-like world, Snyder and his cinematographer Amir Mokri do the same for a new sharper more modern looking vibe. Mokri also applies a semi-documentary approach to the filmmaking. Cameras zoom in and move organically. Though there is one negative to that, the color grading. Man of Steel is, for a Snyder film, weirdly washed out. Snyder's films gravitate towards dark colors yes, but usually towards loud contrast-heavy vibrant dark colors. This color palette almost reminds me more of the MCU. Brighter, but also flatter and more muted. Granted I've never had the chance to see the 4K Master of this film, so maybe it's just the Blu Ray. Either way, it's one of the few things I'd change about the film, though it is still visually MUCH better than Superman Returns. That film was hideous.

We're introduced to both Jor-El and Zod in this section. The former, played by Russel Crowe, doing a pretty good job at doing a sort of younger Marlon Brando type thing. He does it, in all honesty, very well. But he is overshadowed at least a little by Michael Shannon. My god, every time I watch this film he gets better. Shannon is bringing exactly the level of dignity, nobility, and yet cruelty that the role deserves. I thought Stamp was the gold standard for years, but Shannon managed to make a Zod that I could truly believe as a charismatic military leader, hell he's the exact kind of person America seeks out for generals and commanders. What's weird is I remember him getting some flack back in 2013 for not being "creepy" enough? But that's clearly not the point with this character. As of now, I think he's declared a lot of the time as the best part of the entire film. Something I wholeheartedly agree with. I also think he's the best villain in the DCEU (Ewen's Black Mask does come close though).

Alright enough gushing, time to move on with the plot. After Lara gives birth (The first natural birth on the planet in years) to Kal-El, Jor-El makes one last attempt to plead the council for another chance to save Krypton. However, they refuse to listen, and Zod ends up staging a coup against them, wanting to take the Genetic Codex of Krypton and terraform a fitting planet to save their race. Jor-El questions Zod's plan and his brutal methods of achieving it. One thing I adore in this version is that it shows that Jor-El and Zod considered each other friends once. The Donner films never touched on that, maybe it just wasn't a part of the comics at the time. But this manages to basically condense the sentiment of several episodes of Smallville into one scene. Jor-El then rushes to steel the Codex before Zod can, storing it with Kal-El just as they send him off into space. Enraged, Zod kills Jor-El, and he is then taken prisoner. He is banished to the Phantom Zone (Here an actual prison and not a... what even was the Phantom Zone in the old movies?). Krypton soon explodes, and Zod and his allies tragically watch over the remains of Krypton.

I love this opening. It's similar to the opening of the Donner film yes, but it's done so in a new and unique way. It's gorgeous, scored incredibly well, and features probably the two best actors in the entire film. I also just like how it shows how flawed this Krypton was, and how alike they really are to our world. Stagnant politicians, political revolutionaries thinking themselves above the rest of us, everything feels very relevant. Also the scene that follows of Clark crashing to Earth would've been perfect for opening credits (I'm still riding that nitpick!).

We then cut to years later with an action scene of Clark saving people from an exploding Oil Tanker. A good introduction though maybe one that wears a bit of action fatigue. Luckily that's the last bit of explosive action for a while. He's thrown into the water and we cut into a flashback scene of a young Clark being overwhelmed with his powers. Again, it's like the brutality of every power he gained gradually in Smallville was done all at once, when he was even younger. It's a wonderful scene with powerful emotion. Though honestly it also makes me realize that Smallville teachers are way more compassionate than normal teachers. Then we cut to him back in the present day as he dresses himself and carries on into... another flashback.

Yeah, let's talk about that. Man of Steel gets unfairly criticized as being "just Batman Begins but with Superman instead" a lot and I usually disagree, but one aspect where I kinda agree is the structure of the first of the film's main acts. It adopts a non-linear structure, and it doesn't really add anything. It doesn't necessarily take anything away either, but it kind of just feels like it's there because "Hey, it's a Nolan story so it has to be non-linear!". But personally, I think a non-linear structure needs to be justified more. In Batman Begins the non-linear structure is used to organically peel layers off of Bruce's character all in the first act, the film would lose a lot of emotional weight without it. In Watchmen the non-linear structure is used to organically handle having many different character backstories in one film without having a front-loaded pace. In Man of Steel it serves no real purpose. They could've easily told this story linearly. Or, better yet, re-ordered the scenes to make the flashbacks sync up better. More on that in a sec.

