Man of Steel

If one Superman slugs another Superman… what happens? What if they punch each other 5,000 times… then what? Watching Zach Snyder’s (Watchmen, 300) Man of Steel, it seemed at times that getting to the bottom of these perplexing paradoxes of our DC Comic Book youths was the sole objective of this film. Ok, I exaggerate (but just a bit)… there is a story here. It’s just a little hard to recall amidst the gargantuan battle royal between super hero and super bad guys and the noisy CGI cloud of destruction that comes with.   

Man of Steel’s story, contained principally in the first half of the film before the MMA match begins, turns out to be a fairly close retelling of the Superman legend portrayed in the Christopher Reeve Superman I (1978) and Superman II (1980) films. Snyder’s version, however, takes itself more seriously than the red-tights, 20th-century rendering. It’s a little more sci-fi, visually bolder; and it’s darker. Not “I’m Batman” dark (although Christopher Nolan of the recent Batman trilogy did produce the film) but trending in that direction. That story, of Kal El (aka Clark Kent, aka Superman) sent from a dying Krypton civilization and planet as a baby by visionary parents to a new world, is quite well told by Snyder. The treatment of the emotional and spiritual side of parents giving up a child, adoptive parents loving an alien child that will change the world, and a super child growing up not knowing who or why he is, is effective and powerful. Unfortunately, that side of the film loses the battle with the turgid and over-long action/warfare part of itself. In the end, I just wanted one of those 5,000 super punches to cause the super villain to give up his super ghost so I could go home. 5 out of 10. 

Star Trek Into Darkness

J.J. Abrams reboot of the Star Trek series in 2009 created a new universe in which James Kirk and his crew could explore new worlds and go where no man has gone before. A universe altered by the old-reliable sci-fi restart button… time travel. Now, in Star Trek Into Darkness, Abrams picks up where he dropped us off in 2009; placing our old friends in familiar poses but in different, even inverted or transposed, settings and circumstances from what we remember from the original Trek history.

But this second venture in space is not quite as good as the first. Long-time fans of the series (TV and motion picture) will be pleased that Abrams continues to inject vintage components from the old Star Trek franchise into these new films. Old names with new faces will trigger the desired nostalgic response from the faithful. But just a bit of the specialness of having our old buddies back with us has worn off.

As with all of the Kirk-era Star Treks, the movie works best when the crew is engaged in its patented interplay… cocky Kirk riding his star ship like a wild horse, Spock responding with the single raised eyebrow, and the rest throwing in there special moves – all is the same but all slightly different… in good and interesting ways. Benedict Cumberbatch is outstanding as the enemy (or is he ally?), who is new to this crew's pseudo-parallel universe but well known, from another past, to long-time Star Trek viewers. But alas, writers and director eventually fall into typical summer-action-film excess and the misconception that if 10 explosions is good then 100 is better. Fortunately the CGI action is not as bombastic and laborious as other summer blockbusters such as Iron Man III or Man of Steal, but it does overwhelm at times. Although Abbrams fails to completely sustain the magic of his first Star Trek, Into Darkness is still worth the price of the ticket and is the best of the early summer action films. – 7 out of 10.