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Episode 1386 Talkback: Man of Steel Movie Review

Superman is back on the big screen in a big way, and having borne witness to the super-spectacle, a group of Geeks (including lost son of CGS Kevin Moyer!) share their impressions of 'Man of Steel.' Listen as we train our heat vision on the cast of characters, the new costume, the narrative structure, the somber tone, the already infamous Superman/Zod climactic clash, and a host of other topics relating to the blockbuster film. (1:20:18)

Listen here.

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    BinkerBinker Posts: 8
    I'm so glad you guys loved MOS. I had some problems with it, but my problems were on the pacing from act one and a little from act two. This was a very good Superman film, and with its success we will get Justice League.

    BTW: Kevin; you gave a mentioned to the black and silver; you do know that the black and silver suit was in MOS, right? When Clark is in that dream with Zod, and he is then shown with his costume, its a black and silver variant of his suit. Its been confirmed from the making of art book, and a clearer image of the scene where he is being buried shows that the suit isn't blue, but black. If you didn't realize that, well you are seeing it again, right?
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    HellionHellion Posts: 8
    edited June 2013
    Hi guys! I hardly post, but I just heard the show and felt like I needed to put my 2 cents in. Regarding Superman The Movie and the ending where Superman flies around the Earth and spins it backwards to save Lois — he didn't actually "spin" it backwards. He flew so fast that he went back in time. The Earth spinning backwards was actually just a side effect of time travel. Remember the movie The Time Machine when the guy is going so fast into the future that the world around him is changing at super speed? Same thing, but backwards.

    Loved, loved, loved this film. My main reason for loving it was to finally see Superman unleash. We've NEVER seen him actually fight on this level of intensity. The visual effects are executed perfectly. I agree that it wasn't filled with much humor, but maybe they consciously made that decision to keep the tone more serious and distance it from the Donner films, especially the bad ones, 3 and 4 (but I think Donner was out of the picture by then). Yeah, the destruction of Metropolis was a bit much but that just goes to show you that Superman is still just one guy and can only be in one place at a time and that there is a real need for a Justice League. The suit took some getting used to but on the whole it was okay. The Zod kill was jarring and struck me as out of character, but then Murd and Matt reminded me that Byrne's version did indeed kill off the Kryptonians by de-powering them and exposing them to Kryptonite. Another reason I loved it is that Lex wasn't in this — as he always annoys the hell out of me — but I'm glad they referenced Lexcorp. A cool after-the-credits scene would have been to show Lex (just the back of his head) and the President surveying the damage of Metropolis. Maybe the President could say how they now need to create contingencies to contain "the alien," and we would just hear Lex say; "Leave that to me."
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    MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    Pants, are we including samples of Rogaine with this episode? I think some of the listeners are going to be pulling out chunks of hair during this episode!

    M
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    Chuck_MelvilleChuck_Melville Posts: 3,003
    I'm really looking forward to listening to this 'cast. I'll be back to argue later.
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    rebisrebis Posts: 1,820
    They're trunks, not underwear!
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    JDickJDick Posts: 206
    Can't wait to listen to this.
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    abuddahabuddah Posts: 133
    Kevin is correct, it was Goyer reading old Action comics issues during writers block which began the story process:
    http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/16/david-goyer-man-of-steel-interview-what-nolan-did-what-marvel-do-and-where-it-all-came-from/

    Also, let's not forget that this wasn't two dudes setting out to make a little Superman movie. This movie was FAST tracked into production in order to retain licenses over the character and his origin story. Hence, the comments concerning disjointed editing.
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    abuddahabuddah Posts: 133
    That Rios comment in nonsense. 2/3 examples cited are cartoons where the producers must deliberately have the streets cleared to not imply death. There is a cognitive difference between watching a illustrated city destroyed and watching actual humans, larger than life, running from what appears from a collapsing building. It invokes 9-11 and countless other tragedies whether intended or not. I know people that were in NYC then and they have genuine trouble watching things like this. Who's Peter Rios to tell them how they can/can't react? As for Superman II, I haven't seen it in a while but I'm positive the violence and destruction were nowhere near the level of this movie.
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    rebisrebis Posts: 1,820
    edited June 2013
    Binker said:

    I'm so glad you guys loved MOS. I had some problems with it, but my problems were on the pacing from act one and a little from act two. This was a very good Superman film, and with its success we will get Justice League.

    BTW: Kevin; you gave a mentioned to the black and silver; you do know that the black and silver suit was in MOS, right? When Clark is in that dream with Zod, and he is then shown with his costume, its a black and silver variant of his suit. Its been confirmed from the making of art book, and a clearer image of the scene where he is being buried shows that the suit isn't blue, but black. If you didn't realize that, well you are seeing it again, right?

    I heard Black & Silver and thought it was a call back to an oooolllllllldd CGS episode focusing on Moon Knight. I think it was when Charlie Huston was bringing the character back.
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    PeterPeter Posts: 470
    The violence and destruction in Superman II was nowhere near the level because of movie restrictions of the time. Had it been made now, it would resemble Man of Steel. Destroyed Coca Cola sign with debris falling to the ground. Non smashing through the street and buildings. Zod blowing up cars. All of them with damage and destruction raining down in the streets of Metropolis and on its people. And a cartoon gets a pass but a movie doesn't? Weird.

    I said something about people's experience about 9/11? Uhhh. No. But thanks for playing. :)
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    MattMatt Posts: 4,457

    I'm really looking forward to listening to this 'cast. I'll be back to argue later.

    Wait...are you just going to cut & paste from the other thread?! LOL

    M
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    Chuck_MelvilleChuck_Melville Posts: 3,003
    Matt said:

    I'm really looking forward to listening to this 'cast. I'll be back to argue later.

