Movie Review: Man of Steel and SM Aura IMAX Review

Image from here.

Finally, a good Superman movie!

Man of Steel is a well-needed reboot of the Superman series, directed by Zack Snyder of 300 and produced by none other than the great Christopher Nolan, director of The Dark Knight trilogy.

The title alone is very Nolanized, like Batman's The Dark Knight. I wonder if Marvel will take cue and name the next Spider-Man movie "Webhead". Er.. I guess not. Haha.

Henry Cavill did a great job as Kal-El. I could not imagine anyone doing a better job, or having a better look. Brandon Routh, from the train wreck that was Superman Returns, had a good look, but at times, looked like nothing more than a Christopher Reeve mannequin. He did not show nearly as much emotion as Cavill does. I can easily accept him as the new Superman, which is more than I can say for the new Spider-Man. Still Tobey for me!

Image from here.

Russell Crowe was also a great choice for Jor-El. For the first time since Gladiator, I was reminded why Crowe is a damn cool actor.

Image from here.

The plot was alright, not overly complex and had good pacing. I found it to be a bit messy at times, but origin stories are always tricky tales to tell.

The action was awesome. With Avengers, Iron Man 3, and this movie, we're getting to be really spoiled with great superhero action scenes. As insanely powerful as Superman is, the action is executed and portrayed perfectly in this film.

Other Notable Cast:
Amy Adams as Lois Lane - I really liked her in Enchanted, but here, she doesn't really bring much to the screen for me.
Michael Shannon as General Zod - This guy's performance pales compared to the great DC villains on screen so far. Yes, including Cillian Murphy's Scarecrow. His best line is what was featured in the trailer.
Kevin Costner as Jonathan Kent - Clark Kent's other Robin Hood father played his role well.
Diane Lane as Martha Kent - Not a big fan of Diane Lane, but um.. I tried Martha's pot roast and it was good? Haha.
Laurence Fishburne as Perry White - What if this was Morpheus before he got plugged out of the matrix??

SM Aura IMAX Review:
I wouldn't say the IMAX is really worth it. It is in full 3D, but that was implemented in post-editing so it won't blow you away. It does not take advantage of the entire IMAX screen, either. The best scene in 3D is the first scene you'll see in the trailer below.

SM Aura's IMAX theater is pretty much the same as the one in Mall of Asia for me. It costs 400 pesos a ticket, which is expensive, but not far from the also-quite-expensive 250 peso regular tickets in SM Aura.

Verdict: 4/5 - Even for the action alone, this for me is the definitive Superman movie of our generation. I can't wait to see what's in store next, and if they can top this at all. Don't wait until after credits though, nothing there. Sigh...

Loved Man of Steel? Hated it? Let me know by commenting below, or just tweet me!



Here's the trailer!

...and this is me clowning around with my two favourite lines in the movie. Click unmute on the upper left to listen. Haha! (They're also in the trailer so don't worry about spoilers)