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Man of Steel |OT| It's about action.

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
I didn't realize Vudu got in bed with Ultraviolet. That makes it somewhat useful now.

Yea, it was garbage till Vudu got linked with them. Now the movies look amazing streaming/or downloaded. I don't think all movies though work in Vudu yet, but I believe all new ones do.
 
Why would anyone come at you? Everyone by now has noticed your obsession with Donner's world /Singer. It's not shocking you would type that up. It's pointless to come at you.

Okay-meme_reasonably_small-1-.jpg
 

JB1981

Member
The Vudu disc to digital beta program is pretty awesome as well. I convert my blu-rays that are UV compliant thru my BD drive on my PC and get the vudu stream for $2
 

kunonabi

Member
Defending others regardless of the personal cost.

There's the ideal you claim doesn't exist.

He does it as a kid, against his father's wishes. He does it as an adult. And once he finds inspiration and necessity, he decides he can do it publicly.

If that were true he wouldn't have let his father die right in front of him.
 
Well it's mostly perceived personal cost and a bit of bullying. Nothing terrible consequential. I am not sure Kal finds much inspiration for "coming out" .... mostly he is forced into it by an outside threat.

Coming out or not, he chose the risks (and isolation) so that he could keep helping people.

Rather than that being some big tragedy like his uncle dying, he adopts is inherently (and against his father's wishes). The movie doesn't make that choice difficult-- it makes the consequences (imagined or real) the question.

Superman's heroism is not some huge choice he has to make, but that doesn't make it any less heroic. You said "there is no moral ideal or heroism." There is both.

Moral ideal-- helping people regardless of the personal cost

Heroism-- allowing himself to be handed to Zod, fighting the world engine despite knowing it would make him vulnerable, and the heroism shown on the part of Hamilton and Brady.

Neither of those are a dramatic turn, that's the coming out part. Which is a secondary moral, to trust people.

Again, these don't boil down to a catch phrase, but they're the bedrock of the movie. It's disappointing to me that people don't get this since it isn't spelled out and spoken through a mouthpiece character so the audience doesn't have to think at all. The themes in this movie are more complex than 95% of superhero movies, but that equates to "mess" by people who checked their brain at the door. And then they complain that the film is "all action."
 
If that were true he wouldn't have let his father die right in front of him.

You can tell it's tearing him up, and he only *doesn't* save him because Jonathan waves him off. he was about to blow his secret in front of all those people.

And, in hindsight it's a bad decision by Jonathan. Unfortunately, the film never gets to check back in on this or have Clark show any remorse for letting Jonathan's fear guide him.
 

Mario007

Member
That's one of the downfalls of taking the direction they have with batman and now superman. You basically lose out on the younger market which can hurt you at the box office.

I remember around the launch of TDKR on the radio they even had a specific segment asking if you would take your kids to see it. Most said they wouldn't but they all would for the avengers.

It doesn't seem to be stopping these movies at Box Office though. I've seen plenty of kids going to see MoS. Marvel's only big movies are The Avengers and Ironman 3. I think IM3 is bigger than Rises but smaller than TDK and Avengers towers over everyone. Man of Steel is bigger than Ironman, Ironman 2, Thor, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk. And it still isn't finished its run.
 
Again, these don't boil down to a catch phrase, but they're the bedrock of the movie. It's disappointing to me that people don't get this since it isn't spelled out and spoken through a mouthpiece character so the audience doesn't have to think at all. The themes in this movie are more complex than 95% of superhero movies, but that equates to "mess" by people who checked their brain at the door. And then they complain that the film is "all action."

Well said. This is a good explanation of the film's shitty RT %, while it's actually quite good.
 
It doesn't seem to be stopping these movies at Box Office though. I've seen plenty of kids going to see MoS. Marvel's only big movies are The Avengers and Ironman 3. I think IM3 is bigger than Rises but smaller than TDK and Avengers towers over everyone. Man of Steel is bigger than Ironman, Ironman 2, Thor, Captain America and the Incredible Hulk. And it still isn't finished its run.

