Man of Steel (2013) User Reviews

The Day I Stopped Trusting Critics

[Hussein763 · 8/10 · 25 December 2020]

This movie was dishonestly mauled by critics and reviewers simply because it was directed by Snyder. Watching this again in 2020, I have to say this will go down as a classic in years to come. It's an absolute blast from start to finish and is one of the most loyal adaptations and faithful to the Superman lore found in DC comics. One of its greatest achievements was the magnificent depiction of Krypton and giving Zod the gravitas and motivation that he lacked in Superman II. You felt empathy for him. Shannon was outstanding in his portrayal of Zod; up there with Ledger's Joker.

I remember people actually complained about the level of destruction in this movie and the excessive use of special effects, but for me this is what makes a Superman movie. Take off your nostalgia tinted glasses and watch this with an open mind. This is the greatest Superman movie bar none.

SPOILERS:this movie is incredibly underrated!

[cristiandelgado-72603 · 8/10 · 1 July 2017]

Caution: spoilers may abound. I think this movie is severely underrated. Most complaints I see are of people who can't let go of the vision of superman they got from Christopher reeve who played a superman who was a god among men who never made mistakes and always knew what to do. That's not someone we relate to in this day and age because in our cynical and jaded society it's impossible to be that morally upright. I like Henry Cavill's superman because he plays a man who has to learn how to be superman. He's not perfect out the gate and he doesn't automatically know how to handle every situation right out the gate. Because of this a lot of lives are lost in the battle of metropolis and superman is forced to end zod because there is no other recourse because there is no way to contain him on earth with all the kryptonian tech is destroyed. Whatever you can say about how believable it is that superman didn't have a choice it's still set up well. Krypton was very beautiful and Russell Crowe made a great jor el. As far as the plot for the movie I understand the criticism that the flashbacks don't make sense but I think the death of Jonathan Kent is done very well because it's a sacrifice intended to keep Clark undercover. All in all its not perfect but it's far from terrible.

Ignore the critics

[Sergiodave · 8/10 · 1 October 2021]

I am old enough to have seen the original 2 Christopher Reeve Superman movies, and the idea of combining them is great. Henry Cavill is a better Superman, Amy Adams is a better Lois Lane, the script is far stronger, the baddies are more believable, I honestly can't understand the negatives; with the exception of the first 20 minutes, which just didn't work. A great attempt, far better than most DC movies, except the Nolan ones.

Best Superman to Date

[insearchof-38402 · 10/10 · 9 April 2020]

I love Superman. Every version. I'll defend Superman 4 if you want? But this is the definitive version. The version I've always dreamed of seeing - the version I'd write if I could have. Challenging, thought-provoking, insightful. Not there to be a poster child, but rather to be an inspiration. Inspiration comes through internal struggle and strife, not through BANG BANG, POW POW. I wish DC had more faith in this storyline - cause it was clearly going somewhere wonderful. #ReleaseTheSnyderCut.

The soundtrack is epic.

[vessalalizadeh · 7/10 · 26 November 2021]

Henry Cavil is my Superman. He's the best Superman ever. Interesting story, with deep meanings and realism. The camera work is not so good, some parts is good but others it feels like a Michael Bay film. The action sequences are pretty intense and excessive. However the soundtrack is probably the best thing of the movie. I've told it again, Hans Zimmer is a brilliant worker in music. The music names of the movie that I really love is:

Flight Sent here for a reason If you love these people What are you going to do when you're not saving the world?

Look to the stars

Just beautifully pieces in my ears. Overall the movie could have been much better, but I appreciate that it's underrated. For me, the best scene of the entire movie is when Superman learns how to fly in the first time. Just, a masterpiece scene.

Criminally Underrated

[sivam-66902 · 10/10 · 20 October 2020]

It is the most criminally Underrated superhero movie ever. It's also the movie that made me love Superman .Zack Snyder best work and Hans Zimmer was amazing. Visuals , Storytelling and Action scene were top notch .Too bad this movie did not get a proper sequel

Better than WW84

[dannysaiz · 7/10 · 1 January 2021]

I was really happy with the origin story aspect of this movie... although I would have liked to see more of Kevin Costner's character. I didn't see this until New Year's Eve 2020 and had heard a lot of comments about the movie... positive land negative. Exceeded my expectations.