    Wait...are you just going to cut & paste from the other thread?! LOL

    M
    Well... if it's more convenient. :)
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    Mr_CosmicMr_Cosmic Posts: 3,200
    edited June 2013
    Binker said:

    I'm so glad you guys loved MOS.

    I haven't listened yet but it sounds like the guys are all going to be WRONG! lol
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    abuddahabuddah Posts: 133
    edited June 2013
    Peter said:

    The violence and destruction in Superman II was nowhere near the level because of movie restrictions of the time. Had it been made now, it would resemble Man of Steel.

    Destroyed Coca Cola sign with debris falling to the ground. Non smashing through the street and buildings. Zod blowing up cars. All of them with damage and destruction raining down in the streets of Metropolis and on its people. And a cartoon gets a pass but a movie doesn't? Weird.

    I said something about people's experience about 9/11? Uhhh. No. But thanks for playing. :)

    If we're going to delve into the hypothetical, yes, it probably would. Especially if you hire someone as blunt as Snyder to do it and it's following up a failed reboot where everyone complained that Superman never threw a punch.

    However the argument presented by Matt on your behalf is that people have no right to complain about the violence in this movie if they weren't disturbed by the violence in Superman II, JLU and Superman: Doomsday. If the violence in Superman II is less because of the era, how can you justify that argument? Cartoons "get a pass" because the visuals have been vetted by a much stricter standards and practices than a summer blockbuster. The streets are baron even before the fight begins in Superman Doomsday. Watching a human rather than a drawing being pummeled is a different experience. Watching a CGI building topple upon the citizens of metropolis is more visceral than anything city destruction in JLU. These cartoons lean towards fantasy while Synder, Nolan an co. lean toward grounding stories in reality. I brought up 911 because the iconography of that tragedy has infected our public consciousness and in turn is reflected in the stories we tell. The staff at iFanboy had trouble with both this movie and Star Trek: Into Darkness because of their experiences on that day. I thought the action was overdone, but I wasn't offended by it. However I respect the opinions of the people that were.
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    LibraryBoyLibraryBoy Posts: 1,803
    I wrote about my thoughts at length over on my blog, but the short version is that I really enjoyed it. It wasn't the perfect superhero movie, probably not even the perfect Superman movie (which I don't think has actually been made yet!), but I was thoroughly entertained. As for any changes people may see (or think they see) to the basic character of Superman, I think of it this way: the movie is called Man of Steel, not Superman, and this is because he isn't Superman, or not yet anyway. He is still learning his role and his powers and can't react to a situation based on a particular code or expertise because those are still forming. And like a lot of the guys on the show said, I hope we see these experiences affect how he conducts himself as both Superman and Clark in the next movie.

    I'd give this a B+, or 4 out of 5 Frekking Sweers if you prefer. Still room for improvement, but a solid effort.

    And as for the show itself, it's always great to hear Kevin's voice again! =D>
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    JDickJDick Posts: 206
    abuddah said:

    Kevin is correct, it was Goyer reading old Action comics issues during writers block which began the story process:
    http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/16/david-goyer-man-of-steel-interview-what-nolan-did-what-marvel-do-and-where-it-all-came-from/

    Also, let's not forget that this wasn't two dudes setting out to make a little Superman movie. This movie was FAST tracked into production in order to retain licenses over the character and his origin story. Hence, the comments concerning disjointed editing.

    Warner Brothers own DC Comics and Superman. Why do they need to worry about retaining the license? It's not a Sony/Spider-Man situation.

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    abuddahabuddah Posts: 133
    JDick said:

    abuddah said:

    Kevin is correct, it was Goyer reading old Action comics issues during writers block which began the story process:
    http://www.bleedingcool.com/2013/06/16/david-goyer-man-of-steel-interview-what-nolan-did-what-marvel-do-and-where-it-all-came-from/

    Also, let's not forget that this wasn't two dudes setting out to make a little Superman movie. This movie was FAST tracked into production in order to retain licenses over the character and his origin story. Hence, the comments concerning disjointed editing.

    Warner Brothers own DC Comics and Superman. Why do they need to worry about retaining the license? It's not a Sony/Spider-Man situation.

    Because they've been battling the legal rights to the character for decades with a surprising ruling in 2011 that would've severely limited their profits
    entertainment.time.com/2013/01/11/warner-bros-wins-superman-lawsuit-just-in-time-for-man-of-steel/

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    Chuck_MelvilleChuck_Melville Posts: 3,003
    abuddah said:
    Yeah...

    Not the Superman I want sitting on my shelf.

    This is the one I want:

    image

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    MattMatt Posts: 4,457
    abuddah said:
    Since he never wore THAT outfit, I think that's a disservice to those who want a MOS statue.

    M
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    i_am_scifii_am_scifi Posts: 784
    While my opinion is very much on the side of Man of Steel being a good first 40 minutes followed by the rest of the movie missing the point of the character and becoming a better DragonBall Z movie than the one with Justin Chatwin and Emmy Rossum, I'm glad you guys found things to enjoy.

    I agree with Kevin that after so much violence in the movie the impact and decisions of the last few scenes was at least a little muffled, if not completely. But most of all, it was the inability to portray a disaster like what happened in Metropolis realistically that lost me. People do not stand around and watch destruction occur, and they certainly do not remain in a high-rise as long as the staff of The Daily Planet did while the city is getting pummeled not too far away.

    I don't want to get too far into a rant here, but you can here my complete thoughts and opinions on the Comic Timing episode that will be released by Wednesday at the earliest, Thursday at the latest.
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