Bomba!

I took my son to see Man of Steel. He's 8. I wouldn't have, btu he saw Avengers (at day camp last year) without my prior knowledge, and he was OK with that, so I didn't see any reason for him not to see this.

He enjoyed it a lot.
 

kehs

Banned
Those jackets would be better looking if the zipper went through the emblem. They look like costumes otherwise.


When I saw the forearms on the suit in the movie my first thought was "that would be awesome on a jacket".
 

JB1981

Member
Again, these don't boil down to a catch phrase, but they're the bedrock of the movie. It's disappointing to me that people don't get this since it isn't spelled out and spoken through a mouthpiece character so the audience doesn't have to think at all. The themes in this movie are more complex than 95% of superhero movies, but that equates to "mess" by people who checked their brain at the door. And then they complain that the film is "all action."

The themes in this movie would be more intriguing if the movie had the balls to do those themes justice. Goyer keeps saying that this is a First Contact movie. The movie hints at this and goes absolutely nowhere with it. Kal's coming out does nothing to change the world. We don't see how his existence changes society, culture or belief systems. When the world received that radio address from Zod we should have seen how this affected the world. This is a pretty BIG DEAL. We just received a television address from an extraterrestrial being. This should have had some importance. But we don't see that. All we see is some silly interview on CNN with the blogger Lois leaked info to. The movie has pretentions of thematic complexity and that's it.
 

JB1981

Member
So now the complaint isn't that it doesn't have heroism or an ideal is instead that it isn't complex enough? Ok, proceed!

There's nothing contradictory about the criticism. Now you are just not arguing in good faith. You can have all these things. You can have a character who embodies a clear sense of morality, displays heroism, AND explore how this character's existence impacts the world around him. You know, kind of like a movie called The Dark Knight.
 

Mario007

Member
Bomba!

I took my son to see Man of Steel. He's 8. I wouldn't have, btu he saw Avengers (at day camp last year) without my prior knowledge, and he was OK with that, so I didn't see any reason for him not to see this.

He enjoyed it a lot.
Actually forgot to add it's bigger than Batman Begins too. So yeah total bomba.
 
There's nothing contradictory about the criticism. Now you are just not arguing in good faith. You can have all these things. You can have a character the embodies a clear sense of morality, displays heroism, AND explore how this character's existence impacts the world around him. You know, kind of like a movie called The Dark Knight.

You argued that the movie had no moral ideals or heroism. And I pointed out that it did, actually, and quite a bit. And now you are skipping over to some other criticism.

Who's not arguing in good faith?

Could the movie have dealt with First Contact issues more? Sure. But given the amount of stuff already in the movie, I'm not sure that would have made it better. It probably would have made it less personal and about Clark. I don't think that would appeal as much.
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
For the love of all things Superman sigh this just annoys the shit out of me.

"Henry Cavill vs Brandon Routh: Who Was The Better Superman?"
http://whatculture.com/film/henry-cavill-vs-brandon-routh-who-was-the-better-superman.php/3

"Who Wore The Suit The Best?"

"Routh’s "UGLY ASS" suit was fashioned from the Dick Donner era and was taken as a homage to the original film. We believed he was the Superman we all remembered, but we never really had a chance to see him prove his worth. And although Cavill had the fitting back story with his suit, Routh had the briefs, he had the kiss curl, and he even looked similar to Reeve – for those elements, he takes the trophy."
Winner – Brandon Routh


Who's we? Never once did I feel I was watching the Reeve Superman from the Donner films.

So Routh wore the suit best cause of the briefs, S curl and looking somewhat like Reeve.

smh
 

MYE

Member
The only issue I had with Returns suit was the small chest S-shield. Loved the colors.
MoS's suit was cool too. Very elegant. I loved the long cape
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
The only issue I had with Returns suit was the small chest S-shield. Loved the colors.
MoS's suit was cool too. Very elegant. I loved the long cape

You had an issue with the small shield, but not with the Returns cape? Routh has a fruit roll up on his back.
 