Ahead of its time

[deanmalakiy · 10/10 · 25 December 2020]

I never had the opportunity to see this film in theatres, though, after my first viewing at home, I was instantly blown away by the tone, visuals, soundtrack, story, performance, thriller and action to this film.

Man of steel truely felt as though it was an alien invasion film set in our present time.

Superman has literally searched to find himself and when he does, he must learn not only learn his origins, though his abilities and how to use them.

He was bound to question himself and make mistakes along the way and following his journey is something I'm extremely excited for.

Most certainly a superhero film for adults.

Mostly good but I despise the Krypton storyline

[courtneyjjjjjjjj · 6/10 · 15 January 2023]

For a superhero movie there's definitely some positives here. Henry Cavill is fantastic and I enjoyed the take on Clark choosing to live in obscurity instead of the happy-go-lucky reporter at the Daily Planet. It felt very grounded.

I enjoyed Diane Lane's performance alot. Costner and Adams aren't given alot to work with. Whilst Costner kind of stumbled through Adams' performance outshines the limited story and dialogue. But I agree with others who have said that the chemistry between Cavill and Adams is VERY forced. And finally I'm always going to enjoy seeing Chris Meloni and Richard Schiff appear on my screen.

Now I pretty much hated everything Krypton related in this movie. Starting with the atrocious aesthetics between the costumes and sets. It's so black and plastic looking. And there were alot of names, references and long winded explanations of what was happening that never really made sense or came together to form a coherent picture. It's like they committed at the beginning to telling "Krypton's story" but halfway through realised it was going to be too much work so they did the bare minimum.

The actor who played Zod was terrible (a charmless, Cookie cutter bad guy) and who the hell cares who else was tagging along with him. Russell Crowe has a handful of good moments but it's mostly pretty boring stuff.

Overall it's a passable mild entertaining movie for a Sunday afternoon. But ultimately pretty forgettable.

Remember that sinking feeling you had watching The Dark Knight Rises?

[arthurcooper · 5/10 · 13 June 2013]

I wanted to like this movie. Admittedly, I went in with high expectations, but I thought the names behind the movie, the actors and the beautiful trailer justified my high hopes.

And - at first - I thought it was all going to work out. For the first 40 minutes or so, this movie is awesome. Krypton, an ALIENated Clark Kent doing odd jobs on earth, a confused boy trying to cope with his powers...

Some reviewers have bashed the movie for being too serious, but there's nothing wrong with a little seriousness, or a little reverence towards the character. In the first half, I think the tone is perfect. A little dark, sure, but it all feels like we're building up towards something truly awesome. Then, kind of suddenly, the main story with Zod and the action starts. And, as much as I love action movies, I really wished it hadn't.

When the serious actions starts, all coherent story telling stops. In the blink of an eye the movie goes from feeling like a sci-fi Batman Begins to Transformers 3 minus the nuanced story telling. Suddenly Superman is here and we get these big sweeping beautiful scenes, and they're just completely boring and out of place. And I don't even want to talk about the totally contrived Lois Lane - Superman romance. (Lots of sighs, and "WTF?" comments at the theater I was in).

I kept waiting for it to recapture the tone of the first half, but the action just keeps getting bigger and dumber. In the middle of the unending action spectacle of the second half, I actually nodded off.

This movie had the creative talent, and the actors to make something really great. And I feel like without a Michael Bay explosion quota maybe they could have done it here... But in the end this is a missed opportunity.

Watched recently and forgot how good it is

[UniqueParticle · 9/10 · 15 August 2022]

An epic Superman film one of the best ones that is incredibly well directed by Zack Snyder! Goes from explaining how Clark/Superman gets sent to earth because of his parents to the right amount of character development with Lois Lane and power along with epic action sequences. I've seen a few times even then I really liked it, this adaption deserves plenty of praise all around. The cast is excellent, beautiful cinematography, amazing story, emotions on point, and superb action!

A Brand New Superman You've Never Seen Before

[chrysoberylz · 7/10 · 13 June 2013]

This is not like all the previous Superman movies. This is not "Smallville". This is not the sequel of "Superman Returns". This is "Man of Steel"! This movie is awesome.