The flashback here with the bus leads to a scene of Clark saving kids back in school when their bus goes overboard. One of the kid's parents questions how Clark could've done this, and Clark's father chews him out for being reckless. Here we have one of the most controversial scenes in the film, Clark's father saying "maybe" he should've let them die. Now, it's important to note how it's said. Hesitantly, softly. It's not a "let the bastards die!" it's a "I don't know". This Johnathan Kent is confused, he doesn't have all the answers. He's not as wise as the Pa Kent of yore. This leads to Clark discovering his identity. In these whole sequence we have what I love about this film, and the film's biggest weakness. The former is the emotion of the story and Clark's character. Clark couldn't let anyone die, even then. He has a more heroic spirit from the get-go, and it scares his father. Scares him. And when Clark, learning his origin, expresses that he just wants to "keep pretending I'm [Johnathan's] son", Pa Kent hugs him close just saying "You are my son". A scene taken directly from the comics, it's executed beautifully. But there's another half of the dialogue of this sequence. Exposition and "people fear what they don't understand" lines. Things we've heard a thousand times in EVERY David S. Goyer script. And yeah, that's the running issue. There is some clunky dialogue, much of which is exposition. For a film directed by a guy who gets criticized for putting too much into visuals, this film does love to tell rather than show. Luckily, delivery and direction manages to save a lot of this. I can forgive clunky dialogue if it's at least told well. I mean, we all love Spider-Man 1 and that dialogue is absolutely atrocious.

Anyways, back to the present as we see Clark working a job at a diner. A customer touches a woman inappropriately and Clark tries to stand-up to him. The customer tries to fight, but Clark doesn't. Unlike Superman II where he vindictively beat up a guy who was only really being mean to him, here he merely destroys the truck of a guy who was drunkenly preying on a waitress. I like this scene, but it could've been even better. This is where I'm pulling back the "how the non-linear structure could've been done better" card. Later in the film, there's a brilliantly done flashback of Clark being bullied and despite their efforts, refusing to fight back. He exclaims to his father that he wanted, more than anything, to do so. But he can't, because he knows he'd win.

Tell me that scene wouldn't have played so well right before or right after the diner scene? A juxtaposition of Clark as a kid wanting to fight and barely holding back and adult Clark calmly handling this without violence? That'd be smart non-linear editing. But we don't get that. In fact for a while the non-linearity just kinda stops. To the point where the next flashback honestly comes across as jarring. Also there's another aspect of this scene I mentioned that's worth bringing up, but I'll get there when I get there.

Anyhow, we move on with the plot finally, as we're introduced to Amy Adams as Lois Lane and several military guys. They're studying what they think is a Soviet Era Submarine, but is actually a Kryptonian Ship. Clark (who has a job with them... did we miss a scene?), goes off in the night, followed by Lois. He has a Kryptonian Command key from the ship he came to Earth in, and uses it. The ship's defense robot is activated and blasts a hole through Lois. So Clark uses his heat vision to cauterize the wound (Something I never thought I'd see honestly, but it is a really good use of what's usually a destructive power. Kudos). He takes the ship then and flies away. Lois tries to get the story out through Perry White (Played excellently by Laurence Fishburne), and when he refuses she spreads the story through an internet blogger. Back with Clark, an A.I. of Jor-El appears and explains to him, in exposition, everything we already saw. But, it is still a visually cool scene and Russel Crowe really is excellent. He then reveals the suit and... my god it's beautiful. The texture, the symbols, just everything about it is wonderful. Except again, the film's muted colors are a bit weird with it. Even then, the words spoken over the scene as follows are great. It manages to be a brilliant way to update Brando's words from the Donner film, and prepares for what many people consider the best scene in the film, the First Flight.

