By Dave Montalbano
http://cinemadave.livejournal.com
At the recent Fatality Fest convention, actress Debbie Rochon and I discussed the cinematography of The Blair Witch Project. On the big screen, Debbie found the film nauseating, but enjoyed the narrative on the television screen.
Perhaps the opposite will be true when Man of Steel leaves the Ft. Lauderdale Museum of Discovery IMAX Theater. On the smaller screen, the spectacle will be diminished because of the plot holes and weak character development.
The film opens on the doomed planet Krypton. Despite his best efforts, scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is unable to prevent the end of the world, so he sends his only begotten son, Kal-El, to the cornfields of Kansas on the planet Earth. The boy is raised by John (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane) Kent and adopts the name Clark Kent (Henry Cavill). A stranger in a strange land, Clark is raised with moral values and he learns to fight for truth, justice and the American way.
Surviving the destruction of Krypton is General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his army of mercenaries. Zod has a grudge against Jor-El and his family. When he learns that the son of his arch enemy is living on Earth, Zod destroys the planet in pursuit of revenge.
Man of Steel is not a linear story. The film is full of flashbacks that are not in chronological order. The slower episodes featuring Clark and his step parents are the most emotionally poignant. We see a special needs student who is bullied. We all know that Clark Kent could easily demolish his tormentors, but John Kent teaches his son restraint and discipline. These values present Man of Steel’s finest moments.
The film sags with an over-reliance on special effects and attention-deficit-disorder editing. Moments of cliffhanging thrills are lost. The fight scenes lack fluid motion and visual sense. With a $116 million record-breaking gross, Man of Steel is THE motion picture of the moment.
The reviews and word of mouth about this Superman reboot have been split between either love or hate. Younger audiences are proclaiming Man of Steel the best Superman ever, while the older crowd misses the innocence and heart of the movies and television series.