I am not a big fan of Superman but this is the best Superman movie I've ever seen. (Christopher Reeve's version is also good, but this Man of Steel is better. And.. the Brandon Routh's version? Naaaaah...) The plot is really structural. Not so many flashbacks, so you won't get confused. The whole storyline is just really simple. It told the very beginning of Superman and then, yeah, his adulthood.

The special effects here, I think it is as awesome as Marvel's Avengers. Yeah, alien and superheroes, what do you expect? Battle scenes are good, I can feel Zack Snyder "300" sensation in here.

Henry Cavill succeeded bringing a whole new version of Superman to the big screen. He wiped out all our knowledge of the previous Superman movies and replaced it with a darker version of Superman (Nolan's kinda "darkness") This movie is enjoyable. See? There's still hope for DC Comics' superheroes movies.

One of the stupidest movies ever made.

[lyre · 1/10 · 15 June 2013]

This review is going to be full of spoilers because I am going to mention various gaping plot inconsistencies and outright idiocies in this dog of a film.

Sure, it looks great and the special effects are generally well done. But some people need their movies to at least make some sense.

Let's start with a really basic one: the planet Krypton is going to be destroyed, and no one can be saved except one baby, presumably because they don't have any spacecraft.

Oh but wait, they do have spacecraft. In fact, they have so much spare technology they use it to send criminals into space... so that they will survive and provide enemies for Superman later in the movie.

Jor-El steals the Codex, which apparently contains the DNA of the Kryptonian race. Somehow, there are no backup copies. Oh but what about the actual Kryptonians who are running around destroying things... surely they each have their own DNA? Apparently not, somehow. And how about that baby-making machine in the scout ship: what was it supposed to use if there's only one Codex?

Clark just happens to hear about some top secret ice digging, and somehow knows to go there. How? And Lois Lane is somehow given a tour of the dig and a free place to stay even though she had to sue to be allowed there at all.

Clark discovers the spacecraft and somehow knows how to pilot it and land it somewhere. But then it never gets used again, for example to help fight the invaders later on. Doesn't it have the same kind of engine that's needed to destroy them? And it actually can fly rather than needing to be dropped via an airplane, as Clark's baby spacecraft is at the end of the film. But somehow no one thinks of this.

When Clark is taken to General Zod's ship, he loses his powers because he supposedly needs the gasses in earth's atmosphere to gain and retain his powers. Yet he's shown repeatedly operating in the vacuum of space. If he needed Earth's atmosphere to retain his powers, he should lose them in space.

In numerous fight scenes, massive damage is caused to probably inhabited buildings, which must have resulted in massive loss of life. Why wouldn't Clark/Superman immediately lure his enemies far away from the city, fight over the ocean, in the mountains, etc? In one scene he deliberately throws an enemy through a bunch of buildings, apparently not caring who gets hurt.

At the end, when the world engine is working, Superman flies into its gravity beam where his powers shouldn't exist because the conditions it's creating are like those of Krypton. But after being unable to do anything, he somehow just decides he's going to do it, and then instantly destroys the machine. Because if you really really decide, then you can do anything.

General Zod's ship will be flipped back into the Phantom Zone if its drive field comes in contact with another drive field of the same type, as found in Clark's baby spacecraft. But wait, don't all their small spacecraft use the same engine? Why don't they cause the same problem?

At the end, Superman and General Zod have an extended fight and appear to be equally matched, but when Zod threatens a prototypical family of Father, Mother and Child with his heat vision (and which he somehow doesn't manage to hurt although all he'd have to do is move his eyes slightly), Superman easily kills him, although he was completely unable to damage him until then. Again, just deciding to do something makes it happen.

These are just some of the really obvious major problems, how about some minor but equally stupid ones?

• Perry White, Jenny and Steve are walking away from General Zor's ship when Perry says "where's Jenny?" Oh, she's suddenly stuck under rubble that apparently no one noticed falling, and she hasn't bothered to scream or make any sound at all. They struggle to free her, when suddenly the beam stops and they say "He saved us!", even though they didn't know anything about Superman trying to save them, nor that the destruction wouldn't resume, or in fact anything about what was going on.

• Martha Kent is violently flung 20 feet or more. But apparently she's completely unhurt even though she's elderly and even a simple fall should have been damaging.