It's shot beautifully, scored excellently, and has a soaring, epic, inspiring energy that I hadn't seen in a Superman film since Reeve saved Air Force One in the original. It's also just really funny watching Superman get ahead of himself and crash face first into the ground while he's still learning. But he eventually gets the hang of it, even accidentally causing a stampede and soaring into the atmosphere. I just, I really love this scene. After that we get Lois doing some investigating into her rescuer, eventually tracking down Clark at his father's grave. I love this because it means Lois isn't kept in the dark. I always preferred Lois and Clark in an honest relationship where they can really be open with each other to the "keep Lois from finding out" story. We also get the most controversial part of the film, the flashback to Johnathan Kent's death. A scene where Johnathan runs to save their dog from a tornado and stops Clark from saving him. The intended message being Clark isn't ready for the burden of being that kind of hero yet. A really ambitious message to tell there, which I admire. But it is flawed. For one thing, Cavill looks the same age he does in the present. They should've used teen Clark for this scene just slightly aged up if they wanted to get his recklessness across. Two, it's one of the few times the docu-drama camerawork is a bit annoying. A more stable camera would've made it feel more impactful. Three, the message is ambitious, but we already have that message in the film in the "Maybe" scene. So that theme is already shown, we don't need it shown again. It would've been better served to just use the heart attack "can't save everyone" scene or, fourth issue, why does Pa Kent have to die at all? MoS loves the Byrne reboot, but Pa Kent lived to Clark's adulthood there, he actually got to witness Clark as Superman. Or if you do want to kill him, maybe Zod kills him? Wouldn't that be a good justification for Clark's anger towards Zod, knowing Zod murdered BOTH of his fathers? Maybe I'm thinking too into that.

Back to the actual movie, Clark tells Lois he wants to remain anonymous for now, and so Lois backs off of the story, with Perry White agreeing with her. Clark returns home and we get a nice scene with his mother. Then, disaster strikes. We cut to the military led by Martian Man- I mean General Swanwick, observing a ship that's begun to orbit Earth. The ship is Zod's alerted to Earth by the Scout Ship's activation. Zod sends out a message to Earth, revealing aliens to the public in an attempt to ask them to bring Clark forwards, and Lois' blogger outlet then reveals that Lois knows where he is. Lois is taken by the military. Clark, unsure of himself goes to a church. And we get that flashback I brought up earlier, him being bullied and not fighting back. Something to mention here is that the book Clark is reading in this scene is The Republic of Plato, a philosophical work that essentially is the inspiration for MoS and BvS' greater themes. Clark is the "just man", the Scout Ship was his cavern, etc.. For as much as people rant about the Jesus imagery (Which has been there since 1978 for the record), I do like that there is a far deeper layer hidden underneath that. Simply put Clark is far more like the "just man" than he is Jesus of Nazareth. I could write a whole essay just on the Platonic arc alone, but I haven't given the other films nearly that level of analysis so I don't want to give this film too much biased focus in comparison. That said I still like the flashback, especially with the scene of his former bully helping him up. Clark then speaks with a priest, revealing his identity. The priest asks him his gut feelings and Clark expresses doubt over both Zod's word, and humanity being worthy of trust. The priest then offers what I think is one of the best lines in any of these films. "Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith first. The trust part comes later". Things like trust were always treated as a given in the older films, but MoS actually shows that it's more complicated than that. This is a kind of line you'd have more likely heard in a Spider-Man film (Hell Into The Spider-Verse would hinge it's themes on a weirdly similar line) than in a previous Superman film. But it's so poignant.

