Critics are torn over Man of Steel, the new Superman movie, though the general public likes it a lot, enough to set a record for a June opening. This time I agree with the general public. The movie is pro-life, anti-Nietzschean, pro-Kansas, pro-church (Superman goes to a church and talks to a pastor when he needs guidance), takes a shot at evolution, and it’s filled with blatant Christian allusions and symbolism. That’s not enough to make it a good movie, of course, but there were other elements I appreciated.
Most treatments of Superman and other super-heroes work from the imaginative premise of “what would it be like for an ordinary human being to have super powers?” This version, on the other hand, stressed that the hero is not a human being at all. He is an alien, from a completely different planet, and the wonder of that came through the movie. He was raised as a human, and he wants to be a human, but he is something more by virtue not only of his powers but his mission.
I agree that it has its hokie moments and goes over-the-top when it comes to special effects and post-9/11 destruction. And I can see that some people might get mixed up with its multiple flashbacks breaking up the narrative. But I appreciated its visual imagery, its foreswearing of campy irony, and most of its performances (including Kevin Costner as Pa Kent!).
I don’t have time to give a full review of the movie, but I agree pretty much with everything Anthony Sacramone says about it, so read his review.
Did you see Man of Steel? What did you think?
About Gene Veith
Follow Cranach!