Man Of Steel: A rant of a review *Spoilers

*Please excuse all grammar and spelling errors. I typed this pretty fast and didn't go back and check thoroughly... Sorry! :)

So today, I decided it would be worthy of my time to go and watch Man of Steel as I am currently running a new found love for Superman. I've gone from watching Smallville(the CW TV show), Superman(1978), Superman 2 (1980), and Superman Returns(2006) in a matter of one week. That is a lot of television ambition right there. So much of my life wasted for a sudden fascination with the Superman character. Overall, this movie was pretty good. The special effects were amazing and the story line was plotted out was great. The fact that Clark's back story was told not in consecutive order immediately fascinated me and kept me very entertained. The only thing about it was that it just simply wasn't deep enough to let me call this movie wonderful.

Let me first remark upon the creation and birth of this Superman movie. This Clark just seemed to accept his destiny is saving the world and being a hero. In the scene with the priest/pastor he said he felt he was compelled to have faith in the human good.  Where is the back story to this? In the flashbacks to his past and childhood one can see that he was a very tormented soul: friendless and alone. Other than the guidance and the words of wisdom he received from his fathers(both Jonathan and Jor-el), we can see no other reason for him to have such faith in human nature for he has only seen the ugly in how his peers treat him.  Perhaps there is more to his back story but it is simply not portrayed in the movie.  This portrayal of Superman was simply more human: more flawed and not glass perfect.  There were more quirks and untiable loose ends in the plot. The acting, however, was pretty good. I really enjoyed watching the dramatics and the whole shabang. 

I must also touch on the subject of Lois and Clark's relationship in this movie. I just simply did not see a  relationship being formed. It felt almost twilightesc with its "I see you. You intrigue me. Bam its destiny" moments between Lois and Clark.

 A. Lois follows Clark into a cave.

B. Clark saves her.

C. Lois is intrigued and begins tracking/stalking Clark.

D. Lois and Clark just suddenly become entwined in the whole center of this mess.

Was there really a reason for Lois to be called upon the ship? Maybe I wasn't watching carefully enough but I couldn't seem to pinpoint a reason. Their relationship seemed to be another destiny thing set in the plot. They just had to end up together, no questions to be asked. This part just made the plot cheesy. Oh, and one more thing. That screaming by Lois.  The character of Lois is described to be a headstrong, feisty, never giving up reporter. The portrayal of her in The Man of Steel did not scream this to me. All I felt was the "Bella" female image. Snooping where she shouldn't be snooping and waiting for Superman to save her. If Lois was to truly be the character of Lois then the moment when she was screaming in that burning pod falling from space, she would have been trying her guts out to get out instead of screaming as she falls to her death. The fight in her character just never seemed to show. She gets thrown in the locked room by Faura and she just sits for a moment to catch her breath- no banging on the door, no cursing, no nothing. Not even the will to struggle. The portrayal of what Lois could have been never truly showed through. She went from being a strong character to an okay, mild-ish one: a damsel in distress.

Also, the destruction of Metropolis just didn't feel right. I just couldn't feel that if superman was indeed being superman he would let that many people and the city just fall and die like that. It felt off and unsettling. Maybe it is that I am supermaning this particular Superman: wanting to be such an ideal human perfection. I must admit this movie did make him seem more human in his inability to save everyone and everything but the amount of violence and unnecessary deaths kind of ruined the point. I feel like "Superman" would have been more mindful in his actions of saving the world as it is his compassion and his faith in the good that makes him what he is. I do understand that in the battle and when the towers/buildings were falling there was no way that Superman could have been at both destinations at the same time and I accept those destructions. It's just that his execution of how he saved the world that bothers me. The carelessness of slamming through all those buildings after Zod threatened his mother could have possibly endangered and killed a lot of people. Was that really a "superman" thing to do? This movie seems to make Superman just a regular man who was given super powers and a destiny instead of showcasing the glory of the soul that makes Superman super. This portrayal of Superman in Man of Steel (not to be condescending) showed not "Superman" but a simple man who was destined with power, glory, and magically, a trusting- faith in humanity heart. Man of Steel could have easily been adapted into any other hero movie, not necessarily Superman's story. It was good but it lost its portrayal of the purity and the greatness that makes Superman Superman.

All in all, I'm glad I watched Man of Steel. The whole picture of this movie was good and enjoyable for a relaxing, I-want-to-just-lay-back-and-enjoy-my-day mind relaxer. I know I didn't reflect much on the other characters and happenings but I simply don't feel obligated too. I only feel a sympathy for Zod and I can almost say he was my favorite character oddly enough.  He was portrayed with such a deep sense of faith and belief that his actions were really going to bring back/save Krypton. He also bad a back story and a stronger cause in his faith. If I compare the back story of Superman and Zod in Man of Steel, Zod's would win for being the stronger.  His character lingers with that Nero, Calupurnia, Hitler feel to it: desperation in the last moments of failure at glory's end. So, yes, Zod won it for me in this movie. Last thought and most importantly, there was no mention of Kryptonite and that killed me a little. 

I will now end with a statement of my favorite quote from the movie. As both the Colonel and Faura said "It is an honor to die a good death" and yes, yes it is.