He dresses in his Kryptonian garb and introduces himself to the military, offering to come peacefully if they let Lois go. We get another nice scene with Lois and then Clark snapping his handcuffs like nothing and walking to the window, as everyone except Swanwick backs up. Wonder if that's because he, like, knows Clark's intentions are good, like he can read his mind or something? Just sayin'. But he still surrenders himself. Zod's Second-In-Command Faora retrieves him, also taking Lois (And making an impression on Colonel Hardy, a really good side character that shines in this film). They go up and meet Zod, with Clark then falling unconscious due to the low Oxygen levels of the ship around him. We then get another contender for the best scene in the movie, the Zod simulation sequence. Here it's both shown and told effectively Zod's complex motivations, his plan, what he and his troops went through, and what it means for the Earth and Clark. And unlike other films, Zod does have a reason to explain his plan. He considers a possibility Kal-El would be on his side, and he believes he's the only one who can lead him to the Codex. It also just shows how sure Zod is in the nobility of his plan. He doesn't hide it because he truly believes in what he's doing. I just love Michael Shannon in this role. We also get a foreshadowing scene of Clark in the Black Suit surrounded by skulls. Okay it probably wasn't meant to be foreshadowing at this point, but it sure feels like it now. 

Clark of course refuses and learns Zod killed Jor-El (Albeit Zod is truly haunted by it). Admittedly this is one of the scenes where the color grading looks especially... bleh. His blue suit doesn't look much different from the black suit from the prior scene. Zod launches his ship towards Kansas (Kent Farm), while Lois uses the command key Clark gave her, summoning the Jor-El A.I.. It's one thing we've never seen before, Jor-El talking to Lois. And it leads to a really cool action scene of Lois kicking ass in the ship while Clark also escapes. But yeah, Lois being an action hero was something I never realized I wanted to see. Lois takes an escape pod, but it ends up damaged by soldiers trying to stop her. Clark escapes thanks to Jor-El's help and Clark gracefully flies out of the ship, rushing to save Lois. Which he of course does so, leading to another nice moment that admittedly has a weird exposition chain thrown into it. Meanwhile Zod gets to the Kent Farm, searching for the Codex. When he finds out the Codex isn't there, he goes for Martha Kent. And Clark reacts exactly how anyone would react to their mother being threatened. Beating the utter living sh*t out of Zod. Zod's apparatus ends up damaged and the full radiation of the Yellow Sun hits him, forcing a retreat. Faora and another Kryptonian then engage Superman, with the military also getting involved.

This leads to the Smallville fight. It's really awesome. The way the Kryptonians move in this film still holds up, and the combination of destruction with Clark also rushing to save soldiers from being killed and keep people inside their homes is great. We also get a sexual tension-filled scene with Hardy and Faora. Ultimately Faora has to retreat, but when Clark comes out of the building to the military, he's treated as an ally with a truly great moment. The only flaw in this sequence is the product placement. It's somehow worse than Superman II. But it's such a small blemish on an otherwise infallible action sequence. And it's followed with more good material with Clark consoling his mother in the wreckage of their home. Then we get two revelations back to back. Zod's chief scientist reveals that the Codex is in fact inside Kal-El's cells, and can be extracted from Clark's body, allowing Zod to move up the time-table, releasing the Terraforming World Engine (With an amazing score piece btw. Oh yeah THIS SCORE IS AMAZING). Meanwhile Lois catches up to Clark, revealing she knows how they can stop this. The world engine descends over the Indian Ocean and Zod's ship descends on Metropolis, and if you really want to see the illustration of how the DCEU was mean to be different from the MCU, it's this image right here. The MCU has beams coming out of devices on the ground shooting into the sky, the DCEU has beams coming from above towards the ground. You could say it's symbolic, the MCU is humans aspiring to be more while the DCEU is mythological god-like figures being brought down to human level. Or it could just be a cool visual. There's that too.