• When Superman and Zor are fighting, they fly a great distance and end up falling through the ceiling of something that looks like Grand Central Station. After a few seconds, Lois Lane suddenly appears out of nowhere, because she should be in that scene.

• In a 'heartwarming' scene at the end, Jonathan Kent sees young Clark playing with a cape and gets all misty eyed. Wait, how did he associate a kid playing with a cape with anything at all? Why would a cape signify something to him? It wouldn't.

This is a movie that didn't bother to make any sense, and the fact that people accept all the illogic, plot holes and dumbness of it really depresses me. Special effects shouldn't be enough to make a movie popular. The story and the logic of the story should count for at least as much and more.

What's with all the hate?! I LOVE MAN OF STEEL!!!

[russellquisenberry · 9/10 · 11 September 2020]

Am I one of the few people who actually love this movie? Man of Steel has beautiful visuals, an amazing cast ensemble, and action scenes to blow you away. The story is better than that awful Superman Returns movie and it's like the actors are doing their best. It's no Wonder Woman or Aquaman, but its a very fun watch and completely unforgettable!!

Very Good

[JPlayerGuy · 7/10 · 15 August 2023]

Outside of the Nolan Batman films, this is one of the best DC films that have been made. The backstory of how Krypton came to its end, how General Zodd came into power, and how superman was sent to earth as a way of preserving the Kryptonian people were all done in a very interesting way. Henry Cavill was a great casting choice for the film. Additionally, showing what it was like for Superman to grow up was a great way of making the audience understand the moral dilemmas that made it hard to choose he should utilize his powers. Furthermore, Russel Crowe did a great job in playing the role of Superman's father.

An Epic Ride!

[crimson_knight_7 · 10/10 · 21 July 2014]

At first I was very nervous at the prospect of another Superman movie. Especially considering how horrible "Superman Returns" was; however, "Man of Steel" was a roller coaster of a ride as we not only witness Kal El's (Clark Kent's) origins, but we are shown Superman the way he is supposed to be.

With expert direction brought to us by Zack Snyder and the assistance of Christopher Nolan, "Man of Steel" is packed full of action and emotional depth. No Superman movie has ever come close to achieving the atmosphere illustrated in the comics or the cartoon series until Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel". Sure it has a lot of action, but anyone who is a true Superman fan knows that Kal El's battles were almost always explosively long. Furthermore, the biblical metaphors were absolutely brilliant! As Superman was intended to be portrayed as a "Christ Like" figure, you see his journey in "Man of Steel" not all that much different from the New Testament. (Ex: When Clark Kent asked the priest for advice, behind him was a stained glass window of Christ praying to His Father before He was arrested and crucified. Next scene Clark Kent willingly submits himself to be arrested, ascends into the "heavens", and than descends in a crucified form) As Superman's story is not about becoming the best, but an immigrant facing the challenge of home VS heritage, we see Zack Snyder's portrayal of Superman reflect the "Man of Steel" originally designed by Joseph Shuster.

Furthermore, who could forget such actors like Henry Cavill (Clark Kent),or Amy Adams (Lois Lane). Every actor in this movie left their mark, but I needed very little convincing to believe that Cavill was the face of Superman, or that Adams could be a persuasive Lois Lane. And although I am not particularly a fan of Michael Shannon, he was the perfect General Zod. With the level of ferocity Shannon provided, not to mention his one liners, this was by far his best role yet!

This movie soared through my expectations and it will be the first time I ever give a Superman movie a perfect 10!

Man of Steel is a action packed yet flawed Superman movie

[anywaychannel · 7/10 · 9 July 2023]

Man of Steel is a action packed yet flawed Superman movie.

Man of Steel centers around Clark Kent who is an alien sent to earth as a baby by his father Jor El after his home planet Krypton explodes.

Clark spends most of his time in hiding until General Zod, a prisoned kryptonian criminal comes to earth looking for him as Zod plans to turn earth into Krypton using a world engine.

Clark must now stop Zod from terraforming the earth as Superman.

When I heard they were doing a reboot of the Superman franchise it didn't really shock me.

Mostly because the last few Superman movies weren't exactly a whole lot to write home about with Superman 4 (1987) being a disaster due to its low budget and the underwhelming Superman Returns (2006) which wasn't bad but not exactly really exciting either.

Man of Steel however manages to be a more actioned pack but also a little more dreary.

