Tuesday, June 25, 2013

My thoughts on "Man of Steel" (spoilers)

So, I saw "Man of Steel" last week and I really liked it.
I know that it has been getting a ton of mixed reviews and a lot of people have problems or issues with it for many reasons. Those reasons are exactly what I liked about this film.
First, the visuals and design:
I really thought that the production design of Krypton and the space ships was wonderful. It was a very new take on the look of Krypton, while still incorporating a number of items and elements from the comic books. The "organic" feel to the architecture and the planet differed greatly from the crystal technology of the previous films and some of the newer comic books. The floating robots did follow the general design of robots from one of the comic lines and a couple of the animated series while at the same time becoming something new.
When hologram Jor-El was explaining the history of Krypton and of Kal-El's flight to Earth, I found the scrolling Art Deco/Art Nouveau bas-relief visuals to be stunning. The team who designed and implemented that sequence used imagery and details from so many sources that I feel I need to see it again to truly appreciate it. Just two small examples are : an image of a male and female Kryptonian holding up the planet like Jor-el and Lara in the old comic book Fortress of Solitude and the "crystal star" space ship from the 1978 film.
I also really liked the use of color desaturation and over saturation for various things, like the sepia wash for Krypton and the kind of exaggerated color for Clark's memories. I also felt that the more muted colors of his suit helped ground it as a uniform rather than a costume and brought it into the "real world".
There were also a number of smaller nods to "those that came before". One of which was when introducing Dr. Emil Hamilton, the actor playing the army guy sitting in front of the Doctor played Dr. Hamilton in the TV series "Smallville".
The story:
"Man of Steel" has also been getting a lot of criticism for being too violent and for changing what many feel are the core tenets and moral structure of the Superman character. I do understand these points of view and I agree with them to a point, but I also find fault with them.
First and foremost, this is a movie, specifically the first in what I can only assume is a trilogy.
Second, this is a mythological story, an origin story, and a standard hero's journey kind of thing. Clark/Kal-El/Superman is beginning this journey and discovering who he is and where his moral center is, but he has not yet found it.
Finally, he's dealing with a man who is essentially a religious zealot who will never change his views.
This movie, good, bad or indifferent, is a modern myth for our current times. And that is not a bad thing. Our legends, myths and gods need to change and adapt to current times and themes and I truly believe that this is what Snyder, Goyer and Nolan have done. And in a very good way. I am extremely interested to see where they take this character and his mythology in the next films.
Superman's moral center:
A very large number of people have been very vocal about the amount of violence, destruction and innocent deaths portrayed in this film. And they have been very insistent that Superman would do everything in his power to keep innocents from dying. And I do agree with the second statement, with the following caveat: Superman has to come to that personal moral code somehow. He wasn't just born with it, and one's parents, no matter how good and well meaning, can only instill those kind of values to a point. After that a person has to rely on his or her own experiences to create their own moral center.
It seems to me that in trying to protect his adopted home from those who can only be viewed as terrorists from his birth planet, (which really is the first time he is publicly out in the world as Superman) he IS very single minded. And many, many innocent people die as a result. Along with the fact that he breaks the one supreme code that is traditionally at the very core of his character in dealing with Zod, are the things that will ultimately bring him around to the moral center that truly is at the core of his very being. He might not have gotten there otherwise.
I think that judgement needs to be reserved until we see the rest of this story.
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Location:Cleland Ave,Los Angeles,United States

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