The devices begin to actively terraform the Earth, causing Metropolis to become ground zero for a level of destruction that's always been in CBMs, but was often kept out-of-focus, y'know to help people forget about all the lives being lost in favor of getting caught up in the escapism. Here it's in full view, but that's more relevant later on. Superman (Now being called that... kinda out of nowhere honestly. Wish they had made it clearer how he got that name. Though now that I think about it... did the Donner film explicitly show him getting that name? I honestly don't think it did) and Lois get to Swanwick, bringing Clark's childhood pod with him. It has a Phantom Drive within it, and if collided with Zod's ship it can open a singularity to send the Kryptonians back to the Phantom Zone. This leads to the military and Lois taking the Drive, while Clark goes after the Indian Ocean machine, since he's the only one who can get to it. I really like this plot point. If you can recall, one of my issues with Superman 1 was that it kind of made the military out to be horny idiots. Here we not only get some positive representation to balance that out, but it's the source of legitimately enjoyable side characters in addition to the idea that even Superman is working as part of something bigger right now, he needs people's help. You could argue it's that seed of an idea that would lead to the idea of the Justice League in this series. But more on that another time.

Faora takes command of Zod's ship as he leaves to visit the Scout Ship, trying to find the Genesis Chamber (Where he can recreate Kryptonians with the Codex) and destroying the Jor-El AI. As well, he learns to hone his senses (He was bred to adapt to his environment, the ultimate warrior). The scene between him and Jor-El is great, It's followed by intercut scenes of the military's bombing raid on the main ship, Clark's assault on the World Engine (Complete with tentacles that apparently are the remnants of when Jon Peters demanded Clark fight a spider. Ummm... looks cool I guess?), and Perry White helping common citizens out of Metropolis (I swear Perry White is always like the biggest badass in all of these films. First buying up all the stock of a major media mogul in Quest for Peace, now being brave enough to run towards a crumbling building to save people? That's just awesome). Zod takes the ship as Clark continues to struggle with the World Engine as well as the Kryptonian atmosphere surrounding it. We then see, in full view, all the destruction in Metropolis. A city is being destroyed, and it goddamn feels like it. It really is intense, and the VFX are so convincing that it actually made people have uncomfortable flashbacks to when terrorists who wanted nothing more to destroy everything the Western World represented made an attack on New York. The parallels are obvious, and purposeful. Although, that's more relevant to the next film. What is relevant here is that by putting the perspective on the ordinary people as opposed to just focusing on the heroes as Avengers 1 did, we really feel the tension. We know Superman's gonna make it through, but Jenny Gurwich isn't a main character, yet a character likable enough to really care if she makes it through. And the scene of her and Perry clinging to each other in what they think is their final moments, two people scared out of their minds but trying to show each other a sense of bravery... it's the stuff I live for in an action film, and the score just crescendos as we cut to Clark, beaten and broken on the ground, rising with all of his might and force straight up to the World Engine, and straight through it, overcoming the atmosphere, and the pain, and the struggles, rising with determination and hope (Fittingly enough this is another scene where I swear he looks a lot like Christopher Reeve), as the visuals, score, and acting all climaxes into what I consider to be not only the best scene in the film but the best scene in ANY of these films. The World Engine is destroyed, and the ship in Metropolis stops too, leaving our brave civilians safe as well. God I just love this sequence. There's still more of the film to go, but this would've already been a stellar climax, to a stellar film.

Of course, it doesn't stop there. Colonel Hardy, Lois, and Doctor Hamilton line up for the final raid, preparing to drop the Phantom Drive. Clark meanwhile drinks in the sun's power.. But the command key gets stuck, allowing Zod to assault the aircraft. But Clark comes crashing through the Scout Ship. He chooses to destroy the ship, thus ensuring the mission can continue. A lot of people take issue with this causing the ship to destroy more buildings, it was gonna do that anyways. Clark had to think of saving the planet after all, plus it's likely those buildings don't exactly have people in them, it's typically said in commentaries that the deaths caused in Metropolis were by the Terraforming attack and people on the streets caught in debris. Clark can't be everywhere at once, if he leaves Zod and the ship they'll kill infinitely more people then will be caused by this. Moving on, Faora ambushes Hardy's plane (Complete with flinging someone who has a Wilhelm Scream), but Hamilton and Lois manage to get the Command Key in as Faora chases Hardy. Hardy launches the jet full throttle into the mothership, causing the singularity and supposedly killing Hardy and Faora (Although I wouldn't be too sure, just sayin'), and sending most of the Kryptonians back to the Phantom Zone. Clark, without so much as a moment to address the wreckage, flies to save Lois against being pulled into the black hole. We get a pretty awkward kiss between Clark and Lois (This is where Goyer's Goyer-isms really make me cringe) with a terrible line. That said, I get it. High-tension situations and adrenaline leads to physical affection. Some people get really offended by this scene, I just think it's kinda awkward.

