Interestingly enough, the swedish translation of "Superman" is "Stålmannen", which literally means "The Steel Man". Never thought of it before...

@wrightyy

2 жыл бұрын

Hello, from 2022. That cannot be a coincidence? English famously has about 5× as many words as most languages so we can make more unique phrases.

The good doctor articulated everything I felt about this film.

Also just to add; not only does Supe's power on earth come from the yellow sun, but also the fact that Krypton has stronger gravity..etc Earth is an easier place to live with a sun that boosts your power even more. That's why when Superman fought Muhammad Ali under a red sun...Ali won. (yes, that actually happened in a comic book. lol)

As always I really loved your review although sometimes I iwould like some rating system but I know you are never gonna use one....Still most interesting reviews on youtube. After I found your channel I actually went back and watched every single one of them (I was sick at the time and at home so I had plenty of time to kill)

I am stunned Mark has taken the critics line here. I saw Man of Steel this morning and I like the rest of a full to capacity Imax cinema (in Dublin) went mental with excitement during the last third of it. I cannot even begin to wonder what he would like to have seen as a climax. I thought it was a fantastic story and visually stunning. The technology on show was mesmerizing, the costumes, the colour scheme, the performances and the CGI were all spot on. I'm already starving for more!

Finally. Im waiting for his review in this movie!

I haven´t seen it yet but I like a lot how you express your concerns about the movie, I think that the fight scenes (which are massive for what I heard) are part of what make me enjoy cartoons and always dream about seeing it on the big screen but I really understand your lack of interest on those big action scenes

I absolutely loved Man of Steel, but I must admit that my love of Superman gives me an undeniable bias.

You can like the film and you're perfectly allowed to disagree but don't claim he's snob just because he gave a fairly negative review of a film you like. Mark Kermode is an extremely successful Film Critic and he gave a very fair review of the film. He's not being snob, YOU'RE just being childish.

I found the third act exhausting at the time as well, but in thinking back on it I feel I enjoyed even that part of the movie. It felt like a war rather than a fight, which I think will set up the next movie to have a more interesting starting point.

I love this show! x

This film needs a rerelease

The first act on Krypton was utterly fantastic and deserved a film in itself.

@TheJrr71

2 жыл бұрын

Yes! I really enjoyed that epic prologue too.

I totally agree Mark. There are only so many times you can watch people smashing through buildings and not become bored. Thanks for this review.

Loving the Oxblood DMs.

Pretty much agree with that, and it's not very often I say that about one of his reviews.

I think it will have both aspects but for what I heard it is more action which is something I am exctitted for and maybe it could have been a more deep and complex film but I think that if it gives me the sensation the cartoons and comics gave me I will be happy with it.

In retrospect, I think Superman might be one of the most difficult comic book characters ever to be adapted to film, most especially during this day and age. Personally, I enjoyed both Superman Returns for its loving homage to the Reeve era, and Man of Steel for its retelling of classic plot turns from the comics and the seriousness that the character needed. Both have flaws, and both don't seem to have done exceptionally well, thus, a real challenge to get right.

Mark, I just wanted to say that on your point of Superman being able to breathe in space is different then him Being able to Breathe on Zod's Kyrptonian Ship...The Ship's "oxygen" system was pumping out Krypton's air...if that makes scene to you..Other than that I look forward to your reviews here on youtube every week..even though I from America, you are my favorite critic

Loved the film, the last act was amazing... Those tenticles should be replaced with an emotional battle type of situation! But hell yeah I loved it to bits, so much action, good story, good acting.. believable in the most parts, seriously worth every min... MOS 2 will be even better, when the CGI is improved, & we are past the origin story, the origin story is what most peoples complaint seems to be IMO that superman don't do this etc, ORIGIN, he's not superman yet

@rizvaldo7209

2 жыл бұрын

Still waiting for MOS 2...

@heeeeeresrossy

2 жыл бұрын

@@rizvaldo7209 ...still waiting....

Summed up perfectly how I felt, I enjoyed, but felt it had the potential to be so much more.

Couldn't agree more, when it got to the final fight with the general, there was a collective sigh of "here we go again"

@BenjWarrant

4 жыл бұрын

I remember thinking: O for god's sake, get it over with already.

