Who says all twins have the same opinion? Twin Takedown is a feature at Nawanda Files where my twin and I review the same book. We don't always agree. Spoilers are like landmines in this review. Beware. 
Man of Steel
Release Date: June 14th, 2013
Actors: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams
Director: Zack Snyder
Genre: Action, Adventure
Rating: PG-13
Current Location: In Theaters
IMDB
TRAILER
A young itinerant worker is forced to confront his secret extraterrestrial heritage when Earth is invaded by members of his race.
Introduction
Krista: It's been a ridiculously long time since we've had a Twin Takedown. Mostly because reading the same books has become near impossible with so many to review. But alas! We have a Twin Takedown today. It's a little different because we'll be battling out our opinions of a movie--not a book. Now, I'm not a comic book reader like Becca so I don't have that kind of insight to Superman. But...I am a lover of Smallville *brushes imaginary dust of shoulder* so there's that ;)
Becca: I am a lover of Smallville too. May I just say that I own the box set (that's 10 seasons of pure awesomeness!) and I can't call myself a Superman expert anymore than you since I have only read one DC comic and that was for school (yes, I took a comic book class in college. Best. Course. Ever!)
Krista: Fine. So neither of us are comic experts on Superman. But we do love movies! So let's get to it! It's time to totally judge this movie in style...
Initial Response
Krista: Am I watching Star Trek or Superman? Cuz...we're in space! I really thought the beginning was well done. Starting in Krypton and having the alien lore was different than all the other versions of Superman. Kudos!
Becca: Yep, the beginning made up for Russel Crowe's heinous (strong word, I know) appearance in Les Miserables. Seriously, he almost ruined that film for me. But he won the Father showdown between himself and Jonathan Kent. I really, really loved Jor-El more here than I ever have.
Krista: Agree! One of the strong suits of the movie was Russel Crowe. And while we're on the discussion of the beginning, can we talk about the flying animal on Krypton? The one that Russel Crowe flies on like he's starring in How to Train Your Dragon.
It felt very Star Wars to me. I'm curious if this animal is actually from the comic books. *looks to Becca*
Becca: *pauses* I have no idea. But I do know what that flying creature immediately reminded me of. Lord of the Rings! It was Krypton's very own "save me" animal like the giant birds in Tolkien's novels (also in the Hobbit). I can't be the only one who remembers those.
Krista: *nods* so true.
The Story/Plot
Krista: Initially, I was on board. But then as the story line progressed....eh. Something was off. I quickly realized that I just didn't connect to Superman (as a person) enough. And it had nothing to do with Henry Cavill's acting and everything to do with the structure of the movie. After Krypton we get an older superman who is on a fishing boat straight from Deadliest Catch...
I know JLaw! I don't get it either. Sure, seeing Clark Kent going day-by-day through different jobs and rescuing people is cool. But I don't even know who Clark Kent really is. You can't rely on other movies, shows, and comics to display his personality. He's a quiet guy. Okay. I get it.
But the flashbacks really held the heart of the character and those were dispersed throughout the film in an odd manner. I think we would have understood/connected to the character more if it was in chronological order.
Becca: See, this is where I disagree. I think that if you made the story chronological order it would have been a snooze fest. And Superman is supposed to be a super-introvert. We saw his pain from having to basically cower inside himself as the flashbacks progress.
Krista: Technically the middle was kind of snoozey anyway...And one of my biggest issues with the whole "Flashback" scenes was how we didn't get many of them before Superman learns he's Kal El. That's just wrong. It was too fast and left me no chance to fall in love with Henry Cavil's portrayal of the superhero. It pissed me off to some degree, and really screwed up any chance of me giving the movie 5 stars.
Becca: Yes, but for an origin story, it worked. One problem I have with the storyline happened to be with the transitions. Literally that's only one of two qualms I have with the film. All of a sudden we'd be here:
And then we'd jump here:
Okay, really, this isn't a true transition from the film. I honestly can't remember one (although there were many jarring instances), but it's something that made me confused a few times. And my poor mother came out scratching her head. For someone who rarely sees action flicks, this may be a big problem.
Krista: And that ending! Okay...that's a whole other topic that we will dish about later.
Becca: I have strong feelings on that...
Krista: Me too...but I wasn't feeling anything pleasant...
The Acting
Krista: I have mixed feelings about the acting, even though I will always claim the structure of the movie threw me off the most. I guess we can start with Superman himself, Henry Cavil.
Why hello there, sexy ;)
Becca: He is my favorite Superman, although Tom Welling is in his own category. But for film, Cavil played the part brilliantly. He had the cheekbones, the jawline, the panty-dropper smile. And he exuded the perfect quietness that Superman has -- that sort of humbleness without being too self-righteous. It's a hard balance, and he managed to pull it off.
Krista: I think Henry Cavil did a good job for the script he was given. The character doesn't talk much in the film (especially in the first half) so he's more of a internalized portrayal of Superman.
Becca: I actually appreciated his silence. Not to say that he's only something to stare at, but Superman is supposed to be on the quiet side, and it was nice not being spoon-fed answers. We were given this sort of intimate picture of Clark Kent by seeing him in these really vulnerable moments throughout his life where he couldn't fight back -- he couldn't stand up -- he had to take the punches and the ridicule and internalize all the hurt. And it wouldn't make much sense if he grew up and became this outspoken adult when he was taught to hold everything in as a child.
Krista: Can we also talk about how much Henry Cavil looks like Tom Welling (teenage Superman from Smallville)? In a flashback scene, I almost thought they cast Tom Welling as teen Clark Kent -- but it was actually still Henry Cavil!! Oh, Tom Welling...*swoon*
Becca: Yes! Even though I adore Tom Welling, I'm glad they decided to go with Cavil because it didn't become the Smallville Movie, which would have turned off a lot of people. Not me though ;)
Krista: Let's talk about Amy Adams and her portrayal as Lois Lane. I know, Becca, that you LOVED this. But I'm going the other way. I thought she was kind of just...blah. I liked that she did her own thing and wasn't hanging all over Superman, but she was still blah.
