Zack Snyder’s more mature, grittier Superman reboot is finally here. Man of Steel, patterned after the success of Christopher Nolan’s more mature, grittier Batman reboot, features Henry Cavill as Kal-El, the super-powered Kryptonian who eventually becomes the most famous super hero ever created.
Though early movie-goers seem to have enjoyed Superman’s return, critics have weighed in with middling reviews, putting Man of Steel‘s tomatometer rating at a rotten 59% – below even 2006’s Superman Returns.
Critics praised the movie for its good special effects, which Snyder (who directed 300 and Watchmen) is well-known for. However, Man of Steel was criticized for being shallow, while at the same time taking itself too seriously. The reviews sound similar to ones written for Snyder’s last movie, 2011’s Sucker Punch.
Richard Roeper, who recently took over the Chicago Sun-Times’ movie reviews for the late Roger Ebert, stated there was “little humor or joy” in Man of Steel. Rolling Stone’s Peter Travers disagreed, saying that Christopher Nolan’s impact in co-writing Man of Steel made the movie “interesting.”
The Washington Post’s Ann Hornaday hated the movie, calling Snyder’s Superman “joyless,” and even panned “Hans Zimmer’s turgid, over-produced score…”
From Hornaday’s review:
It takes nearly an hour for Clark to don the iconic red cape and “S”-imprinted chest plate, which turns out to be not even the midpoint in a story that, with its back-and-forths, jump cuts and flashbacks and repetitively percussive action sequences, seems to have been filmed by an easily distracted child or sentient garden hose.
Regardless of what the professional movie watchers think, it seems that fans are on-board for a new era of DC Comics movies. The hashtag #manofsteel is trending on Twitter, and Superman fans are themselves giving out short, mixed reviews:
And screw you Rotten Tomatoes. Man of Steel is perfectly made. Perfect story, perfect casts, a perfect reboot.
— Alexander Thian (@aMrazing) June 14, 2013
I already said my piece about 'Man of Steel' last night. But in case you missed it, *yawwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn*
— Tony Tescadero (@Tescadero) June 14, 2013
Favorite MAN OF STEEL moment: Zod & co sealed in their dildo-pods; woman next to me snorts; we trade nods of acknowledgment; back to film.
— Sam Adams (@SamuelAAdams) June 14, 2013