Nice review. I personally quite liked the film, though I felt that maybe the essence of the characters had been messed up a little too far.

I normally reluctantly agree with Mark's reviews, as (normally) I tend to over-look some certain plot-holes that are harshly criticised, and he always speaks the truth about a movie, whether it's good or bad, but I can't disagree more with this one. Man of Steel - for me - was phenomenal and probably, in my opinion, is the best comic book movie ever made so far. The story was intelligent and clever, but it also had amazing action with some of the best CGI I've seen. Absolutely astonishing.

@archiesutherland6127

2 жыл бұрын

i disagree, i thought it was pointless and boring

Superman 3’s Superman vs Clark Kent scene is one of the greatest psychological scenes in comic book movie history in my opinion.

@salmirza

10 ай бұрын

Great movie, but id rate the dark Knight and Logan higher?

The easiest complaint? Super boring. Everyone I've talked to about it felt the same.

very fair and balanced review mark!

4:49 - Nice nod to the film's Christ metaphors there, Simon.

FYI Dr K: "exhausted" is an ungradable adjective meaning you should only use it with extreme modifiers e.g. "totally". Yours, Alan Retentivus

I agree, that's why studios and filmmakers don't pay much attention to what audiences/critics "want"...you can never please everyone. This was a quite brilliant film...certainly brought Superman out of the doldrums. I loved it.

I saw it yesterday and I felt that had they just released the 3rd trailer instead of the actual full length film, I would have come out of the cinema feeling like I had just seen an awesome superman movie. Instead, I felt it was disjointed (in a bad way, because hopping back and forth can also be an amazing way to tell a story) and I felt it was rushing certain key elements.

GO!! its amazing!

I just one a little bit of both things, emotional and moral conflicts with the character, a good form of portraying the formation of his ideals and action that is justified or important for what is going on.

Richard Donner’s Superman was, and is, so impressive because it doesn’t try to make the story serious, rather it takes the story seriously. Superman as a character is not meant to be reworked into functionality, he requires a sense of being awarded unbridled dignity from the writers, director, and cast. If the character were broken, we wouldn’t still know who he is. He’s changed many times by degrees over the years, but the most important factor is sincerity. Zack Snyder doesn’t like Superman as a character. And i don’t think he even did the work of figuring out what’s in the character already that he can acknowledge as being interesting. He asks, ”What’s an angle no one has done on Superman before?” But not “What is the ultimate conclusion of that take?” In any meaningful way, he hasn’t found it. Or, at the very least, refuses to explore it after putting it in play. When I look at Man of Steel and Batman v. Superman, I don’t see Superman. And that makes the thematic and philosophical exploration flaccid. Show me Christopher Reeve’s Superman then ask me as a viewer if the governments of the world should trust him. THAT’S a bold exploration. Man of Steel operates in half-measures. It’s all confusing because no one has ideals. And that means no ideals can ever be properly challenged.

Critics all seem to be saying the same thing about Man Of Steel: too much action, not enough heart. I loved Bryan Singer's take on Superman. I think had he got the opportunity to make his "The Wrath of khan" influenced sequel featuring Zod, we would perhaps have seen something that balanced stunning action scenes with a big beating heart.

Well that was unexpected! Looked so damn good in the trailers, being an enormous comics fan and hearing all-star superman quoted in the trailers was making me so excited, I can't believe all the reviews! I'm actually scared to go see it, have refrained from any spoilers but I'm still surprised at all the feedback!

@StayFractalesque

3 жыл бұрын

well what did you think about man of steel?

@stupididiot6993

3 жыл бұрын

@@user-xd7mk2xz2h Snyder fans are a little unhinged

@felyxmillicent6538

2 жыл бұрын

@@StayFractalesque Mark apparently wanted Superman to sit and have tea and talk about his feelings.

@TrueEnglishMan01

Жыл бұрын

@@stupididiot6993 Your username suits you well 😂

As a child in elementary school the original Superman with multiple superheros really excited me and so it comes in at #36 of my favorite movies of all time. 36) Superman II (1980) So where did the new one come in? 108) Man of Steel (2013)

the movie he wanted was Superman Returns and look how that turned out. Although the ending was admittedly prolonged, it was still enjoyable right through.

