Man of Steel (2013)

Content by Tony Macklin. Originally published on June 15, 2013 @ tonymacklin.net.

Man of Steel is clutter and clatter. It's racket and rumpus.

It soars, but it also flounders.

The main clutterer is writer David S. Goyer [Christopher Nolan also contributed to the story.] The clatterer is director Zack Snyder.

Snyder, as director, is not a Chris Nolan. When Snyder takes leaps of faith and space, he stumbles.

Nolan wrote the three screenplays and directed the outstanding Batman/Dark Knight trilogy. Man of Steel seems like an expensive knockoff.

It's the very disjointed story of Kal-El (Henry Cavill), from birth to earth. He's sent from the planet Krypton by his parents (Russell Crowe and Ayelet Zurer) to survive and perhaps save mankind.

He grows up in the care of his earthly parents (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane). But General Zod (Michael Shannon) pursues him to earth to try to regain the mysterious Codex, which Kal-El has carried from Krypton. The Codex contains the key to power.

Man of Steel has a lot of chatter about "humanity," but there's little sign of it in the presentation of the movie.

There may not be a memorable line in the entire film. A lot of the dialogue is close to drivel. Much of the exposition is simply dull.

I doubt that Russell Crowe ever imagined he'd be on screen saying, "Krypton is doomed." ["I hope my career isn't."]

When Crowe as Jor-El appears on a winged creature, we know we're in for a bumpy flight.

Crowe has to fight the relentless music which competes with him every time he opens his mouth. "The world is about to come to an end," he says with a straight face, probably thinking of the booze he's going to have to drink later to wash down the stale dialogue.

He says to Zod, "I will honor the man you were - not the monster you have become." To Jor-El's baby son, he says, "Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams [and box office] travel with you."

Much of the dialogue should be accompanied by a kazoo.

Henry Cavill is suitable as Clark Kent/Superman. He has to trudge through the rubble of bad dialogue and generic music, but he survives.

Michael Shannon, as General Zod, shows a side of him we never knew - the ham. He casts aside his usual repressed character and relies on an arched stare and loud voice.

Zack Snyder is not much of a director of women. He should direct an all-female version of The Walking Dead. Fortunately Amy Adams, as Lois Lane, is a good enough actress to humanize her role. Still, Lois Lane lost in space may leap beyond our suspension of disbelief.

Snyder is good at scope and gimmickry. He does achieve one tender moment when Clark and his father look at one another during a tornado. But it's only one moment in a movie lacking such feeling.

The high point of Goyer's mediocre screenplay is naming the web writer Woodbern. Get it? - Woodward and Bernstein. Ah, the wit.

Much of the dialogue doesn't work. Facing a general, Lois says to him, "when we're done measuring dicks." Shortly afterwards she says, "What if I need to tinkle?" There's no way those two lines would come out of the same character.

The only thing that's consistent in Man of Steel is bombast.

If you can steel yourself to unadulterated bombast, this movie's for you.