Man of Steel is an almost constant thrill ride. If you think Avengers was full of non-stop action and destruction, Man of Steel is about as extreme. It’s really over-the-top to say the least. Henry Cavill is a decent Superman, bearing enough resemblance to both Christopher Reeve and Tom Welling, IMO, that he is a good follow up to others who’ve played the strange visitor from another planet.
The movie does mess with a couple of points in the Superman mythos, most notably the fate of Jonathan Kent and some adjustments to the Clark and Lois relationship. Russell Crowe does a great job as Jor-El, a million times better than Brando. I’m surprised that Lois is not a brunette, which is typical, but not really a big deal. In all it’s a great movie, but be prepared for more action than human interest. Far more sci-fi than I expected.
The new Star Trek movie pays
homage to the original TV series, the first movie series, and the previous
film in this current reboot. Since the reboot establishes an alternate timeline,
the stuff from the original still happened, sort of, so the present can still
build on the past.
Since most of you probably know by now that Leonard Nimoy shows up, now billed as “Spock Prime,” I’m not likely spoiling anything by saying that it was great to see him back again. If possible, before seeing the movie, I’d recommend re-watching Star Trek II: The Wrath of Kahn, Star Trek III: The Search for Spock, and the first installment of the current series. You’ll be glad you did.
It was also good to see Peter Weller, who years ago played the title role in Buckaroo Banzai and was more recently Jack Bauer’s arch enemy, Christopher Henderson, on 24.
The addition of Carol Marcus to the crew leads one to question how much she and Kirk’s relationship will parallel that of the original timeline. We were given a few hints, but that may only have been to throw us off.
And oh, yes—the lens flares. I didn’t notice them in the previous film, but my kids did and they told me to watch for them in this one.
Summer is super hero movies season. I've so far taken in Ironman III, Man of Steel, and Star Trek Into Darkness. The Lone Ranger starts July 3, and I'm looking forward to it.