I've never really been a fan of the Superman movies but I really enjoyed this movie. Everything worked (except for Shannon's goatie) and I never thought I would say this but I'm looking forward to Man of Steel 2.

GO !!! Its one of those films that has to be seen on the big screen.

agreed. Here is a key difference between man of steel and Avengers for example. When the avengers finale was over i had a smile on my face, when man of steel was over i was relieved.

agree 100%

I'd agree with this review. I couldn't wait for the Krypton sequences to end to get to the heart of the story and the final act went by with repetition and sequences flying past way too fast to keep up with. I came home after the screening and when giving an abridged view to interested friends, I concluded with "I'd call it Meh Of Steel, Costner, Crowe and Adams were the standouts but wait until it's on television before viewing. It's not bad, not great, just average."

What film is on the desk?

I would've liked to hear what Mark thought of Michael Shannon's portrayal of general Zod.

You may have lost interest in the third act but do you forget the fact that this is also an action movie. It's not just about his weaknesses, it's about how he became superman. This film is mostly about the storyline and if you ask me they did a very good job at it. Even with the mistakes they may have made with the movie, every good movie has defects, but they don't always make them bad movies.

I just revisited this film and I was blown away by how much I liked it. I remember being lukewarm when it first came out, but it’s aged really well.

Love the action =D

I cant believe Mark didnt say ZAK SNYDAAA! during this review. That's the best part of Mark reviewing Snyder films.

totally agree with this review.

The prologue on Krypton isn't really needed, as it is all explained by Russell Crowe later on anyway. Also the 3D doesn't add anything and the fight scenes are well choreographed but too drawn out. The best scenes are the character development in the flashbacks and in between the fights.

Agreed.In the first (though I didn't like the Star Wars prequel-esque Krypton) & second acts it introduces some character development and there was some good raw conceptual material but they weren't as developed as they could have been or properly followed through upon. Any positive aspects are then squandered as the movie descends into "Michael Bay's Explosion: the Movie" (i.e. what felt like an hour+ -long continuous explosion).So if you like mindless disaster porn, then this is your movie.

I figured in space he also just, you know, held his breath?

Great action movie, Great nods to other DC characters, Kids will llove it.!

There is a graphic novel inspired by this called "Superman: Red Son" where he has crash landed in the USSR and wears a hammer and sickle on chest instead of the S symbol. Snyder actually consulted the book when researching Man of Steel.

The problem I have with this moving was the pacing, it rushed through the first 2 acts to get to the battles. I would have gladly sat through an extra half hour of Clark's upbringing to balance it out.

My "leaving the movie" moment came in the last act when all I could think of was how tens of thousands of lives were destroyed.

I agree with him - I was looking forward to a Superman film that was on par with Chris Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. I was very disappointed with this movie because it seemed to be turning into an action film without character - Henry Cavil I thought played a great Superman, but when he was fighting Zod there was too much CGI and not enough emotion or story. This is a long way from the Christopher Reeve Superman. My most favourite scene was at the end when he became Clark Kent of the Daily Planet

Sadly, most of the reviews i saw mentioned that act 3 drags for too long. If Dr. Kermode confirms it then it must be true.

I hope the sequel is a smaller scale, more character based movie. It's nice to see Superman get into huge battles with supervillains, but the character is so much more than that. I'm not saying the movie has to be action free, but Superman should face problems they he can't conquer only with his fists.

For once I don't agree with Mark on this one. I can understand being a pedant in some cases, but we're talking about a man who can fly. Some things can be aloud under the radar. So far as the action is concerned, I have been waiting for years to see what Superman is capable of. It seems easy to forget that this is a comic book character, that is what he is and this is what happens in the comic books. Bedlam, and I loved it. The end was intense and I had a smile on my face throughout.

I'm pretty sure "man of steel" just refers to another moniker that Superman has, referring back to the older comics; like the Dark Knight to Batman, Amazing Spiderman etc. If they reboot Iron Man after Downey retires from the role, they could easily call it Invincible Iron Man, referring to the long-running comic series.

