Five Years And A Few Months Ago
It’s hard to believe that it’s only been five years since 2013’s Man Of Steel was released. So much has happened since the release of that film. Batman Vs. Superman: Dawn of Justice, Suicide Squad, Wonder Woman, and Justice League have all been released in that time and three more films will be released within the next two years with Aquaman coming later this year and Shazam and Wonder Woman 1984 coming in 2019. There are also plans for films featuring Cyborg, Green Lantern Corps, Black Adam, Flash, and Birds of Prey, as well as another standalone Batman film.
Each of the released films in the DCEU have been met with varying degrees of success and appreciation. Wonder Woman is considered to be the crown jewel in the DCEU, with Man of Steel not too far behind. The rest of the films have been scoffed at and hated by plenty of people, but they also have their fans. I’m a fan of all of the DCEU films, but unlike a lot of folks, Man of Steel is my least favorite.
So why am I revisiting the film? Two reasons: 1) Apparently Henry Cavill (who portrays Superman in the DCEU) was either booted or got out of his contract with Warner Bros. and 2) it started the whole DCEU, so it’s pretty important whether I enjoyed it or not.
The film starred Cavill, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Michael Shannon as Zod, and Laurence Fishburne as Perry White. The supporting cast included Diane Lane and Kevin Costner as Martha and Jonathan Kent (Clark’s parents), Antje Traue as Faora-Ul, a lieutenant in Zod’s army and one of his most loyal followers, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, Clark’s biological father, and Rebecca Buller as Jenny Jurwich, an intern under Perry White at the Daily Planet.
The film gave us a much grimmer version of Superman, at least one unfamiliar to comic fans. As Superman is always looked up to as a shining beacon of hope, his portrayal in the film as someone who was told to rein in his powers came as a bit of a slap in the face to general audiences. It turned a lot of people off to the film and started a massive debate on why Superman allowed innocents to die in the film.
The way I see it is that screenplay writers David S. Goyer (the Blade films, etc.) and Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Trilogy, among others), along with director Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen, BvS, etc.), hoped to give us a look at a being that was so totally unique in our world that he felt alone and misunderstood. He struggled with his powers and whether or not he should use them. Later films would show Superman grow into his own, but this film had a very hard task and managed to pull it off with some success.
I still find the film to be a bit uneven, and actually enjoyed all of the other DCEU films more than this one. I still watch it on occasion, but it’s not my go-to DC live action film. When I’m in the mood for a DCEU flick, I usually go with Suicide Squad or Wonder Woman.
My favorite character in the film was Faora-Ul. Antje Traue was both fierce and beautiful in the role and I hoped that we would see more of her in later films. That’s up in the air now since talks of Man of Steel 2 or any other film featuring Superman are on hold at the moment. Hopefully Cavill will return in the role in at least one more movie, but I’m finding that opportunity to be slipping away faster with each passing day.
Cavill was very good as Clark Kent/Superman. He’s not my favorite Superman, but I would place him at a solid second place just ahead of Brandon Routh. Cavill was never given much to work with as Supes, but there were flashes of what could be in Justice League, especially once he flew in to help the rest of the gang when they were fighting Steppenwolf.
There’s still so much potential in the DCEU, and I’d hate to see Cavill miss out on what looks like a brighter future thanks to the upcoming trio of films with Aquaman, Wonder Woman 1984, and Shazam! DC’s characters are so much more iconic than the bulk of Marvel’s characters with just Captain America and Spider-Man being the exceptions in my opinion, and I’d love to see DC’s characters get a film that is truly great.
Ben Affleck, who portrays Batman in the DCEU, is also rumored to be out as the Dark Knight. Hopefully the next few films will be better received by general audiences and both Cavill and Affleck will return. Until then you can catch Cavill on the upcoming Netflix series, The Witcher.
Oh, and here’s a video of a moment in Man Of Steel that pays tribute to my favorite Superman, Christopher Reeve:
As always, thanks for reading. Let me know what you think about Man Of Steel, BvS, or any of the other DCEU films in the comments section.
Ken's Alternate Universe! 