Superman: Man of Steel (June 2013)

[Shorty]

It was Fordman, I remember hearing it clearly and Ive seen it mentioned elsewhere as well.

 

The character is in the credits listed as Whitney Fordham. Fordham not Fordman The line is "that Fordham boy". It may have been a nod to Smallville without going through any hoops to get the rights to the character, maybe.

[Happenstance]

Just thought id mention, I love that 90s Lois & Clark show. Dean Cain is still my favourite Clark Kent.

 

The character is in the credits listed as Whitney Fordham. Fordham not Fordman The line is "that Fordham boy". It may have been a nod to Smallville without going through any hoops to get the rights to the character, maybe.

 

Right ok, I didnt realise it was the spelling and slight different pronunciation of the name you were getting at. Either way though its obviously still a Smallville nod.

[LegoMan1031]

When Pete Ross' mother is talking about the kids seeing what Clark did on the bus she mentions the Fordman boy, a character from the show.

 

I still think that when that mother says "He saw what Clark did" the Clark part sounds exactly like Annette O'Toole its creepy.

 

When Dr Emil Hamilton is being introduced the guy from Battlestar sitting infront of him is the guy who played Dr Emil Hamilton in Smallvillle

 

Not as much of a link but Amy Adams was also in Smallvilles first season.

 

 

Now time to go back through this thread and read everyone elses thoughts.

 

I thought it was the same actor from Smallville but I wasn't 100%! Cool.

[Shorty]

I randomly just discovered that actor also did the voice of Kid Icarus in the Captain N cartoons also, the guy who played Superman as a baby in the original Superman movie by Richard Donner also had a bit part in Man of Steel (Aaron Smolinski).

[Dog-amoto]

Urgh. What a mess of a film. Totally devoid of any charm or humour. Absolutely no chemistry between Supes and Lois. Too much shaky cam and confusing cuts during action sequences, and terrible effects with far too much CGI.

 

Expected a lot from this from the teaser trailer and considering who was involved in this.

 

Utterly disappointed.

[Shorty]

Did it need charm and humour? I wasn't really interested in another Marvel superhero film, or another Superman Returns. I wanted an action film with aliens getting thrown through buildings. I wanted a live action Dragonball Z. But with just enough quality acting, a reasonable plot and a tight, modern origin story. Nailed it IMO.

 

I didn't notice any shaky cam past the first scene with the Kryptonian council.

[LegoMan1031]

Did it need charm and humour? I wasn't really interested in another Marvel superhero film, or another Superman Returns. I wanted an action film with aliens getting thrown through buildings. I wanted a live action Dragonball Z. But with just enough quality acting, a reasonable plot and a tight, modern origin story. Nailed it IMO.

 

I didn't notice any shaky cam past the first scene with the Kryptonian council.

 

Basically my thoughts on the subject.

 

I didn't miss the humour and to be honest there was still a couple of ones in there, there was one right at the end which made me smile.

 

I'm glad they choose this style for the film, I felt like Superman needed something like this on the big screen.

[Fierce_LiNk]

Urgh. What a mess of a film. Totally devoid of any charm or humour. Absolutely no chemistry between Supes and Lois. Too much shaky cam and confusing cuts during action sequences, and terrible effects with far too much CGI.

 

Expected a lot from this from the teaser trailer and considering who was involved in this.

 

Utterly disappointed.

 

If you wanted something that was very light and cheesy like the Spiderman films, then I can see why you wouldn't like it.

 

However, I disagree. The tone of this film is something that really appeals to me. I LOVE how Superman isn't actually a bit of a joke in this film. He isn't some pants-over-tights wearing guy who is too clean-cut. He has his issues. I was half expecting some cheesy "go Superman, goooo" "you can do eeet" cheesy scenes, but I'm thankful the film remained dignified for the most part. We didn't get a "crane sequence" like in The Amazing Spiderman which ruined the film for me.

 

I'm probably going to be seeing this with a mate on Tuesday. I'm also addicted to that soundtrack. Flight, Sent here for a reason, Look to the stars and What are you going to do when you are not saving the world? are sublime.

[Cube]

So, you've probably seen my ramblings about how I hate the character of Superman and everything he has been in. I was dragged to see Man of Steel today.

 

I absolutely loved it. It wasn't a superhero film, it was a sci-fi.