MYE

Member
You had an issue with the small shield, but not with the Returns cape? Routh has a fruit roll up on his back.

I prefer MoS's longer cape, but I didnt have a problem with the shorter Returns one.
Didnt even think about it back then.
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
I prefer MoS's longer cape, but I didnt have a problem with the shorter Returns one.
Didnt even think about it back then.

It's not even the length. It's the material it's made out of.

superman%2Breturns%2Bcape.jpg


Disgusting.

I like Routh, I really do (feel bad he had to wear this). Prefer Cavill by a mile though, but the damn suit... I'm sorry. Even if I loved Returns, I would think this is awful.

Superman%2BReturns%2B2006%2Bcostume.jpg
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
You guys are still talking about this movie?

I'd say 90% of it is the haters. Most people, including myself who love or liked it have stopped posting.
 

MYE

Member
Colorful suits always look tacky as hell in regular lighting or amateur fotos. It looked fine to me in the movie. It looked leathery, like the boots

005.jpg
 

Matrix

LeBron loves his girlfriend. There is no other woman in the world he’d rather have. The problem is, Dwyane’s not a woman.
I'll just forever see the Evil Supes suit from Superman 3 cause of the way Singer shot it. All those folds in the cape cause of the material :\
 

Zabka

Member
It's impressive how Returns took the colorful, dynamic cover of Action Comics #1 and sucked all of the life out of it.
 
Actually I think the haters have dropped off (or I am better at ignoring them) meaning there's a little more actual movie discussion rather than a debate with people who didn't like it.
 

artist

Banned
Again, these don't boil down to a catch phrase, but they're the bedrock of the movie. It's disappointing to me that people don't get this since it isn't spelled out and spoken through a mouthpiece character so the audience doesn't have to think at all. The themes in this movie are more complex than 95% of superhero movies, but that equates to "mess" by people who checked their brain at the door. And then they complain that the film is "all action."
iGXl2gil6RWxH.gif


I found my brah.
 

Cooter

Lacks the power of instantaneous movement
Is that kind of like how Zack Snyder thought it was a good idea that Superman had to kill someone to learn that he doesn't want to kill anyone? I'm pretty sure I don't need to kill someone to know that I don't ever want to kill anyone. That was IDIOTIC. Should have listened to Nolan and sent Zod back to the Phantom Zone. In fact, I wish Nolan directed this movie.

I don't understand people that have an issue with the killing of Zod. The guy flat out told Superman that he was going to kill every one of his precious humans one by one. Also, it's not like Zod is some helpless human. He has all the powers of SM and quite possibly would have became even more powerful with more time. I thought it was a power and moving scene. To each their own I guess.
 

Dead

well not really...yet
Is that kind of like how Zack Snyder thought it was a good idea that Superman had to kill someone to learn that he doesn't want to kill anyone? I'm pretty sure I don't need to kill someone to know that I don't ever want to kill anyone. That was IDIOTIC. Should have listened to Nolan and sent Zod back to the Phantom Zone. In fact, I wish Nolan directed this movie.
Obviously it's no shit that you don't kill people in real life

But when you're someone who is (or will be) repeatedly fighting monsters, super villains, psychos, aliens, etc, etc, eventually there comes a point where you will ask yourself why doesn't this person just kill (insert villain here). It's like, after so much death and destruction how can you not end it all by simply killing this guy.

There has to be a convincing reason as to why one will not resort to killing a super villain to finish him once and for all, and Superman's encounter with Zod in MoS, imo, is a convincing reason for why this Superman will in the future try his hardest to never again resort to killing, as he now understands the burden of such an action.
 

