Man of Steel

Combining the forces of Chris Nolan and Zack Snyder, whose legacies offer The Dark Knight franchise, Inception and 300, in a DC Comics superhero project seems an effortlessly legendary proposal. But what is delivered in Man of Steel, I am sorry to say, is often more bombastic than genius. The film is enjoyable, a peppering of sublime moments and ambitious action, restricted, however, from brilliance by a drawn out narrative, disappointing villain and reluctance of using humour in any form.

Try as hard as any heterosexual female may to be impartial but it is inevitable one Henry Cavill will have an impact on any review this hypothetical person might make.

Logistically speaking (of course) the actor is aesthetically perfect for Superman - it takes a limited stretch of the imagination to envisage his strong jaw, calm gaze and slight dimple in the chin (apparently a requirement for a budding S-Man) accompanied with the iconic blue and red skin-tight  (thank you wardrobe team) costume. Strutting across the screen with rippling biceps, a jaw-bone of a Grecian God, and what can only be described as bulging DD's, I haven't seen a man this ripped and this perfect. And apparently, neither has the camera, which eye-fucks him throughout.





But we have to remember Henry is also acting in the film, and he takes on the role of leading man with a strong, impassioned performance. As an evolution story, the focus is on Clark Kent's character arc throughout, but particularly in the most enjoyable first half of the film. Here flashbacks are used to create depth of his character as young Clark struggles to hide and control his godly powers. These sentimental moments, accompanied by adopted parents, played  in an understated, majestic manner by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, are beautifully poignant.




Gravity is added to the Superman fable; big, obvious questions like 'are we alone in the universe' are pondered where they, oddly, haven't really been discussed in the franchise. It also considers the 'science' of Superman, striving to explain why he is so super, although I'm sure Stephen Hawking wouldn't be convinced by Russell Crowe's mutterings about the Earth's atmosphere differing to Krypton. No matter, at least they tried, and its not like we weren't suspending any beliefs when we walked into the cinema to watch this.

There's glimpses of the captivating scale and cinematic escapism that permeates Snyder's earlier works. The monolithic alien robots, which penetrate the earth with some sort of sonic beam, blast out a surreal booming noise, a resounding orchestra of the soaring operatic scores of Hans Zimmer (who also worked on Nolan's Inception and Dark Knight series), just calling to be transferred into a dubstep remix. The learning-to-fly scene which tantalised in the trailers is a stand out sequence. Here Kal-El walks amongst a pristine ice landscape, crouches, the ground reverberates as though a force of pure energy has awakened, and, like a rocket, Superman launches into the clouds. Action throughout is dazzling, especially when we take to the clouds with the superhero, the camera follows videogame-style as he sucker-punches the bad guys. 



As you might expect, as was the way with Batman, Nolan and co. deconstruct any camp or lighthearted associations the audience may have with the Superhero. The S emblazoned on his costume, Clark Kent insists almost pedantically, is 'not an S' but a symbol of hope in Krypton. KBabes. The costume department have also gone to measures to darken the blues and reds, stripping as much as possible from the Comic-book vibe. And the red pants outside the tights have been dismissed. ("NOT THE RED PANTS" I hear nobody cry). This is a necessary deviation from the known which slices a new angle for the superhero, as Nolan did with the Batman franchise, and Burton before him. In many ways the focus on a somber, elevated experience for Man of Steel is effective and a success. However overall the film does take itself too seriously, with limited laughs throughout - come on the villain is called General Zod. And his haircut is so bad. 

Moreover I found character development beyond Superman/Clark Kent/ Kal-El was somewhat lazy and dimensionless. Although it is understandable why Lois Lane falls head over heels for Clark Kent after one conversation, there is limited chemistry between the two to convince any emotional investment in their relationship. Their kiss at the end just seemed latched on and apologetic, almost like when Anne Hathaway's Catwoman randomly kisses Batman at the climax of The Dark Knight Rises, it doesn't seem plausible. It just seems like a box each blockbuster has to tick - 'explosions, check; CGI, check; make out scene, check' - which is often, as in this case, slopped on at the end like a dollop of peas to bump up the nutritional value of a meal.

