Movie Reviews: ‘Man of Steel’ and ‘This Is the End’

The following reviews originally ran on Starpulse.com in 2013.

Hi all. It’s been a while since my last “Weekend Movie Preview” column, I know. Things have been busy for me, so I’ve been publishing one review at a time lately. However I was thinking it would be nice to spice things up and use this format to share my reviews of two films that came out this weekend. Check out my thoughts on the Superman reboot Man of Steel and the apocalyptic comedy This Is the End.

MAN OF STEEL

Clark Kent is no ordinary boy. After the shocking discovery that he’s an extraterrestrial with extraordinary powers, Clark (Henry Cavill) grows up carefully hiding his abilities from those around him, as he tries to uncover why he was sent to Earth. It takes an invasion by hostile aliens from his home planet though, to help Clark realize his true destiny: to protect mankind and to serve as a symbol of hope for Earth’s citizens.

Director: Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch, Watchmen)

Writer: David S. Goyer (Batman Begins, The Dark Knight Rises) with assistance on the story from Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight Rises, Inception)

Based On: The superhero Superman created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster

Notable Actors: Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Christopher Meloni, Richard Schiff, Antje Traue, Ayelet Zurer

MY TAKE: Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel does for Superman, what Batman Begins did for Batman: it successfully rejuvenates the hero’s image and reconnects him to viewers. It should come as no surprise then, that the same scribe behind Batman’s rebirth, David S. Goyer, is the one who reimagined Superman for Man of Steel. So how does Goyer make the superhero interesting again?

First, he washes away the stench of the character’s previous film outing, by scrubbing Superman (Cavill) with a thorough backstory. Goyer takes The Man of Steel’s mythology in an exciting new direction: science fiction. He doesn’t concentrate much on the fantastic nature of Superman’s origins. Instead, Goyer focuses on the technology and culture unique to Superman’s home planet Krypton, that helped shape the hero and his people.

Quite fittingly, most of the opening act takes place on Krypton. There we meet Superman’s birth parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van (Crowe and Zurer), as well as the movie’s villain General Zod (Michael Shannon). While on Krypton, we witness Zod’s crimes and the heartbreaking events that push Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van to send their son Kal-El (Clark) away. For the remainder of the movie, Superman’s history is recounted through flashbacks while we follow the adult Clark Kent. Goyer gives Clark and Zod depth by slowly unraveling the sci-fi elements that have shaped their intertwining destinies through exposition in the present day.

The second major thing that Goyer does to cleanse the picture, is take a different approach to Superman’s love interest Lois Lane (Adams). Lois isn’t just a typical damsel in distress, who’s a liability for Superman. She’s written to be a sassy, driven woman who becomes a partner to Superman, assisting him in his mission to stop Zod. There are definitely times when Superman needs to save her, but you get the sense that if she didn’t absolutely need his help, she would rather do things herself.  

Unfortunately, there are still some areas where this flick gets covered in mud. Lois is a bit underdeveloped and Adams’ chemistry with Cavill is lukewarm. The talented Michael Shannon is also not utilized to his full potential. At two and a half hours, the film feels excessively long and the action sequences are monotonous because most of the fighting involves people ramming each other through buildings at high speeds. In these fights, Snyder’s frenetic camera and cutting further detract from their ability to engage you.

Perhaps the most disappointing thing for me though, is how the Man of Steel trailer ruined many of the film’s wonderful heartfelt moments. The trailer was shown excessively on television and at screenings before the premiere, so by the time I finally saw everything in context, scenes that could have been touching and original, already felt cheap and tired.

In the end, after Goyer’s wash, Superman doesn’t come out squeaky clean and Dove soft, but he’s much less stinky than he was in Bryan Singer’s Superman Returns. The story is sound, Cavill gives a delightfully even keel performance, and there are some fun supporting characters played by Christopher Meloni and Laurence Fishburne. This is actually a Superman flick I don’t want to rinse from my memory.  

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THIS IS THE END

During a party at James Franco’s house, Seth Rogen, Jay Baruchel, Jonah Hill, Danny McBride and Craig Robinson are thrust into the apocalypse. To survive, they’ll have to work together; too bad they’re all out for themselves.

Co-Directors/Writers: Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg (Superbad, Pineapple Express)

Based On: A short Seth and Jay vs The Apocalypse by Jason Stone

Notable Supporting Actors: Michael Cera, Emma Watson, Mindy Kaling, Aziz Ansari, Paul Rudd, Rihanna, Christopher Mintz-Plasse, Channing Tatum, Kevin Hart, Jason Segel

MY TAKE: Dealing with the apocalypse should be easier when you’re in the company of pals, unless your friends self-involved assholes, like the characters in Seth Rogen and Evan Goldberg’s comedy This Is the End. Surrounded by selfish comedic actors, your chances of survival would be slim, but at least you’d all share some twisted laughs before you kicked the bucket. In that scenario, you’d probably experience the same perverted humor, you would if you watched this movie. Except maybe the madness wouldn’t be as funny if you were actually living it.

This film is built on a really amusing setup: celebrities playing warped versions of themselves during the end of days. The fact that these stars are willing to skewer themselves figuratively (and literally in some cases), is why this premise is effective. Life or death scenarios already bring out the worst in human nature, so of course the apocalypse pushes these cowardly, self-centered Hollywood types to rock bottom. And as you might expect, it doesn’t take long for these folks to hit hilarious bedrock in This Is the End.

Although many actors show up to lampoon themselves, the story mainly focuses on five friends: Rogen, Baruchel, Hill, McBride, and Robinson. These guys are supposedly best buds, however they have all kinds underlying tensions that come bubbling up to the surface Their love/hate relationships and constant bickering are fuel for the comedic fire and brimstone in this picture.

Despite the opportunity to really go wild with their fake personas, the majority of the leads are disappointingly tame. Baruchel is a holier-than-thou hipster, Rogen is a slightly more self-absorbed version of himself, Hill is overly nice in a phony way, Franco is super pretentious, and Robinson is still a teddy bear. The only one who truly embraces the chance to go nuts is McBride, whose insanely self-absorbed antics are a constant danger to everyone else. McBride’s character goes to some scary places that are incredibly humorous and just plain disturbing.

Overall, the jokes in this film are a mixed bag with varying levels of success. Highlights include Franco’s propensity for keeping props from his movies, Rogen’s worry that marauders will forcibly make love to his manboobs, and a spat between Franco and McBride where they threaten to ejaculate on each other. There are some terrible misses though, such as the tired exorcism bit that feels like it belongs in Scary Movie. Others around me found the picture to be uproarious, however I felt like the comedy was overly self-indulgent and alienating with its abundance of inside jokes. At least there’s a bright side: you’ll get hilarious surprise at the end that everyone can appreciate.

Although the solid premise for this movie allows it to mine lots of comedic gold, the fact that it’s based on a short is noticeable. While the concept of celebrities experiencing the apocalypse together makes for a funny YouTube video, it has a hard time sustaining the legs to last a full 107 minutes. The good news is that whether you hate the film or you just thought it was okay like me, the finality of its setting means that there’s no opening for a sequel to muck everything up worse. With any luck, no one will propose a prequel either.

✭✭✭