But even then, it still isn't over. Zod still remains, the only Kryptonian left besides Clark. And now, his sole purpose, encoded in his DNA, protecting Krypton... is gone. He is empty, he is angry, and he no longer cares. He doesn't care if he, or Clark, or Earth lives or dies. All he wants to do now, is kill until he's dead, and making Clark suffer by watching him commit absolute genocide. This is not Superman II, where Zod just wants to rule over subjects. No, this Zod will not leave to go fight somewhere else. He wants the fighting in a public area. He wants to cause as much death as possible. And there is no more Phantom Drive. No power-erasing machine. No Kryptonite. This is a one-on-one duel, and only one of them can come out alive. And while for most of this film I was questioning what Snyder meant when he said he took Dragon Ball Z influence, this is where it clicked. The ensuing fight is anime as all hell, the motion, the effects, everything. The World Engine scene was the film's greatest spectacle, but this fight is a close second, and it is effective as a last action scene. That said, we have kinda had our fill. There's so much action in the second half of this film, you could argue it's even distracting. But honestly if I'm gonna criticize a film for having too much good action, that's nitpicking.

For most of the fight, Zod just wails on Clark. He's fully embraced the power the Yellow Sun gives him. And he just uses Clark as a friggin' frisbee. And yeah that's something important to note. Clark never willingly goes through any buildings. Every time Clark goes through a building it's because Zod got the upper hand and tossed him into one. The most destruction Clark himself causes is a few windows break. Everything big is caused by Zod. In fact the only building we see fully crumble in this fight is due to Zod's heat vision. For as much flack as Superman gets for the destruction, almost none of it is Clark's fault. Plus, it's his first day on the job guys, and he has to face a genocidal maniac. Zod is winning most of this fight. Only when Zod and him end up in space does Clark get the upper hand, crashing back down. He has Zod in a headlock, but he can't fly up. Zod is stronger than him. Zod aims his heat vision at a family. At children. And Clark makes the ultimate hard choice. He snaps Zod's neck. Right as he does so, you can see Zod loosen. He lets him do it. He WANTS him to do it. And so Clark wails in agony, having been forced to do something he couldn't even fathom. Not just killing, but severing the last of where he comes from. Unlike in Superman II, this is justified. He had no other choice. It's happened in comics too, he killed Zod there. And he said to Green Lantern in the comics that it haunts him, but he'd do it again if he had to. Ironically mirroring what Zod said of Jor-El in this film. It's a moment of victory yes, but bittersweet victory.

Admittedly, the tone whiplashes into the next scene as we get Superman destroying a satellite that was tracking him. Honestly I could've used a "One Month Later" or something in between these to make this make more sense. Showing him helping rebuild Metropolis would've been nice too. It's not a bad epilogue, just a kind of awkward one. Also humor isn't this film's strong suit. "Where I hang my cape"? "I just think he's kinda hot"? As I said earlier (I think, this review's so long I hardly want to re-read it), this film isn't humorless. It's just the humor isn't that great. Honestly the attempts at humor are often the most clunky parts. And tbf, I think the same about Superman 1 in its own way. But in Superman 1 the film has aged in a way that now makes the awkward humor a bit more passable. And even then "going down" is still better than "They say it's all downhill after the first kiss" (Who is "they"? I have literally never heard that saying). That said, we do get a heartfelt ending with Clark and his mother, with one last flashback to Pa Kent. This did tug at my heartstrings a little. Finally we get Clark joining the Daily Planet (Even donning the glasses, okay that did get a chuckle. Actually this scene has pretty funny jokes between Lois, Jenny, and the semi-creepy guy hitting on them). And can I say how much I love that the last line is "Glad to be here Lois"? I know that message got kinda derailed when WB decided this needed to be a universe-starter rather than the beginning of a standalone Superman Saga... but damn I love it. And that ends Man of Steel.

