Skip to main content

Man Of Steel

Man Of Steel

" I teach you the superman.  Man is something to be surpassed." 
1883

Friedrich Nietsche 1844-1900



We know the story of Superman right?  The infant from Krypton is sent to Earth, whereby he is looked after by two unassuming individuals who guide him along his quest to find himself as he approaches adulthood whilst acknowledging his extraordinary powers, all to save the world.  I can relate, it is the hero's quest and journey, and I have written about this before and totally understand the path that the hero takes to bring the 'Elixir' home!  The estimated budget was $225,000,000; a huge sum, but not unusual for this type of film.

Henry Cavill encapsulates the sensitivity and power mixed in one that Superman embodies; at times unsure of himself, his place on Earth, the power he has and the force that he can impose when he uses his strength for the good of mankind.  The action in the film is fast, lot's of it and I have to say that the cinematography and colour is quite astonishing.  There are some scenes that win me over, that capture an innocence in Kal El before the responsibility of what he stands for begin to play on his mind.  These scenes set the story, but as far as I'm concerned end the film perfectly well too, when we have a young Kal El, with a deep red cape, playing with his dog, near the clothes line as a young Superman.  

Man of Steel is all action, other than the flashbacks which are sedate and artistic.  It is all Hollywood, and for most of the film it does have the WOW factor, where all the fight scenes end in total destruction of the city scape.  Thanks to Terminator we see this constantly in films, no different here.  
Problem is, the WOW factor disappears during the last fight scene, the pivotal end, when Superman and General Zod fight, not only do these two destroy an entire city during their fight, but when it comes to killing General Zod, all Superman does is break his neck.

I was left disappointed, how can one destroy an entire city with the impact and power of their body, get into uncompromising positions, smash bridges, throw cars around, be thrown around, yet be killed by a snap of the neck, I would have thought the neck could have snapped with an awkward landing...Very weak, and if there is a WOW factor throughout an entire film,  the WOW should definitely be at the end too!  Hollywood owes the audience that at least-for in Superman, man must feel like they are surpassed, a neck snap is too cliche and easy!

Stella Dimadis 2013



Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future.

"Memories are the key not to the past, but to the future. "   Corrie Ten Boom Corrie Ten Boom was a Dutch watchmaker, who had helped many Jews escape during the Holocaust, was a prisoner and then a writer.  She held many memories, no doubt, fears; images that would stay forever and haunt her, but they were able to unlock a future for her that she would never have imagined.  Her writing and her boldness initiated her knighthood by the Queen of the Netherlands, The King's College in New York City named a new women's house in her honour, her book "The Hiding Place", was  made into a feature film, twice. Locked away in our computer hard drives are examples of our work and lives that we lock away when our computer sleeps, forgetting about their importance because we are always told to focus on the now, forgetting about our past.  Well, perhaps it is time that we also learn to love our past, regardless of what it was like, so that we can understand what our...
Post a Comment
Read more
 RENTAL FAMILY "Other things may change us, but we start and end with the family." -  Anthony Brandt . My days became one jumbled hour after hour where time disappeared into another year, until here we are, the 1st of January 2026.  Nothing much stirred me to put pen to paper, or fingers to keyboard, until this evening after  watching RENTAL FAMILY, starring Brendan Fraser.  Phillip Vanderploeg is a struggling actor who is selected to fill in for families as an individual with significance to the family member in need.  He is a writer, dad, mourner, not so much as a true story but reminiscent of Japanese companies serving the community by providing professional actors at events like funerals or weddings. Thereby formulating a whole new meaning to the responsibilities of a plus one. At its core, the film celebrates the connection of the human spirit; the inherent social need that humans have to socialising, being together, in all asp...
Post a Comment
Read more

The Art In Healing

  "Our creativity is what enables us to function, day to day, in a changing environment, without it we would not be a surviving species". Richard Hill ‘The Art In Healing’ explores the role that creativity and art  play in people’s lives, particularly when personal trauma occurs or when people are afflicted by natural disasters. The inspiration for the film came about by contemplating the questions; ‘Why is art such an important aspect to civilisation and our society’? and ‘Does the human brain benefit from interacting with art, and if so, how’? From these questions a number of people offered their experience and research, especially in describing brain plasticity and the ability of the brain to rewire after an artistic experience. ‘The Art In Healing’ showcases a number of professionals, ranging from art therapists Simona Weinstein and Cornelia Elbrecht, therapist Richard Hill, musicians, Merelyn and David Carter, artist, Dr Anne Riggs, street artist, Amanda Newman...
Post a Comment
Read more