There is a funny old Saturday Night Live skit wherein it poses the idea if Superman grew up in Germany and embraced Nazi ideology. I wish I can recall the skit other than this fragment. He had a big U on his chest for the Neitzsche's concept of the ubermensch. To be fair Neizsche would have hated the Nazis and their practises. In one book he directly called anti semites "the botched and bungled"...or something of a negative nature. Eleventystupid.....I am adopting that word. Thanks.

Couldn't agree with Kermode more, final act was over the top and more time should have been devoted to Kal's flash backs or interactions as Clark Kent. I know this is Superman's first day on the job but the death toll in this movie must have been nearing the millions, it reminded me of Star Trek Into Darkness (and Fast and Furious), nobody takes a second to even consider the death toll, it's all part of the spectacle and we should just sit and ignore everything else. Superman should have cared

Just to clear up I believe it was the radiation of the yellow Sun that made Superman super not the breathable air therefore when he is on the ship he is weaker as the ship blocks out the radiation. The villains have to wear suits to cancel out the radiation or they will become super and not be able to control there powers. This doesn't explain the films bad writing though as movie seems to get this mixed up and starts going on about atmosphere.

I actually liked all the parts set on krypton, when I was watching it, I was thinking how cool a Flash Gordon film could be with similar aesthetics. That would be awesome.

SPOILER SPOILER in this comment: completely agree about the ending, it was wayyy over the top with the buildings being hit etc. but they are Kryptonian's going to war against each other & they are mighty powerful. a little bit too much destruction for a character like MoS who would never kill a human. but *SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER* kills Zod. Cavill is brilliant. the whole cast is brilliant. just hope the next film will be directed by a decent choice who will make good choices

I completely agree with Kermode - the best bits of the film were those that related to Superman's development and his character. The action sequences quickly got boring. There's only so many times that you can be interested by superheroes being thrown through buildings (the last act and the earlier action sequence seemed to wholly comprise of this).

I did wonder about the whole air thing and how Zod suddenly gained abilities that Superman had gained from years of radiation from the sun, however the modern Superman has never made sense in terms of realism. It was a super hero film, there is inevitably going to be a massive showdown at the end. Batman can avoid this to some extent because the character could exist within the realms of realism. At the end of the day this film delivered a good super hero movie, better than avengers.

Kind of agreed with everything Kermode said. I love the film, but his points are all true.

Solid review, pretty much how I felt about the movie and I went in blind and pretty excited. I liked how seriously the mythos and backstory was taken, and it was a good move to deliver that backstory in a non-linear way. It's just a shame that the movie had to end in such a big fucking crescendo like almost all summer blockbusters. It's become so clichéd it's almost bordering on self-parody. Still, Man Of Steel was enjoyable overall, and a pretty solid foundation for a better sequel.

@MrGlenbw

4 жыл бұрын

"... a pretty solid foundation for a better sequel." You mean the never materialized Matthew Vaughn movie, or Batman V Superman? (Urrrghh...)

@lazyartiste_2357

2 жыл бұрын

@@MrGlenbw Vaughn was supposed to direct BvS?????! 😲

It was awesome

I just assumed he held his breath .

I personally didn't mind the last act. But I did think the first 20 minutes with Russell Crowe was way to over the top.

I'll disagree for one reason: that Superman himself is larger than life, is bigger and bolder than anything, and therefore his life is turned up to eleventy-stupid. I think All-Star Superman celebrates that the best. Part of his character is his humanity, the testing of his mettle, but I thoroughly enjoyed the film because not only did we get that, but it also embraced the 'woah' factor: Superman facing up to an epic threat of beyond human proportions, and yes, blowing it up stupendously.

I really like most of Man of Steel - it's always just the last half hour i end up wizzing through. It genuinely is boring the 50th time you see someone get thrown through a building and get straight back up.

Mark,is there a way I could actively do something against 3D. I wanted to see this movie,but there's no place in my country where I can see it in 2D,a movie filmed in 2D,produced by a man who doesn't like 3D,I don't think the guys making the movie it would be 3D anyway.In the end I can't watch this movie how I'm supposed to,and well I won't.I'll wait for the DVD/Blu-Ray.