Cake Boss

Banned
Just watched it, the movie could have been so much better, so much potential. But like every other Snyder's movies, it was more of style over substance, still an enjoyable movie. Just average.
 
I just came back from watching this film. I liked it. It wasn't the Richard Donnor film that I grew up with, but then it was never trying to be that anyway. It may not have been perfect, but I think it set the tone for what Superman Returns should have been. Returns should have been a reboot. Instead, we got a love letter by Bryan Singer to Donnor. Singer should have known better. Routh didn't have the charisma to match Christopher Reeve's. My immediate thought was upon seeing him try to act was "That's not Christopher Reeve."

Even with MOS's flaws, it's set up a more stable foundation to work from than Superman Returns did. If I had to make a comparison, I would compare MOS with the first X-Men film: it wasn't Batman Begins spectacular, but it was a satisfying dress rehearsal for what can be done in the future.
 

artist

Banned
You had an issue with the small shield, but not with the Returns cape? Routh has a fruit roll up on his back.
I think the most badass shot of the cape in MoS
is the rotating shot of Supes with the army behind him waiting for Zod's ship.

I almost said Damn! out loud.
 

JB1981

Member
I usually can't stand Devin but this write-up on Man of Steel is insightful.

http://badassdigest.com/2013/06/15/why-the-destruction-in-man-of-steel-matters/


I’m going to go out on a limb here and say that the destruction during the Metropolis fight - and the continued presence of civilians, who had to be CGIed in to sequences so they’re certainly not there accidentally - comes from Christopher Nolan, who wrote the story with David Goyer. The huge scale of devastation and the sense that the hero is just as much of a menace to the city as the villain are hallmarks of Nolan’s Batman films. But where that sort of cynical mistrust of the hero fit in The Dark Knight, it’s stunningly out of place in a Superman movie. It also demands that the script rob Superman of his best qualities, as well as take away one of his greatest vulnerabilities.

In superhero comics the heroes often do not go as hard as the villains. They can’t, because they don’t want to hurt innocents. Villains have historically understood this, and so they use innocents as shields or distractions. This is an old trope, but an effective one. It starkly illustrates the difference between the good and the bad guy and it allows the good guy’s idealism to be expressed through action. Many comic book battles end with the hero allowing the baddie to go free so he can rescue a civilian in grave danger.

In fact it’s the dilemma - rescuing innocents versus stopping the baddie - that is the final moral choice Superman makes in Man of Steel. It’s a great moment, a truly hard decision that clearly impacts him immensely. Unfortunately it’s a hollow decision because Superman just saved four people after letting hundreds of thousands die.



It would have been as easy as having Superman save ONE baby in a stroller to show his concern. That’s all that was needed. Hell, instead of having Perry White standing around the rubble have him aiding in the evacuation of the city so that we can understand the city has been evacuated. The movie instead goes out of its way to have Superman speed at Zod alongside a (likely populated) building and punch him so hard the sonic wave collapses that building. It’s an awesome moment, a stupendous illustration of the power of these two, but it’s also so absolutely tone-deaf in terms of how Superman should be handling this fight.

Some people online have been wondering why the ending of The Avengers didn’t result in the same complaints. There are a couple of reasons, the biggest one being that the destruction in The Avengers is tiny compared to that in Man of Steel. The entire battle in The Avengers is kept in a few city blocks. In Man of Steel Superman punches Zod away from the destroyed section of the city to go fight him in populated areas.

What’s more, the best parts of the final fight in The Avengers deal with saving civilians. Captain America creates a battle plan intended to contain the chaos, and then he has a great, wonderful moment where he convinces jaded New York City cops to help evacuate people. Then he rescues civilians from the Chitauri. And then Iron Man, not as much of a protector hero as Superman, sacrifices (he thinks) his life to save New York City from being nuked. Finally, the film has a sequence where the aftermath of the battle - including a wall of pictures of the missing civilians - is revealed.

The two fights aren’t comparable because The Avengers did it right.
 
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