Man of Steel | 10 Year Anniversary Review
“The Flash” movie marks the official end of the DCEU and serves as the catalyst to jump-start the DCU like the Flashpoint comic run did for the New52. Today, I want to talk about the film that kickstarted the DCEU. In celebration of its 10th anniversary, let's revisit 2013’s “Man of Steel.”
"Man of Steel" is a cinematic masterpiece that boasts a remarkable script, captivating characters, breathtaking visuals, an amazing score by Hans Zimmer and truly took Superman in a completely different direction than no other live-action film had done before.
Zack Snyder chose to bring Kal-El into the real world and experimented with how humanity would react to a god-like being from another planet that could destroy Earth with a glance and gave us a glimpse into his childhood so that audiences could see how difficult life was for him when his powers first developed.
Some people would fear him, some people would see him as the second coming, while others would seek to control him for their own personal interests.
Henry Cavill was the perfect choice to play this version of Superman and his performance under Zack’s direction gave me an appreciation for the character that I never had before.
Growing up I never really found Superman to be an intriguing superhero. I always saw him as the hero that could do anything, he was just the hero you called when no one else could beat the big bad but after “Man of Steel” I started to understand what made Superman special and why he’s so beloved by the world.
I also thought that Michael Shannon was perfectly cast as General Zod. He was a flawed, multi-layered character and in his own twisted way, was only doing what he thought was right to preserve and advance the Kryptonian race.
Throughout history, the human race has colonized different parts of the world, claiming new territories. Zod’s mission is essentially the same.
Zack Snyder puts Clark into an impossible position, forcing him to choose between his Kryptonian family and the people of Earth. Just like his father Johnathan Kent, Clark makes the best decision he can, ending Zod's life to prevent more innocent deaths.
For a long time, I couldn’t understand Zack’s choice to kill Johnathan Kent in the way that he did, but over the years I’ve grown to understand and truly appreciate what he was trying to accomplish.
Life is just a series of moments and choices and in that moment, Johnathan Kent made a decision to sacrifice himself to keep Clark’s secret. In his mind if anyone found out about Clark that he could become a government experiment spending the rest of his life being dissected over and over again for a country’s personal gain or try to turn his son into a weapon. Could Clark have saved him before anyone could notice…maybe, but Johnathan Kent couldn’t take that chance to choose his son’s life and freedom over his own.
While we’re on the topic of divisive moments from the film, I want to talk about the third-act fight between Superman and General Zod.
Many people had concerns about the extensive damage to Metropolis and the significant loss of human life during the battle. While I sympathize with those who find it distressing, I think we have to acknowledge that this was an accurate depiction of what it be like for these god-like beings to fight in the middle of a city.
Superman had never fought anyone on that level before and Zod was literally created to be the ultimate warrior and I don’t see a realistic scenario where Superman could’ve gotten Zod away from the city.
Speaking of the third-act battle, the film is filled with incredible fight sequences and I loved how Zack Snyder and his team depicted Kryptonian powers, especially their super speed. One of my favorite scenes is when Faora-Ul, portrayed by Antje Traue, fights against the soldiers towards the end second act. It was intense, brutal, flawlessly executed, and will forever be one of my favorite moments in a comic book movie.
Overall, I think “Man of Steel” is a timeless masterpiece of the comic book genre and gave us a Superman movie like no other and I can’t wait to see what James Gunn does with his take on Superman in ‘Superman: Legacy”.