The movie starts off on Krypton where we see the typical events of Joe El sending Kal El aka Superman to earth but they add a little more to make it more exciting. Like having there being a war while the planet was getting ready to explode and having Jor El actually fighting General Zod which I liked.

I will admit there is a little too much going on in it though because not only is there a war happening but also they have other things happening like them explaining that Kal El is the last natural Kryptonian birth and him having something called the codex embedded into him.

Which I guess is also interesting but because you can tell they're trying to rush through the Krypton scenes so we can get to the main earth scenes it feels a little rushed.

In fact the whole 1st act where they tried to tell Superman's origin again is kind of all over the place because after the krypton scenes they cut to Kal El (now Clark Kent) as a adult which was kind of weird as I was expecting them to go over all the stuff that happens to him in as a kid/teenager in a cohesive straight forward story but instead they just randomly flashback to his childhood every so often which was really distracting.

Thankfully as soon as we get to the 2nd act they stop doing that and the movie straight up just becomes an action movie with Superman fighting the kryptonians which was much better.

In fact all the action in this movie is amazing. A huge improvement over Superman Returns (2006), a movie that definitely lacked that.

I will admit though the characters and plot fall a little flat at times.

I don't know if it's because the 1st act of the movie was kind of all over the place but all the characters in the movie feel a standard.

Like they're not bad or anything just okay.

Mostly because there's not a whole lot of sense of joy or fun in this movie save for a couple of scenes which I guess makes sense considering the plot but it also makes the movie feel a bit lacking too.

The camera work in this movie is also terrible with a lot of shaky cam which I'm not a big fan of. I mean the camera even shakes when there just talking and it's really distracting/annoying.

Still though this movie is a lot more entertaining than Superman Returns (2006) due to all the action and I can see why it has its fans.

I just wish the movie was better constructed (Especially in the 1st act) and the characters were a little more upbeat.

Change of heart...

[gragz77 · 7/10 · 19 June 2013]

Months on after calming down and watching it again, I've decided to up my rating from 3 to 7.

First of all, if you're a die hard Superman fan like myself. Then you might be slightly disappointed that this Superman doesn't share the same morals as his predecessors.

Like the earlier movies Kal-El is born on the doomed planet Krypton. His loving father Dur-El rescues his son by sending him to Earth as a last resort to continue the Kryptonian bloodline. Kal-El grows up on a farm in Smallville with Super Powers and the name Clark Kent. This is where the similarities between Man of Steel and the Superman series end. Which is why it got a few peoples backs up.

When watched with an open mind and seeing it for what it is (A whole new movie) it's actually very good. The specials are incredible though some times slightly overdone (Especially the shaky camera). The acting is top notch and Henry Cavill plays the role excellently.

I think it's 7.5 Overall rating on IMDb is where this movie belongs and should be viewed by everybody.

MY OLD REVIEW "If you can overlook any Superman film or series you've ever seen, put aside a million and 1 inconsistencies and watch with an open mind. Then this is the film for you.

Superman is not just a man with superpowers but a man with strong morals that means more to him than his own life. Under no circumstances does Superman endanger the lives of civilians. The big battle will have killed thousands and thousands of people, and left millions injured or trapped. But "Superman" continues to throw Zod through buildings, without a care in the world for the people inside as the building collapses to the floor."

Defiles everything that Superman stands for.... sad... pathetic

[kinshukjaiswal · 1/10 · 15 June 2013]

Guys... I'll be honest here... This movie does not do justice to Superman. I mean, for a person who doesn't know anything about Superman except that he flies around in a blue suit, will find the movie exceptionally good. But for a person who has ever tried to read Superman or watched Superman stuff before, this movie is going to be a disappointment.

The movie doesn't portray what Superman stands for. For the last 75 years, Superman has been a pacifist. He JUST DOESN'T KILL...NO MATTER WHAT.. HE JUST DOESN'T KILL....

SPOILER ALERT: 1. The movie shows that the blue suit was given to Superman by Jor-El. But this hasn't appeared in any version of Superman so far. In fact, its Martha Kent, who gave the suit to him.

