I recently rewatched Man of Steel after a long time. Not only is this a good Superman film, but it’s also a good sci-fi action film in general. I would give it a 7.5 out of 10 which is more or less how the general audience rated the movie (Imdb:7.1, RT: 75%, Metacritic 7.4) . I'll briefly list some things I liked and disliked and then address some common criticisms levelled at this movie.
Pros:
-The opening sequence with Jor-El and General Zod in Krypton is great. A lot of great worldbuilding and characterization in a relatively short period of time. The best depiction of Krypton ever put on film
-The social, political and existential implications of Superman's existence are taken seriously. It's a refreshing angle that hasn't been explored in live-action before.
-Costumes are excellent. I especially like the battle armor Jor-El wears during his fight with Zod.
-Action is top-notch. Filming convincing fight scenes involving characters with superhuman powers is a difficult task both in terms of choreography and VFX. Man of Steel does a great job in this regard.
-Soundtracks Hans Zimmer composed for the movie are excellent.
Cons:
-Jonathan Kent's death scene is my only major gripe with this movie. Having Superman's father sacrifice himself to protect his son's secret identity is an interesting and bold idea but the execution is simply horrendous.
Why the critics are wrong:
Man of Steel has a 56% critic score on RT and 55% critic score on Metacritic. How do critics justify giving this movie such low ratings?
1.) The final battle between Superman and Zod causes too much damage to the city. Superman seems to be acting as if he doesn’t care about civilian casualties.
This assumes that Superman is in a position to dictate the terms of the fight. He isn't. General Zod is just as strong as Superman and he's also much more experienced in combat. He wouldn't let Superman take the battle to some unpopulated area. This is clearly shown in the movie. At one point during their fight, Superman and Zod go to outer space but Zod quickly pushes Superman down to Earth.
2.) Superman kills General Zod by snapping his neck. This seems to go against the character's rule against killing.
What was he supposed to do? There was no way of imprisoning him because all Kryptonian ships capable of traveling to the Phantom Zone were destroyed and Zod's stated goal was to kill Superman and then all of humanity.
3.) Jonathan Kent is mischaracterized in the movie. In one scene, he advises Young Clark that letting a bus full of kids die might be better than revealing his secret.
There is more nuance to this scene. Clark asks: "What was I supposed to do? Just let them die?" and Jonathan looks away and after a pause he whispers "maybe". His body language and tone of voice clearly indicates that he's conflicted about the situation: On the one hand he's glad that the children are alive and safe and on the other hand he thinks of all the things that could have happened to his son if his identity were to be exposed. I admit the scene is a bit awkward but the broader context makes it better.
You can watch the whole scene here and make up your own mind:
View: https://youtu.be/tEfoNXQDWBs?si=D_N6Jn08L9SH1FT-
4.)The way Jonathan Kent dies in the movie is ridiculous and breaks the immersion.
This is the only major criticism of the movie that I fully agree with. What makes this scene worse is that it can easily be fixed with some minor changes but Snyder chose to leave it as it is.
View: https://youtu.be/WK-kQou1ecM?si=NIZf-0aqboxuAUK2
All you have to do to fix this scene is:
1.)Show Jonathan Kent trying to save a child instead of a dog. This will make him risking his life seem more reasonable and will create a greater emotional impact.
2.)Show news reporters and helicopters in the area so that the audience knows that the world is watching this event and that there's a real danger of Superman's identity being exposed.
Still, I don't think this scene ruins the whole movie or justifies a 55-56% rating.
Pros:
-The opening sequence with Jor-El and General Zod in Krypton is great. A lot of great worldbuilding and characterization in a relatively short period of time. The best depiction of Krypton ever put on film
-The social, political and existential implications of Superman's existence are taken seriously. It's a refreshing angle that hasn't been explored in live-action before.
-Costumes are excellent. I especially like the battle armor Jor-El wears during his fight with Zod.
-Action is top-notch. Filming convincing fight scenes involving characters with superhuman powers is a difficult task both in terms of choreography and VFX. Man of Steel does a great job in this regard.
-Soundtracks Hans Zimmer composed for the movie are excellent.
Cons:
-Jonathan Kent's death scene is my only major gripe with this movie. Having Superman's father sacrifice himself to protect his son's secret identity is an interesting and bold idea but the execution is simply horrendous.
Why the critics are wrong:
Man of Steel has a 56% critic score on RT and 55% critic score on Metacritic. How do critics justify giving this movie such low ratings?
1.) The final battle between Superman and Zod causes too much damage to the city. Superman seems to be acting as if he doesn’t care about civilian casualties.
This assumes that Superman is in a position to dictate the terms of the fight. He isn't. General Zod is just as strong as Superman and he's also much more experienced in combat. He wouldn't let Superman take the battle to some unpopulated area. This is clearly shown in the movie. At one point during their fight, Superman and Zod go to outer space but Zod quickly pushes Superman down to Earth.
2.) Superman kills General Zod by snapping his neck. This seems to go against the character's rule against killing.
What was he supposed to do? There was no way of imprisoning him because all Kryptonian ships capable of traveling to the Phantom Zone were destroyed and Zod's stated goal was to kill Superman and then all of humanity.
3.) Jonathan Kent is mischaracterized in the movie. In one scene, he advises Young Clark that letting a bus full of kids die might be better than revealing his secret.
There is more nuance to this scene. Clark asks: "What was I supposed to do? Just let them die?" and Jonathan looks away and after a pause he whispers "maybe". His body language and tone of voice clearly indicates that he's conflicted about the situation: On the one hand he's glad that the children are alive and safe and on the other hand he thinks of all the things that could have happened to his son if his identity were to be exposed. I admit the scene is a bit awkward but the broader context makes it better.
You can watch the whole scene here and make up your own mind:
View: https://youtu.be/tEfoNXQDWBs?si=D_N6Jn08L9SH1FT-
4.)The way Jonathan Kent dies in the movie is ridiculous and breaks the immersion.
This is the only major criticism of the movie that I fully agree with. What makes this scene worse is that it can easily be fixed with some minor changes but Snyder chose to leave it as it is.
View: https://youtu.be/WK-kQou1ecM?si=NIZf-0aqboxuAUK2
All you have to do to fix this scene is:
1.)Show Jonathan Kent trying to save a child instead of a dog. This will make him risking his life seem more reasonable and will create a greater emotional impact.
2.)Show news reporters and helicopters in the area so that the audience knows that the world is watching this event and that there's a real danger of Superman's identity being exposed.
Still, I don't think this scene ruins the whole movie or justifies a 55-56% rating.