The problem was not the oxygen, it is the sun. he could breathe just fine. when he arrived on the krypton ship is when he has a problem. the atmosphere blocks the sun and he is not used to the environment, this was the closest thing to kryptonite.

Im sure the second movie will have a more confident Superman. So there can be more light moments.

I think Mark's expectations are too high for a film that has to justify it's massive budget by having a mainstream appeal. Which in the case of superhero movies means large action sequences. Personally I think they were very well done and always had a sense of purpose behind them, some of the most spectacular effects in recent cinema as well.

I think I could have forgiven the fact they crash through sky scrapers for 40 minutes, in the final scene if it wasn't for the Michael Bay esque camera work and editing, If your going to spend 500 grand on a spectacular special effect set piece, then let the viewer focus on it for more than 0.5 seconds, it doesn't extenuate the action it just turns the whole thing into a mess.

yup - really disappointed they teased us with trailers showing a focus on the humanity of superman and the battle between the possible perceptions of him and then give us what they did.

I agree with the majority of what has been said, however I actually enjoyed the first "act" on Krypton. I think the moment General Zod reentered the firm about half way though I completely lost interest, and was almost falling asleep towards the end. I'd say it's probably 30 minutes too long as well.

Kryptonians weren't born with Superman powers, those powers come from Supe growing up on earth with a yellow sun (different radiation). That's why kid-Kal couldn't control them and why Zod's ship is built to block out the yellow sun, they can breathe in space because the sun's radiation is in space..but the ship blocks it out..hence Supe losing his power there. Zod adapted to the powers quicker because he is a disciplined soldier bred for it, it was a way to show you Zod's superiority to Kal.

I don't personally connect with smash bang boom CGI fistfights, and it was always obvious that Hope-man was going to save the day in the end. I wish they had taken the third act in a completely different direction because I did enjoy Michael Shannon as the villain. To mirror what Mark said, it is a flawed film but there are moments of captivating cinema.

i don't know now if i should go or wait for blu-ray.zack snyder would not have been my first choice.go or wait

totally agree the movie set two completely different tones; one involving explosions and everything you'd expect from a summer blockbuster. Whilst the other was more somber about who Superman was as a character, and i think that if these two tones were merged as well as they are in The Dark Knight franchise then perhaps the film would've have been really amazing.

I remember my mum went to see Man of Steel and emerged with similar complaints to Mark here. I found it to be one of the Superman films that worked best for me.

I've seen the film twice now, and the third act, albeit exhausting, is much more enjoyable if you just throw your hands up and say, "time for superman to kick some ass." The trailers are a bit misleading in that this will be a more serious take on the superhero. It's not. It's a big, whiz-bang CGI action film. If I was 10 years old this would be the most extraordinary thing I had ever seen. As a 30 year old, it makes me wish I was watching it as a 10 year old.

I don't know if it's just me but I'm slowly getting fed up of cities being destroyed in the third act of a film. Avengers, Transformers, Batman and now Superman. There are probably more that I've forgotten. If only the same could be said for dark of the moon but I guess if I did that I may accidentally watch it again...

'Man of Steel' is to Superman what 'The Dark Knight' is to Batman in terms of a moniker. There's nothing thematic to be read into the names other than they are references that originated from the comics.

tell us how many, please ?

Not the worst review Mark could give. He could have torn it to pieces. I have to admit, it did go slightly into action overload, But I did like it, despite its shortcomings. Looking forward to the sequel.

Kermmode...spot-on as per usual, the movie was too loud and intense...particularly when the city is being obliviated....The Avengers just handle distruction a lot better along with wit and humour and more fun

The action starts at 11 and stays at 11 until you are bleeding from the ear and have gone completely deaf.

Superman and Zod in Man of Steel caused more destruction to the city than the Jaegers and Kaijus did in Pacific Rim. Loved both films BTW.

that makes some sense if you know your superman continuity

and by "Kevin Costner" who apparently steals the show, we do mean Russell Crowe, yes? or did I miss something? (havent seen the film yet so please hold those rocks there for a minute)

The reason superman could fly is because it was cheaper to animate

Very well said! I love that his favourite parts were the vulnerability of Superman. It is the same for me. Too many people were hating on that aspect.