Could not think of a less controversial topic for the first episode of Pop Culture Cinema than 2013’s Man of Steel. As I get into the episode that you may (or may not) listen to, I wanted to set one thing straight: this is my favorite. I know that isn’t universally shared among the Snyder Bros much less the general public at large. I feel the next two in the trilogy get better opinions because they have Batman in them. For most people, Batman is the reason the DC Universe exists. Which is not true.
The biggest reason for my opinion is simply due to the fact that it’s a solid movie. A unique concept to the super hero genre, and it is one of the few that doesn’t require a “ultimate” edition to make sense. The movie moved quickly through the plot to the lead up to the show down with Zod. Keep in mind, I had not seen this in a long while.
With that being said, Watchman is the only Snyder movie I rewatch. I’ll explain why the second and third installments are a shit show in the next episodes. There is still a unbelievable concept that when a Superman movie begins, it has to either be Zod or Lex Luthor as the villain.
Even the “loose” sequel from 2008, Superman Returns, had to deal with the same silly plot from the 1978 film. He has such a rogue’s gallery, they couldn’t find anyone that would be interesting on screen? Let’s be real here.
Now don’t get me wrong, I like Zod. Primarily in this film. He was created to protect Krypton. Getting the codex was his mission for making sure Krypton lives. Michael Shannen sold it. He wasn’t a villain for the sake of being a villain. Unlike film versions of Lex.
Shownotes for “Man of Steel”
Articles:
DC Comics starts a new film era with Green Lantern, Geoff Johns and Diane Nelson (The Los Angeles Times)
Man of Steel (Wikipedia)
Man of Steel was designed to bring people into a larger DC Cinematic Universe. At this point, it was already five years behind Marvel. They were so obsessed with not wanting to copy Marvel, they lost the thread. Then decided that they could rush the universe into a Justice League movie in two films, while Marvel spent four years leading up to it.
Again, I enjoyed this movie the most out of the trilogy. However, it wasn’t a Superman movie. It was a different take of the character but didn’t live up to the icon imagery. Zack Snyder took Superman and turned him into a brooding, borderline selfish guy. A guy that wondered if humanity is worth saving. Dwelling on the paranoia of his father.
Man of Steel is the most complete and best movie of that series. The remaining films seemed to get lost in its own mythos. It started to focus on style over substance. Pitting a young Superman against an aged and bitter Batman. It ran on the idea of the third film is Justice League, so cram through Batman v Superman.
In all honestly, that could’ve been done. It could’ve been done well. Maybe if they had a writer and director that worried more about moving the story along rather than giving us minutes long MTV, slow-motion walking scenes. Say what you want about JJ Abrams and his lens flares. But they never extended the runtime of his films.