2. Clark finds the suit on an abandoned Kryptonian Scout Ship. Now the point to be noted is... the ice around the ship was found to be over 3000 years old... So the ship must have landed there over 3000 years ago... While Clark's age is shown to be only 33 years... Does that mean Jor-El sent a ship to Earth 3000 years ago, with a suit that he wanted to give as a gift to his son 3000 years later??? 3. Jonathan Kent didn't die in a tornado... he died of a heart attack in all versions of Superman ever published...

4. The Genetic data of all kryptonians was never a part of Superman's body cells.. In fact, there were only a handful of survivors which escaped in the bottled city of Kandor.

5. Clark Kent grows up on Earth and spends 33 years of his life adjusting to his powers... Zod does that in minutes?????? 6. The much awaited Superman's Rippled Shield of the house of El which was much advertised... I didn't see in on Superman's suit... I saw it at the end-credits...

7. Superman goes super-sonic??? Blasphemy.... He is the guy who can travel faster than the speed of light... and they only manage to make him go super-sonic??? 8. Superman never lets innocent civilians get hurt... NEVER... He will give up his own life to protect them... Yet in the entire fight sequence he never tries to take the fight away from Metropolis. Instead he keeps on ramming Zod into buildings and brings down half the city...killing God know how many...

9. Helicopter sequence... Superman saves the guy who fell from the Helicopter which has gone out of control... But he lets the pilot and remaining crew perish and crash to the ground.

10. Superman coughs up in smoke... as shown in the movie itself... when he was a kid... he saved a bus from drowning... and then saved Pete Ross too... He is able to hold his breath under water... In the oil- rig scene... he stays under water when the oil rig explodes... When he takes flight for the first time he goes in the orbit in the outer space... all of that... and amidst a little smoke... he stars coughing like he has contracted Tuberculosis??? 11. Superman collapses and "BLEEDS" from the mouth when he enters Zod's ship... Dude.. seriously... Kryptonite makes him weak... and he becomes like an ordinary human in presence of a Red Sun like Krypton had... But never does he BLEED...

12. And the best one of all of them... Zod is trying to kill a few people with his heat vision... Superman has Zod in a vice and he is holding Zod's head... perfectly capable of directing Zod's heat vision wherever he pleases... or he could have covered up Zod's eyes with his hand... But instead... He chose to break his neck... Wow Superman... way to stand by everything to symbolized for the last 75 years...

Believe me when I say this... the movie was good.. but it just wasn't Superman... it was some random guy in a blue suit who flies around killing people.

I found Man of Steel to be very interesting

[juniperroth · 7/10 · 16 November 2013]

Okay going into this I am not the biggest Superman fan, and found Superman Returns to be a bit of a boring film. I do respect that they were trying to capture the classic essence of the original films, but it was not my cup of tea. However going into this I wasn't sure what to expect, but I think overall it turned out pretty well.

First off the build up and story is done fantastic, I love the way that krypton looks in the beginning, and I think Russel Crowe did a great Jor-El. I didn't really care for the character of Lois Lane as Amy Adams portrayed her, the effects in the film were amazing, and do a good job of moving fast whilst still showing all the detail (so you can actually see what is going on).

The villain of General Zod is great, and I think he definitely steals scenes he is in. perhaps there are some parts that don't make sense to me (such as not saving his father in the tornado scene), but not everything can be perfect. In some ways I feel like this movie felt like a Dragon Ball Z cartoon brought to life, because the way the fight scenes are done is nearly identical.

My only gripe is that Superman seems to have no disregard for damaging property or people. He tends to fly through and destroy many, many buildings while fighting. That is not the way the character is portrayed, he rips building after building apart, and you don't see any qualms about who may be alive in there.

Overall I give it a 7/10 because it renewed my faith in the character, especially for film, it had great effects, and good pacing, and is a character that needed some changes in my eyes to be a bit more modern for today's audiences.