 

The start on Krypton was brilliant, and the history and stuff explained throughout the film actually solved a lot of my problems with Superman - stuff like the different radiation due to our younger star, the heavier gravity on Krypton and the different atmosphere.

 

I also loved the designs for all the Kryptonian ships, structures and their armour. It was a bit silly when the ship Zod took over was taking off, considering the smoke would have made it extremely hard for everyone in the council room to breathe. The council was utterly stupid for not noticing the damage before it was too late, but that's politicians and is one of the reasons why Krypton society wasn't worth saving.

 

Then there's Kal's suit - it's just what they wear under their armour and the "S" logo is a symbol that some of them use. That's it. I like that.

 

Kent/Kal's development over the flashbacks was very well done, and his parents (both sets) were great. Love the scene where Zod threatened his mother and Kal attacks him.

 

The action was superb - the "animation" (not sure how to describe it) was amazing, especially the movement of Faora. The character's movements felt powerful and the amount of destruction they caused was great. The visual gags in those fights scenes were also a very nice touch. The gravity effects were also amazing.

 

Zod was also brilliant, and I loved how his character was why it was a bad idea to bring back the Kryptons as they were - he was made to protect his people. It wasn't his choice, it's simply what he had to do due to how he was created. I actually felt sorry for him.

 

I also got the impression that Kal's good nature actually got through to Zod. The things he said to Kal suggested to me that Zod understood what he was and the problem that Krypton's culture caused - but he was powerless to stop himself. As he had no free will, he forced Kal into a situation to make the decision for him.

 

It was also great to spot people like Alessandro Juliani, Tahmoh Penikett and Harry Lennix in the film. I was actually surprised how much screen time Lennix got.

 

Lois Lane was also brilliant, especially the scene with her on Zod's ship.

 

As for things I didn't like:

 

The camera. At the start I thought something was wrong with the projector as it was wonky in non-action scenes. Thankfully the action was perfectly clear.

 

The ending. The stupid "Clark Kent glasses" thing. Made even more stupid because of how many people know what he looks like, where he lives and that his "mother" is Martha Kent. For now, I'm going to assume that everyone at the Daily Planet knows perfectly well who he is, and they all agreed to keep it a secret.

 

Also, this isn't a good or bad thing, but I don't recall them ever mentioning "Smallville" or "Metropolis", and that the names were only on background buildings or on screens.

 

[bob]

They definately mentioned Metropolis once, not sure about Smallholders.

 

DAE THINK THE ZOD-PODS LOOKED LIKE PENISES?!

[flameboy]

They definately mentioned Metropolis once, not sure about Smallholders.

 

DAE THINK THE ZOD-PODS LOOKED LIKE PENISES?!

 

Yes my girlfriend burst out laughing at this point.

 

Sent from my HTC One X using Tapatalk 2

[ReZourceman]

My entire cinema laughed at the penis ships.

[mcj metroid]

I never noticed the penis ships and I usually notice stuff like that instantly.

 

I did however laugh at some of Lois' unintentionally hilarious dialogue.

[Ashley]

Oh yeah I did get a laugh out of them being trapped in penises. It felt very Freudian.

 

So yeah, finally saw this!

 

For some reason the following exchange amused me:

 

Jor-El: What you're talking about is genocide

Zod: Yes, and I'm talking about it to a ghost

 

Or whatever the wording was. I'm not sure...but it was sassy for an evildoer.

 

I enjoyed it. I went in expected an action-packed superhero movie and that's what I got. Plus I learnt a bit about the mythos!

 

Now if you'll excuse me, I'm going to spend a year in the gym.

[Agent Gibbs]

Finally saw this on Saturday and i'd have to echo @Cube's thoughts on it almost exactly

The glasses bit seemed completely redundant given how many people saw him....but i suppose if you suspend your belief and assume nobody caught him on tape, which isn't a great leap given how fast they moved, the only real opportuinty for a camera phone was at the end with Zod.....Then if you believe that nobody caught him on film, then only really the general, his assistant, lois and Clarks school bully saw him and knew AND SURVIVED, everyone else you saw die or can certainly assume died in all that battle, yeah possibly not all soldiers died but they probably weren't close enough to pay attention, and could have been in shock

but thats clutching at straws and REALLY suspending belief to believe that

 

the one thing i hated.......Superman actually killing Zod...no just no! superman doesn't kill unless its an alternate universe where he goes mad and takes over.... i just didn't like that at all, i can only hope it didn't actually kill Zod, because he is superman's best villain and well Shannon was awesome as him, how can they remove that from thus mythos?

