Unpopular opinions go here

[Thomas Shey]

Maybe...if you hate everything Superman stands for and hate the entire genre of superheroes.

It's about as close to an anti-superhero and anti-Superman movie as you could get.

There are, essentially, three flaws with Man of Steel, and only one of them can be laid at the feet of the character; the other two are forced situations outside his control that the writers refuse to allow him to resolve because of the situation. And only one of those three violates the understood characterization of anyone in his canon, and even that one isn't him.

(One can make an argument that the "Superman driving by sense of obligation" isn't really the standard, but its also not off-brand).

 

[Umbran]

Much of this we can restate as the unpopular position:

You have mistaken personal taste for fact.

 

[Cadence]

It's a demonstrably wrong take. Every beat in that film can be traced back to a influential and well loved comic, from Kibgdom Come to Man of Steel to Birthright and various ongoing titles. Saying "it's not superman" reveals either a very shallow understanding of the history of the character, or the inability to differentiate between "it's bad" and "I don't like it."

Wait, maybe this belongs in the "hill I will die on" thread...

It feels like the memorable beats and classic scenes from different stories often worked and became classic in the original because of what surrounded them there. The same action with one set of things preceding it (say decades of back story lived by the character that brought them to that point) could be an entirely different thing in another (where the character is young and hasn't had those experiences).

 

[Reynard]

There are, essentially, three flaws with Man of Steel, and only one of them can be laid at the feet of the character; the other two are forced situations outside his control that the writers refuse to allow him to resolve because of the situation. And only one of those three violates the understood characterization of anyone in his canon, and even that one isn't him.

(One can make an argument that the "Superman driving by sense of obligation" isn't really the standard, but its also not off-brand).

I assume you are talking Pa and I agree. It is the single greatest misstep in the film, and also a waste of a solid relationship in future films.

I think folks should re-read Birthright and then watch MoS again. There is A LOT there.

One thing folks complain about is Kal first letting the fight with Zod do so much damage, and then him killing Zod. These complaints fall flat when taken in context of the broader Superman mythos, since both have occurred in multiple variations of Superman origin and early career stories. Kal doesn't realize how devastating a super fight is until it happens. Similarly, his killing of Zod is what drives him to really find ways to never make that necessary again.

Maybe part of it is that people are expecting MoS Kal to be a mature Superman with all the accumulated wisdom of a post Crisis run, when this was his first outing. And I also thing Cavill's severe expression make him seem "meaner" than the script actually shows. That scene when he flies for the first time was as pure and joyous as anything else.

 

[overgeeked]

That is not at all reflective the actual movie and sounds more like an analysis from someone who found out Snyder made it, watched a trailer, and decided Cavill scowled too much, without actually paying attention to the film and certainly without comparing it to the many different interpretations of Kal throughout the years.

You’d be wrong.

I'm not saying that MoS is THE definitive Superman. I am saying it is A legitimate interpretation of the character.

Only because the IP owner produced it. Not because it’s in any way a good reflection of the character.

Superman stood by and let his father die.

Superman did basically nothing to save the civilians during the fight with Zod.

Superman murders Zod.

Anyone who gave a damn about the character or knew what the superhero genre was about would never let those things happen.

 

[overgeeked]

I assume you are talking Pa and I agree. It is the single greatest misstep in the film, and also a waste of a solid relationship in future films.

I think folks should re-read Birthright and then watch MoS again. There is A LOT there.

One thing folks complain about is Kal first letting the fight with Zod do so much damage, and then him killing Zod. These complaints fall flat when taken in context of the broader Superman mythos, since both have occurred in multiple variations of Superman origin and early career stories. Kal doesn't realize how devastating a super fight is until it happens. Similarly, his killing of Zod is what drives him to really find ways to never make that necessary again.

Maybe part of it is that people are expecting MoS Kal to be a mature Superman with all the accumulated wisdom of a post Crisis run, when this was his first outing. And I also thing Cavill's severe expression make him seem "meaner" than the script actually shows. That scene when he flies for the first time was as pure and joyous as anything else.

Yes, they’re all bad examples of Superman stories and portrayals. That the IP owner published them doesn’t make them good stories or portrayals.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

What else would even qualify?

Nothing else in the canon comes close.

I mean, if we want to open it up to all DC movies there's 1978 Superman and Tim Burton's Batman, both excellent movies. But I'd still pick Birds of Prey.

And now to cross the streams with another unpopular opinion - Birds of Prey is better than anything in the DC animated universe. And I like the DC animated animated universe. It's mostly pretty solid with some really good stand outs. I'll even go so far as to say that the most of the animated movies are better movies than almost all of the cinematic universe movies. But Birds of Prey is still winning.

TL;DR: Birds of Prey!

 

[FrogReaver]

Much of this we can restate as the unpopular position:

You have mistaken personal taste for fact.

There’s a blurry moving line separating personal taste from actual fact.

 

[FrogReaver]

You’d be wrong.

If I had a nickel every time a post started this way I’d be the richest man alive.

 

[DrunkonDuty]

Oh, here is a good unpopular one, I like Colin Ferrell as an actor.

Agreed. If anyone wants to see him being truly amazing I recommend In Bruges and The Banshees of Inisherin.