This movie has no soul

[spuzer55 · 4/10 · 20 June 2013]

I was really excited to see this movie considering all the creative and successful names that were attached to it. However I came out of it more frustrated than anything else. I really wanted to like this movie but I couldn't, and here are some reasons why:

Straight from the beginning, I couldn't help but notice that the movie was trying too hard to be similar to recently successful sci fi films rather than trying to find its own style (Avatar, The Avengers, Batman Begins and the Matrix come to mind). Then there were the minor plot holes, inconsistencies and lack of believability or followthrough that would have brought that extra touch of realism. But the real downfall of the film was the matter-of-fact and detached style by which it was presented to the audience. This left the movie emotionally empty and with no one to identify with. As the movie continued it became more of the same going through the motions (ok now this happened, and now this happened, oh and now this is happening) to the point where I didn't really care about the movie or characters any more, I just wanted the monotony to be over. This is the reason it felt rushed and long at the same time, like key elements were underdeveloped and missing. This is a great example of how you can have the most massive, amazing grandiose scale special effects and world altering events on screen but without the proper build up and audience investment I didn't really care about the characters, and continued to grow bored until I just wanted it to end. The trailers were more suspenseful than the actual movie for crying out loud.

I'm not sure whose fault it was- the editor, the director, the script, post production but a little more than half way through it started to feel like it was dragging. You can walk out of a really enjoyable film after 3 hours and not realize how much time has gone by. I would not have minded if the movie was 15 minutes longer but had the slightest bit of suspense, emotion or character development in it. It felt like it was cut down to its bare bones- you cant omit that stuff to make room for more special effects, if that is in fact what they were doing. No amount of action can ever replace good story telling. Instead what we got was clichéd one liners and characters going through the motions interacting with themselves so to speak instead of playing off each other, like in a bad video game. Even great acting from Michael Shannon and Russel Crowe wasn't enough to elevate their characters from appearing as one-dimensional cliff notes. It's not being too picky when you want something essential and basic that every movie should have and when many people didn't like the movie for the exact same reasons. I also found the writing to be lazy, and without giving too much away, certain plot elements could have been used to show that Superman was not just all brawn but brains as well. Plus, Lois knows and thats just boring.

It seems to be a growing trend in blockbuster movies these days, while trying to make the movie more modern, technologically up to date and fit for a younger audience, story telling takes a back seat to cheap thrills and special effects to get more people into the theater. It's a shame then that this movie feels like an attempt to mash together as many unoriginal blockbuster genres with as much mindless action special effects as humanly possible, most likely in an attempt to compete in the 'how big can we make this' superhero franchise. I like special effects and I know its good for business, but does the movie making process have to suffer to such an extent as a consequence? Even the Avengers with its multitude of characters was able to pull of an engaging thrill ride compared to this.

To those trying to undermine the critics I have a few things to say. I like Snyder's previous films and particularly enjoyed Watchmen, so I would have had no problem with a darker of more serious version of Superman, except this movie was none of those things. I feel a lot of people who will defend the movie don't have much to say besides 'superman was a badass compared to other movies' and 'it was visually impressive'. They refuse to see the whole picture and realize that a shiny toy is just a shiny toy. The critics didn't rate this movie poorly because it was serious, dark or they didn't like Snyder's style- it was because the movie didn't have a unique character, or any style Snyder is famous for. While that 'satisfied feeling' you had at the end of the movie instead of the 'wanting more' feeling really shows how mundane it really was. A movie of this magnitude should leave you wanting more, for a sequel or at least for a second viewing. After watching this movie I had no desire for either of those things. Just because a film has amazing special effects does not automatically make it a good movie.

What this movie did was ironically give me a new appreciation for Superman Returns. While Bryan Singer's approach to the character and story was somewhat dated, it was a polished work that (while it didn't appeal to everybody) was executed very well in all aspects, especially story telling. The difference is that people didn't like MOS not because it had a unique style, but because it wasn't a complete film, and the difference shows. An ideal Superman movie in my opinion would combine the best aspects of both films. A modern approach with exciting and relatable character development and story telling that Superman deserves. Just felt like I needed to express my disappointment and frustrations at this squandered potential.

Best Superman Movie Ever Made

[vlix-13386 · 10/10 · 10 April 2020]

This is what I've been waiting for my whole life - a Superman film that tackles big issues, big ideas and takes risks. I've liked every superman film I've ever seen - but this one felt like it finally lived up to the potential of the character. 11 stars if I could.

Wow, what a super-mess.

[The_Film_Cricket · 14 June 2013]

The biggest question going into "Man of Steel," is whether or not Christopher Nolan can bring the same down-to-Earth psychology to Superman that he did to Batman. The quick answer: not entirely. Yes, he and director Zack Snyder have created a well-mounted action picture – they get the fight scenes just right – but in trying to deal with the deep scars of Superman's origins, they have put together a movie that sometimes feels choppy and more than a bit hurried.