 

 

but Faora man she awesome

[Daft]

Superman doesn't have a no-kill rule. In fact he's done it to that specific person before.

[Cube]

What are you supposed to do with a person intent on causing destruction when no materials on the planet would be able to hold him, and he is unable to change due to his genetics?

[Agent Gibbs]

Superman doesn't have a no-kill rule. In fact he's done it to that specific person before.

 

What are you supposed to do with a person intent on causing destruction when no materials on the planet would be able to hold him, and he is unable to change due to his genetics?

 

He may have but its such a rare occurrence, it really was shocking and brutal, and needlessly included in the film when he could have if scripted slightly differently been also sucked into the Phantom Zone

 

I don't know, i know it has happened before but something about it didn't sit right with me, it just felt off

 

SO does anyone think superman's blood sample will play any significance? will it lead to Doomsday in a sequel or the justice league movie?

In Smallville Doomsday is Faora and Zod's child sent to kill superman

In the comics after one of his "deaths" Doomsday is revived and comobined with superman's kryptonian DNA......

does anyone else think they could combine these stories? and make use of that DNA sample?

 

Does anyone else think Dr Emil Hamilton could come back as villain? possibly Braniac related?

 

[bryanee]

I thought the kill fit in just fine with the film, you could tell he didn't want to do it and the pain and emotion that came from him when he did it was really well done. I also see it as the moment that Clark will swear never to kill again.

 

Anyway its not as brutal as the time Clark used kryptonite to kill Zod and a couple others. He was stone cold, just stood there and watched them die.

 

[mcj metroid]

I found a lot of this a bit strange

 

Now I don't read comics, but I found a lot of man of steel quite strange.

 

1:Firstly the whole movie didn't look great to me, which was the one thing I expected Zack Zynder to get right seeing as he directed Watchmen and 300. it had a very CGI feel to it. I know that's what most of it was but ii didn't look right to me.

 

2:Too many wtf scenes like Superman talking about aliens with the local priest and the female captain telling everyone "I think he's hot". Did Krypton have dragons in the comic? It felt out of place.

 

3:Was probably too serious for its own good. It lacked comedy completely and I'm not sure this works for a superman movie. he is essentially one of the cheesiest superheroes out there.

 

4:Repetitive action scenes. Watch any of the superman or DC animated movies and you'll see quickly how this is done without feeling like it's 2 fight scenes too long. One of the fight scenes were entirely pointless altogether. It just made me want to watch The avengers again.

 

5:The lack of the superman theme and generally an unmemorable soundtrack. This is typical of Han Zimmer's work really. It's difficult to hum any of his tunes after a movie, but it still fails in comparison to john Williams previous work e.g. 'time' from Inception and any of the batman trilogy outclasses it.

 

6/10 for it.

 

 

 

[Daft]

He may have but its such a rare occurrence, it really was shocking and brutal, and needlessly included in the film when he could have if scripted slightly differently been also sucked into the Phantom Zone

 

I don't know, i know it has happened before but something about it didn't sit right with me, it just felt off

 

Christ, I'd hate that. That's such a dubbing down. It would have been so weak and meaningless. If I wanted a rotating door between death and life I'll get that with basically every comic out there. (Also, the whole premise of the film is built on the notion of determinism versus individualism, Zod will not stop so why pussyfoot around it like Batman? Why risk Zod escaping? It took less than ten minutes to decimate a substantial part of Metropolis...why would anyone take the risk of that happening again? Especially against someone bred to be a ruthless soldier, someone who admited to having no purpose anymore beyond destroying humanity... It's not a decision took lightly but it's the choice I would have made in that situation.)

 

Same with the horrendous destruction. It would have been so weak if it was just superficial damage like in The Avengers (which is a great film, don't get me wrong). Terrible things happen in the world. Why dub it down when it comes to popular culture?

