I've softened on the film after re-watching a couple of times. I think there are a lot of good ideas in the film, and I absolutely adore the Krypton they created. I think now, after hearing the rumblings about the sequel, I see the angle the team is taking, in terms of the entire franchise.
But....
That final sequence. It's still deeply problematic. If this was all planned, which I'm not overly convinced of, it makes sense. I can't help but feel like the plans for the sequel, and the world building, re-set when there was fan backlash against the rampant destruction of Man of Steel's third act. Still, OK, let's take Goyer and Snyder at their word...
It's still deeply problematic.
All that needed to happen is a "no, the
people!" moment. A clear sense that Kal knew lives were being lost, and
that trying to contain a being as powerful as Zod was not going to make
it possible to contain the loss of life.
At that point....snap the neck. I think that's totally in character.
At that point....snap the neck. I think that's totally in character.
It all comes down to this...
It's that scene in Die Hard 2 when the plane is coming in thinking the ground is 20 feet lover than it actually is. When John McClane runs out there with two torches to try to wave them off...we KNOW it's futile. We know that, no matter how hard he pushes himself, the forces he's up against are just too strong, and too uncaring of innocent life, for him to succeed.
But we love that he tried. We see him as more of a hero because he tried.
The world of the film in Man of Steel doesn't have to know that Clark is benign, a hero, but the audience should. They should see the sacrifice and the effort, even if it fails, when the world of the film just sees buildings falling.
It's that scene in Die Hard 2 when the plane is coming in thinking the ground is 20 feet lover than it actually is. When John McClane runs out there with two torches to try to wave them off...we KNOW it's futile. We know that, no matter how hard he pushes himself, the forces he's up against are just too strong, and too uncaring of innocent life, for him to succeed.
But we love that he tried. We see him as more of a hero because he tried.
The world of the film in Man of Steel doesn't have to know that Clark is benign, a hero, but the audience should. They should see the sacrifice and the effort, even if it fails, when the world of the film just sees buildings falling.
That is, literally, all it would've taken. The fact that Snyder and Goyer didn't consider that still bothers me.
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