What separates Director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel from previous Superman movies is an attention to realistic detail. In this latest version, plenty of people look into the sky and see not a bird or a plane, but an alien threat to national security.
Viewers get a fresh take on Kryptonite that makes it a more plausible Achilles heel, and motivations rooted in values that prevail in contemporary society provide depth to the movie’s villain.
Man of Steel is a character-driven “origins story” and an action movie. Therein lies its challenge, for a movie that tries to be two different things runs the risk of being nothing at all. Historically, most good Superman stories don’t center on Superman kicking butt because he is so powerful and few villains pose a direct threat to him. The most compelling Superman stories focus on his battles with himself, particularly his moral choices.
When directors portray Superman’s moral life poorly, he comes off as a Boy Scout with oversimplified answers to complex questions. That kind of Superman tends to alienate prisoners who dislike pat portrayals like the black-and-white caricatures of criminals in the media.
Snyder dramatizes Superman’s moral choices well. In one scene, a trucker pushes Superman (Henry Cavill), pours beer on him and pelts him in the head with a can. Clark does the right thing and walks away, but after he leaves the bar, he vents his anger at the trucker in a way that not only gives the audience a laugh, it assures viewers that Clark is just a man.
An inspiring message is at the heart of Clark’s expression of anger: If the legend can be angry or afraid like us, then we can be heroic and responsible like the legend.
Or not.
“I think a lot of movies are someone’s attempt to indoctrinate us,” says Rahsaan Thomas when S.Q. Reviews assembles to discuss Man of Steel.
“Let’s run with that,” Emile DeWeaver says. “What’s the propaganda in Man of Steel?”
“It sells Midwest values,” Juan Meza says. He ticks points off by tapping his fingers. “Be content to work very hard for very little. Be submissive to authority even if you’re bulletproof. You know, all the things that people with money and power never are, but need us to be.”
Sitting on the edge of his seat, Meza drops his hands, smiles, and seems on the verge of taking a bow.
Thomas says, “The movie’s propaganda is that America is the best country in the world, and anybody that doesn’t agree gets beat down. Superman chose humans over his own people.”
Thomas explains that he believes the humans in Man of Steel represent America, and choosing humans represent choosing the American way.
“I’m a pretty radical guy, so I’m going to say that the humans represented humanity,” Meza says. “Superman chose humanity and human ideals over his people.”
Thomas is from Brooklyn, and the smirk on Meza’s face brings out Thomas’ native lingo. “But who’s saying what those ideals are, son? The American media. Truth, justice and the American way. He’s a savior figure whose costume is red and blue. His skin is white — he’s the American Ideal flying in to save the day.”
The 6-year-olds in us give Man of Steel three out of four dinner cookies for the shockwaves, exploding glass and a super-hot Kryptonian lieutenant who throws Superman through a diner. The adults in us rate the movie two and a half cookies.
