So, about those Man of Steel reviews...

[Everett]

It's not quite made up out of thin air, Everett: Faora in the comics does pathologically hate all men. She's also a serial killer and has psionic powers, so the movie version of the character is quite a bit different (at least as far as we can tell; who knows what Faora was doing off-camera).

Okay, and what of it? I'm not familiar with the comics that the character appears in; if the critic on rogerebert.com was, that's just another piece of evidence that he was reviewing what he wanted to see rather than the film Zack Snyder made.

Faora in the film has exactly one character-driven line; she tells Superman that "his morality is an evolutionary weakness." She does NOT say, "also, I hate your dick and it makes me want to destroy humanity." Ergo, the critic made it up.

 

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Okay, and what of it? I'm not familiar with the comics that the character appears in; if the critic on rogerebert.com was, that's just another piece of evidence that he was reviewing what he wanted to see rather than the film Zack Snyder made.

Faora in the film has exactly one character-driven line; she tells Superman that "his morality is an evolutionary weakness." She does NOT say, "also, I hate your dick and it makes me want to destroy humanity." Ergo, the critic made it up.

I'm not arguing with you, Everett; I'm offering a probable explanation as to why he said that about Faora. Save your issues for the reviewer.

 

[Everett]

I'm not arguing with you, Everett; I'm offering a probable explanation as to why he said that about Faora. Save your issues for the reviewer.

No issue taken.

 

[mattcolville]

On the whole, they're glowing. I've seen the movie described as "awesome in the actual meaning of the word" in more than one review.

I did not find it so. Hints of substance in the trailers proved to be red herrings.

 

[Everett]

Hints of substance in the trailers proved to be red herrings.

I can understand that perspective, while not agreeing with it, but without some common ground as to what substance is, there's nothing to discuss.

 

[Everett]

I can understand that perspective, while not agreeing with it, but without some common ground as to what substance is, there's nothing to discuss.

...in other words, the viewpoint that the film plays like an extended trailer for itself makes a certain amount of sense -- this is Zach Snyder, after all, his aesthetic is nothing if high-gloss and he actually called Superman "the king-daddy" in interviews -- so the question becomes: if you'd had no advance knowledge of the movie whatsoever (no trailers, nothing) and had come to it blind, in a Pepsi-challenge sort of way, would you still have felt ripped-off, in a sense? I think that if looked at strictly on its own merits, the film is a worthwhile piece of storytelling and a long-needed updating of Superman on the screen, and thus I think most negative reviews have played fast and cheap by insisting that irrelevant context (i.e., the Chris Reeve films, the critic's opinion of how much CGI is too much) is the only context that matters.

But that's my feeling. Others?

 

[MarkB]

I think that if looked at strictly on its own merits, the film is a worthwhile piece of storytelling and a long-needed updating of Superman on the screen, and thus I think most negative reviews have played fast and cheap by insisting that irrelevant context (i.e., the Chris Reeve films, the critic's opinion of how much CGI is too much) is the only context that matters.

But that's my feeling. Others?

I didn't go in with any expectations based upon past films or comics, but I still felt that it didn't live up to its potential. Its main two failings are in its characters - the only one I felt had enough depth and presence to actually like or engage with was Jor-El - and in its sidelining of the human race in terms of plot relevance.

 

[Bagpuss]

But that's my feeling. Others?

If you didn't know who Superman was before entering this film, it would have made even less sense. As the flashbacks really didn't show where Superman got his moral code, you need to know Superman before going to the film. Which is fair enough, I think it is safe to assume that knowledge, but what you did see in flashback, actually worked against that, his dad spent most of the time telling Clark to never use his powers, let kids die, let your own family die, but never reveal you are different. Going from what you saw in this film alone, why does Clark ever become Superman? Why does he ever bother saving anyone?

 

[Grumpy RPG Reviews]

and thus I think most negative reviews have played fast and cheap by insisting that irrelevant context (i.e., the Chris Reeve films, the critic's opinion of how much CGI is too much) is the only context that matters.

I very much agree. It suffers from expectations mostly from people not familiar with Superman (or at least selective in their understanding of Superman). How often has Metropolis or Smallville been demolished by aliens or monsters in the last decade worth of comics, for example? And in the film Superman enjoys flying. Further, some people have had a negative reaction to the soldier who thinks Superman is hot, which is a peculiar bit of slut shaming. They do not want to enjoy the film, so they do not enjoy the film.

 

[Morrus]

If you didn't know who Superman was before entering this film, it would have made even less sense. As the flashbacks really didn't show where Superman got his moral code, you need to know Superman before going to the film. Which is fair enough, I think it is safe to assume that knowledge, but what you did see in flashback, actually worked against that, his dad spent most of the time telling Clark to never use his powers, let kids die, let your own family die, but never reveal you are different. Going from what you saw in this film alone, why does Clark ever become Superman? Why does he ever bother saving anyone?

While I agree that content wasn't there, I'm glad it wasn't. I don't think I could face yet another superhero origin story movie. Hell, in this one he still takes half a movie to get there.

Honestly, I'd prefer they'd missed ALL of the origin stuff. Just start with "Here's a fully formed Superman. Go!"