 

 

Man of Steel felt like shit went down, the world will never be the same again and it's unlike any other superhero film in that respect (Hell, that was what the first half of the film was all about). And I loved that. No punches were pulled. I definitely think the scenes of Metropolis's destruction could have been contextualised a little better but I don't need things spelt out for me, I can connect the dots and I'm happy to do so.

 

Why people feel they need convenient or happy endings is beyond me. The world isn't clean cut, powerful people have to make terrible choices and that's no different for Superman.

[Agent Gibbs]

Christ, I'd hate that. That's such a dubbing down. It would have been so weak and meaningless. If I wanted a rotating door between death and life I'll get that with basically every comic out there. (Also, the whole premise of the film is built on the notion of determinism versus individualism, Zod will not stop so why pussyfoot around it like Batman? Why risk Zod escaping? It took less than ten minutes to decimate a substantial part of Metropolis...why would anyone take the risk of that happening again? Especially against someone bred to be a ruthless soldier, someone who admited to having no purpose anymore beyond destroying humanity... It's not a decision took lightly but it's the choice I would have made in that situation.)

 

Same with the horrendous destruction. It would have been so weak if it was just superficial damage like in The Avengers (which is a great film, don't get me wrong). Terrible things happen in the world. Why dub it down when it comes to popular culture?

 

 

Man of Steel felt like shit went down, the world will never be the same again and it's unlike any other superhero film in that respect (Hell, that was what the first half of the film was all about). And I loved that. No punches were pulled. I definitely think the scenes of Metropolis's destruction could have been contextualised a little better but I don't need things spelt out for me, I can connect the dots and I'm happy to do so.

 

Why people feel they need convenient or happy endings is beyond me. The world isn't clean cut, powerful people have to make terrible choices and that's no different for Superman.

 

it just felt wrong for superman, you are right though, it is the thing that should be done, and as you've said about the situation, i'd do exactly that myself, well i'd have labotomised them all with heat vision when i got the first chance.

 

I'm not really sure why i feel it was so wrong for him, i know in the past he has rarely killed and the act has haunted him, as did this.

 

I can only assume i've gotten so used to the Smallvilles, the Justice leagues and recent comics where he always finds a way to (what he thinks is) preeminently* remove them without killing them, that when my expectation didn't materialise in the film its left a sour taste in my mouth

 

The more i look back on it, the more i do see it as the more mature and realistic way, rather than the dumbed down romaticised version i've known.

 

I shouldn't let it bother me at al, if they want him back in the movie they will find a way::shrug:

 

*as a side thought, trapping someone in a hell dimension, trapping them in ice, under the earth etc etc etc and hoping they will stay there aware for eternity unable to do anything.....its actually worse and less humane than death

 

 

 

Still want to go see it again though, even if its just for Faora

[Rummy]

As for things I didn't like:

 

The camera. At the start I thought something was wrong with the projector as it was wonky in non-action scenes. Thankfully the action was perfectly clear.

 

The ending. The stupid "Clark Kent glasses" thing. Made even more stupid because of how many people know what he looks like, where he lives and that his "mother" is Martha Kent. For now, I'm going to assume that everyone at the Daily Planet knows perfectly well who he is, and they all agreed to keep it a secret.

 

Agree with these two things. Def thought it was bad projection work at first! Then it made sense. The ending was a nice nod, but yeah utterly stupid. The whole world would have known it was him, he didn't even try to do much different with his hair. If the Daily Planet, full of journalists and reporters, didn't know then the film ends up being as retarded as them. He'd been so outed in the film, it was silly trying to pretend he'd be much else(especially when he confronts the general).

[mcj metroid]

Agree with these two things. Def thought it was bad projection work at first! Then it made sense. The ending was a nice nod, but yeah utterly stupid. The whole world would have known it was him, he didn't even try to do much different with his hair. If the Daily Planet, full of journalists and reporters, didn't know then the film ends up being as retarded as them. He'd been so outed in the film, it was silly trying to pretend he'd be much else(especially when he confronts the general).

 

to be fair to the film, that was an improvement over Lois not knowing who he is having seen him up close, kissed him and flown with him in previous movies

 

[Cube]

to be fair to the film, that was an improvement over Lois not knowing who he is having seen him up close, kissed him and flown with him in previous movies

 

As well has having sex with him, both Superman and Kent disappearing for 6 years (or however long it was) and them both returning on the same day.