The movie opens beautifully on the Planet Krypton wherein Superman's father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is dealing with two problems at the same time. First, his planet is dying and no one will listen. Second, Krypton's military leader General Zod (Michael Shannon) has organized a coup against the planet's elders and intends to overthrow them. As you already know, Jor-El's plan is to send his son, named Kal-El, to Earth where he will be safe. Zod, who learns of his plan, vows revenge. These scenes work well. Krypton looks appropriately apocalyptic and the movie establishes some information (unspoiled here) about little Kal-El that we haven't seen before.

Then for the next hour, or so, the movie becomes a chaotic mess. Scenes of Superman's origins as a child are intercut with scenes of Superman as an adult so that we never have a clear story to sink our teeth into. One minute he's an adult working as a crab fisherman, and the next minute he's a little boy saving kids on a school bus. We never get the great homages to Americana. We don't get scenes of Clark's Kansas upbringing where he discovers his powers. Scenes are so hurried that you feel as if you are just watchng highlights, rather than completed scenes. The movie is in such a hurry to move things along that we never feel that we're getting to know the man of steel. Diane Lane and Kevin Costner play his Earth parents who dispatch home-spun advice, but they pop up almost as cameos.

The third act of the movie, when Superman and Zod square off is where the movie picks up. Zod, now a Kryptonian prisoner, wants to turn the Earth into a new version of Krypton at the expense of the population already residing there. That idea comes to life mostly due in part to the performance of Michael Shannon. Shannon is one of our best and most intense actors – check him out sometime in the great "Take Shelter." Here he brings General Zod down to Earth, so to speak. He wants a planet to rule but there's nothing flashy or erudite about his personality. Shannon plays the role pretty close to the bone and that's appropriate.

British actor Henry Cavill in the title role has a great screen presence, but as you watch him, you sense that he will grow into the role if given another chance. He's not given a lot to say.

And his relationship with Lois Lane? What relationship? Her role (played by Amy Adams) is to be a nosy journalist, follow her leads and smoke out the identity of Superman, but there is nothing resembling a romance here. Except for one chaste kiss, they almost seem like just good buddies. There is a suggestion that their love affair is being held over for the sequel, but why not deal with it here? Of course, the standard for the man of steel lies is Richard Donner's 1978 classic with Christopher Reeve. That film was a beautiful four act play, laying out Superman's origins from Krypton to Smallville to Metropolis and to his adventure in California. Some of that energy is here, but in trying to give the movie the same tone as Nolan's Batman pictures, it's often wobby. It's a good movie at its best moments but, in truth, it needed some work.

A Look Back at This Movie From 10 Year Out ...

[MovieBuff5454 · 7/10 · 15 August 2023]

First of all, I've been a Superman fan since I was a pre-teen when George Reeves was cast in the role on TV. We've come a long way since then and special effects/CGI has elevated the film experience to heights we could have only imagined. I put that all into perspective and appreciate each version of Superman according to the time frame in which it was filmed. When "Man of Steel" was first released, it didn't really grab me. Why not? It had the most incredible cast so what was it lacking? Looking back at the movie, I compared it to, "The Avengers" which was released within a year of "Man of Steel". The MCU had humor, humor, humor and in case you didn't catch it the first time ... HUMOR. "Man of Steel" did not. The director/producers attempted to insert total gravitas as its driving force and that translates to a cinema experience without punch/pizzazz. "Man of Steel" could have been any movie which portrays a struggle between any normal person's struggle to balance his biological parents/humanity/personal strength. And it didn't do it all that well. This makes me sad. As I've said, I'm a Superman fan.

A great hero gets a great movie

[yashrajs536 · 7/10 · 10 December 2014]

When I was watching the trailer for man of steel I felt that this movie will be the greatest movie for Superman and also it will take the sci-fi genre to the another level and finally when I saw the movie all of my expectations were full filled the movies action scenes were new though the origin was old but they had made a superman which is very difficult to make.

I like this movie and waiting for its next sequel.

In this movie Mr.Snyder has given one of the greatest directions in superhero genre. My results for this movie are positive and I hope the next installment will be greater than this one.

So after watching this film my expectations are now higher from its sequel hope it will also exceed my expectations