by Andy Bartsch

So...I'm new to this whole GGR thing so let me give you some background: I am a huge, HUGE Superman fan. The character has meant so much to me since I was a child. I've always read the comics, watched the TV shows and enjoyed the film series (yes, even the bad ones). You can imagine how difficult it can be a Superman fan in world where Batman has been called the best superhero of all time. In 2006, Superman fans were "treated" with Superman Returns, a film where Superman is a creepy stalker, a whiny emo teenager and a baby-daddy. It wasn't entirely bad, but it left a bad taste in a lot of peoples mouths. Needless to say, after a long period of time were the Superman film franchise seemed to be in limbo, I was very happy to hear the Man of Steel was returning to the big screen. I got a chance to see the movie when it came out but Mike liked my review I wrote so much, he wanted to include it on GGR!

Andy: OK, this movie is almost 2 years old. Do you think people will mind reading my review so after the fact?Frank: Andy, we got these things I do called AAR's. You'll be fine as long as you don't like "Twilight."Andy: I love "Twilight."Frank: Get … — Andy: OK, this movie is almost 2 years old. Do you think people will mind reading my review so after the fact?
Frank: Andy, we got these things I do called AAR's. You'll be fine as long as you don't like "Twilight."
Andy: I love "Twilight."
Frank: Get out.

Now the Last Son of Krypton has a modern reboot with a very talented cast, high production value, and filmmakers who have "300" and "The Dark Knight Trilogy" on their resumes. Two years in the making, and not only were Superman fans excited, not only were comic book fans excited, but the general public seemed to care about Superman once again. I jumped at the chance to get advanced screening tickets for me and two and my friends, both of whom were comic book fans as well. I even paid extra to watch the 3-D version, because I figure the Man of Steel deserves it. Thursday, June 13, 2013, 7:00 pm. We find seats in a crowded theater about 10-12 rows away from the screen. I try to ignore the two children in the far back of the theater's constant yammering. I really have to pee. But the film begins. The theater goes quiet with the exception of the children in the back. My heart is pounding. The film is at the one hour and fifteen minute mark... and I feel empty... Something is wrong... Not only is the 3-D not working (I find out later it was post-converted), but I'm not rooting for Superman. At the end of the climactic fight with Superman and General Zod, my heart is broken. The movie is over, I walk out, my friends and I talk about what we LIKED about the movie. They seemed to enjoy it a lot more than I did. I run into a friend of mine, who asks me what I thought. Unsure what to say, I tell him, "Well, it's the best (theatrical) Superman movie in 35 years."

"OK, the movie wasn't perfect. You don't have to arrest me!"

So what went wrong? Well, it could be my hopes were set so high going in, it couldn't possibly live up to expectations. Maybe it was the bad 3-D and the children squawking at every quiet moment in the film. Maybe it was the missing red underpants? The truth is, for one thing, what Superman and what he means to me can't possibly be captured on film. I can't even put it into words.

That aside, the film isn't unwatchable. I'll talk about the pros first. It does a great job setting up Superman's loneliness and confusion as an alien growing up on another planet and hiding among them. Good idea, and they execute it very well. As I said, the film is cast great (with the exception of Kevin Costner who does his usual emotionless delivery). They do a good job explaining how his powers work (for the most part) and how he learns to use them as he grows up. The music is great, but there are some problems, and here's where I'll start talking about the cons. Hans Zimmer, who did the music for the Dark Knight Trilogy as well, did the music for this film as well, and does a great job. However, the main theme seems very epic, but doesn't hold a candle to the John Williams theme. The design of Krypton is very odd. , but unique. But once Russel Crowe uses his mode of transportation, it begins to look a bit silly (if you saw the film, you know what I mean)

For a fairly simple plot, it tends to get over-complicated and hard to follow at times. Several times in the movie, the "science" behind everything tends to be over-explained or ignored. The writing, I'm sorry to say, it lacking. Which is sad, seeing as how it was written by David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan, the DIRECTOR OF THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY! There was so much they could have done with this movie and what they did do, they did wrong. Best example is how Superman came to be. Once Clark puts the Superman suit on, with no buildup nor hype to it (seriously, the suit shows up behind him and 5 seconds later, he's wearing it, a full head-to-toe shot), we spend a few minutes with him learning how to fly. He doesn't save anyone as Superman, there's no buildup to finally seeing him in the costume, or how he introduces himself to the world. It's all very downplayed. At the moment when he DOES go public, it's not by saving anyone, with hints of his appearance soon to be a dramatic unveiling to the world. What DOES happen is this: General Zod tells the world via television, cell phone, internet, etc. that an alien has been hiding on that planet, and commands him to make himself known. The next scene, Superman, in full costume, is hovering in the middle of an open desert, armed soldiers driving up to him. No comments are made. "Is he flying?" "What's he wearing?" Nothing. So underplayed. Another problem is the villain. Superman has a fairly large and interesting rogue's gallery. So why they use a villain movie goers have already seen, is beyond me. They could have had the same essential plot with a handful of other villains, best would be Brainiac.

"Me make awful villain for movie! DON'T CAST BIZARRO!"

Finally we come to the action. Although the action scenes have upped the ante this time around, they went way overboard. Unfortunately, the camera is too close and shaky to capture the fight scenes, and when it does, the characters move so fast (which I understand, they can do that) it becomes hard to follow.

Then we get to the climax: the moment I knew something was wrong. I won't reveal what happens, but let's say, there are moments where the characters act OUT of character in fiction all the time, but this should NEVER HAVE F***ING HAPPENED!!! Some could argue that said moment was inevitable, but logic proves otherwise. The film sets itself up for sequels, which we will most likely get. For the most part, the Superman status quo is as it should be, and it actually does leave us wanting more. I know I harped on how much I disliked the movie but to be honest, I can see why some people would like it. And, personally, I'm glad people are talking about Superman again. However, personally, I think both Superman and his fans, deserve better. I hope they fix some of these mis-steps in Batman vs Superman.