Conclusion

Before I really get into concluding thoughts, I want to address something. You'll notice I don't focus too much on Clark's character in these reviews. Mainly because for the most part in the old films he was more an ideal to admire than a character to relate to. But this film is different. The goal is to relate to him. But a lot of people talk about how they didn't, how they actually related less to this Clark. And let me ask those people something. Growing up, were you an extrovert? Were you confident, talkative, open? I'm willing to bet most of the people who really didn't relate to this Clark were like that. But this Clark doesn't relate to the popular crowd, the confident extroverts, etc.. When Superman was created in 1938 he wasn't a confident symbol of the American Way, he was a mirror for the oppressed. And the way MoS translates it is simple. This Clark Kent is for the kids in the back of the classroom who tried desperately to make nobody notice them. This Clark Kent is for the kids who were bullied all throughout school for trivial reasons that made them "different". This Clark Kent is for the kids who never fit in. This Clark Kent was for me. I was that kid. Hell, in some ways I still am. I'm still a quiet, introverted person who often feels like an outcast. To the point where the pandemic life and normal life weren't that much different for me. This Superman is one I can truly relate to.

Kind of to a fault even. In 2013, I was in a really bad place. I went to this film expecting and hoping to have an escape from my problems. Instead I was put in front of a mirror. Instead I saw every issue I had ever went through expressed to me. Everything I was trying to run from was thrown back at me. And I rejected it. I hated Man of Steel when I first saw it. I truly, utterly hated it. I hated all the action, I just wanted Superman to save some cats from trees and make me smile. I hated the psychology, I just wanted real estate bad guys vs Superman good guy. I hated everything about it. But then a funny thing happened.

Three years after that, when I was in a much better place, I saw another film. A sequel to this one. And where I hated this film because of my own personal issues, I simply hated that one (in theaters) because I couldn't follow it at all and the pacing was atrocious. That summer, a friend (Yeah, in 2016 I had actual friends. That was a change from 2013) pushed me to revisit Man of Steel. And I have loved that film more every time I've watched since. Everything I hated in 2013 was something I loved in 2016 and love even more now. Whether or not Man of Steel was "ahead of its time" is something people can fight over, but it is certainly a film that was ahead of my time. 2013 Ryan was not ready to have such a blunt mirror of his struggles. 2016 Ryan was. And 2021 Ryan has only one thing to say about this film. It's exceptional.

Upon revisiting it for this review, it has eclipsed Donner's Cut of 2, and it has become in my opinion THE definitive Superman film. The visuals and action are impressive even 8 years later, the score is astounding, the characters are fleshed out in actions and pure expressiveness, the direction is pitch-perfect, and the tone is mythological. MoS really does feel less like your typical comic action film than it does a grand Sci-Fy Myth Epic. It is a film that blends the best of Post-Crisis Superman into the best of Greek Myth and achieves an amazing film. Superman 1 made me believe a man could fly. Man of Steel made me believe a film could soar. I truly think that one day, this will be looked back upon and thought of as one of THE great comic book films. Because to me, this is already one of THE great movies. Every flaw, whether it be a few cringe lines or a bit too much exposition, is a teeny blemish, a nitpick, on an otherwise immaculate picture. And for that, Man of Steel receives the highest honor I could give it.

I give Man of Steel a 10/10 without a doubt in my mind. A first for this retrospective. It is a film best enjoyed with open-minded ness and thematic thought. If you can't do that, you won't like it. But I do implore everyone to give it a fresh chance with an open-minded attitude. Because in my opinion Man of Steel isn't just a Superman film, it's a masterpiece.

Next week, on DLR, we take a loot at the most divisive DC film ever made. Next time we tackle Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice Ultimate Edition II.9 HD Remix & Knuckles!