To add insult to this grievous injury I found myself disappointed by the aforementioned villain. Michael Shannon is robotic and two dimensional as Zod. I understand this was a requirement of his character, as on Krypton each individual is bred for their purpose- an interesting reference and warning about the powers of genetic engineering. However this idea does not lend itself to a refreshing baddie. Plus I didn't find Zod in any way truly threatening, rather an irritation. However as perceived in the transition from Batman Begins to The Dark Knight, a fabulous villain in the Joker is all it took to propel the series of films from good to excelsior status. 

Man of Steel is a great, entertaining, all guns blazing blockbuster by all accounts. It is on par with rival Marvel's earlier 2013 superhero flick Iron Man 3, lightyears beyond Captain America, but not quite as shithot as The Avengers.  I only felt let down by my own cinephilic expectations. I'm sure the next films (and there will undoubtably be more) will give more time to the romance between Clark and Lois. Dear Snyder and Nolan: give Kal-El a good villain and a sense of humour, and we're on to a winner.

The Dark Knight Rises

The Dark Knight Rises is Nolan's spectacular crescendo to the iconic Batman franchise, which began in 2005.


The film is - as with the director's other work, Inception for instance - sublimely operatic, a marvel of sensation but also of intricate plot-work. Following in the footsteps of its predecessors, dark is the title's optimum word. As was established with Batman Begins, gone was the camp POW! and KAZAM! of Adam West's Batman, and, perhaps encouraged by Burton's comparably darker Batman (1989), in was the tortured vigilante and ever-hostile Gotham City.






The Dark Knight Rises commences eight years after Gotham's 'heroic' DA, Harvey two-face Dent's (Aaron Eckhart) death, and we encounter Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale) at an uncharacteristic low-point, having all but abandoned his billion dollar company due to injuries and in mourning from Rachel's (Maggie Gyllenhaal) death, which also took place in The Dark Knight. But our bat-loving antihero cannot stay dormant for long, a new villain by the name of Bane (Tom Hardy) has realised an unfortunate ambition to crush Wayne's hometown, to the absolute core.

Speak of the devil, Tom Hardy plays an insatiable villain, whose - literally; the sound effects for his footsteps sound like a bomb exploding - booming presence assaults every scene in which he takes place. The clipped British accent is absurdly juxtaposed with his otherwise thuggish aesthetic, but this somehow works, making his character chilling and memorable. Of course it is inevitable to compare Hardy's Bane to Heath Ledger's (R.I.P.) iconic Joker, but the villains themselves are completely different - Bane has a motivation - and I believe both excelled in their individual performance.

Has Batman met his match?

Anne Hathaway does well as Catwoman, a cat burglar who desires a 'clean slate'. But I still couldn't help feeling that the actress, more renowned for her cute and even awkward roles, was ill suited for this role, miscast in the producers' desire for star power. Someone like the cattish Mila Kunis (less known) may have brought more of an edge to the performance. However, Hathaway is adequate and it is commendable that she broke out of her comfort zone. Other stars include old favourites Morgan Freeman as Lucius Fox, Gary Oldman as Commisioner I-don't-retire Gordon and of course Michael Caine, who breaks your heart as the Wayne butler Alfred; as well as Batman newbie Joseph Gordon-Levitt.






With Nolan, we all expect spectacle. And the man does not disappoint. In Rises we find ourselves witnessing an apocalyptic Gotham, one ripped outlandishly apart by Bane, from its core infrastructure. You'll know what I mean if you've seen that trailer - the collapse of the American football stadium, accompanied by a creepy Welsh boy singing the US National Anthem. Filmed with IMAX cameras, but avoiding the farcical 3D temptation, Rises near takes your breath away at frequent intervals. No one does blockbuster like Nolan.





There's a real sense of unpredictability about this finale, Batman truly hits rock bottom, to an extent you can't possibly forsee how he'll recover from the mess he's in in time to save the day. The plot is full of twists, with a pleasing intertwining of the Batman Begins narrative, from the use of graphic match down to that victorious ascending chord sequence, wrapping this last in a filmic marathon up in no less than a perfect manner.


Throughout the series, you have to wonder why Bruce Wayne constantly and irrevocably risks everything to save ungrateful and by all measures (apart from its notably unusual attraction of comic book heroes and villains) unremarkable Gotham City. Well, take Gotham as an analogy for the world. Yes, it's full of shits, and it may not seem worth it, but there remains a spark of light which The Dark Knight Rises towards.