Becca: Yep, I loved her. She ranks as my favorite non-superheroine love interest. Why? She wasn't whiny; she wasn't too abrasive, and she wasn't obnoxious. When danger comes, usually the girl is screaming, needing to be saved in some way. Sometimes, she's even the cause of the destruction and our hero has to come rescue her. I think that only happened once with Amy Adams' portrayal of Lois Lane, and it was too small to ridicule. For the most part, she entered the conflict with resilience, and when she was in deathly situations, she accepted her fate for what it was. In her own right, she was a hero.
The Villains
Becca: Okay, okay, so I am so glad that the villain was not Lex Luther. Lex, I'm sorry, but you don't scare me. Maybe your baldness does, but please, against Superman? You're like an pesky gnat.
Nope, still not buying it. Sorry Lex. Maybe if you had some alien powers I'd be afraid of you.
Krista: HAHA! Agreed. They tried with Kevin Spacey in the reboot movie and it failed miserably. While I'm not a huge fan of General Zod, I do think it was a wise decision to choose a Kryptonian villian to give it more of a space vibe. And let's talk the real stand-out of the movie: FAORAH!
She kicked ass. And honestly was one of my favorite parts to the bad guys. I was way more scared of her than Zod.
Becca: Me too! She was frightening. Zod was badass in certain parts, but his voice...I don't know. It sounded lame compared to Russel Crowe's deep ancient lilt. It made everything he said sort of corny. That is my second and last qualm with the movie ;)
The Romance
Becca: So the romance felt misplaced, as it usually does in these kinds of films. Really in Batman Begins, we did not need Katie Holmes kissing all up on Bruce Wayne. Same goes for this movie. Lois really didn't need to kiss Clark. She did, I believe, twice. The first time I accepted. They were both shaking after a traumatic moment. And when I mean traumatic I mean skyscrapers falling in every direction. I was freaking scared. And I think it worked because it was almost like "we just lived from that" sort of a kiss. Not "I'm really into you" kind of one. Any sort of romantic engagements after that moment, I tuned out. They felt forced for the sake of giving the female crowd something to swoon over. And please, we don't need anything more than Henry to flash that panty-dropper smile.
Krista: The romance was one of the aspects that really turned me off to Lois Lane.
Look. If this was in a book it'd be deemed insta-love for sure! Superman rescues Lois, they lock eyes, they fall in love. NOOOOOO! Don't do it. I think we should ban romances from all superhero origin stories....except Spiderman (because who doesn't love Emma Stone and Andrew Garfield together?)
Becca: I kind of agree. Just kind of. I mean, if Michael Fassbender and JLaw hooked up in the new X-Men, I'd be slacked jawed and probably start a slow clap.
Favorite Scene
Becca: All the action. The flashbacks were sweet, and I thought they'd be my favorites, but the action scenes in the city and in the small town between Superman and his race were...I mean, I can't even describe. They were EPIC to the highest proportion. I can't even name another film that compares. It felt like total destruction and devastation. I felt like a portion of New York City was being ripped apart. It was that brutal.
Krista: I liked the scenes with Russel Crowe. Had the movie been more focused on Clark Kent and his relationship with his two fathers, coming to terms with not being human but having to protect the race, and so forth...maybe it would have all worked out better. In the end...not so much.
The Ending
Becca: Ah, the ending. This is SPOILER territory for anyone who wants to turn back now.
Krista: There are two final actions scenes. ONE: The Kryptonians are terraforming the city and killing thousands. Superman has to stop the machine. So here it's him versus machine while Lois and the humans fight the enemy. I liked this battle. I thought it was strong even though Superman wasn't fighting the big-bad directly. It was him versus himself, which was a powerful theme throughout the film.
TWO: Superman v. General Zod. No. Just No.
There was so much wrong with this final scene. They literally just have a fist fight in the air, crashing into buildings. It lasted too long, took away from the other "final" battle, and was kind of boring. Not to mention the very end where Superman kills Zod. Superman DOESN'T kill! I loved Henry Cavil's acting in this but it was a shocker that really wasn't needed.
Becca: I disagree whole heartedly. The fight between Superman and Zod was intimate. It brought it back to a small level, and we finally got to see a group of humans in the crossfire where Superman has his eye on them. He had to make a brutal decision. And Superman's scream when he did have to kill to save humans -- the fact that he chose humans over his race -- was horrific and made him more human. I don't like the self-rigtechous portrayl of Superman that we often see (*ahem* Captain American *ahem), and this twist fixed that. In the end, I was like:
I looked a mess. And I had to sit back in my seat and try to breathe normally. Not many films affect me this way, and it was that last scene that did me in. I loved it.
Rating
Becca: Look, this film was a thousand leagues better than Batman Begins. I'd say on an emotional level, it's better than The Dark Knight. I was misty-eyed basically all the way through. I felt Clark's pain throughout his adolescence, and by the end, I wanted a sequel, badly. I can only predict things will go up from here. And another reason why I say it's better than The Dark Knight -- I think that film was great because of the villain. The Joker stole the show, but this film focused so much on Clark that I sensed his humanity more than I did Batman's. Clark's passion for human kind and the decisions he had to make were so powerful that I was left knocked out by the end. A five-star worthy performance and a five-star worthy production. Loved every minute of it.
Krista: As an origin story, I do think it worked. Brilliantly? Probably not. Yes, I liked it better than Batman Begins and and million times better than the previous Superman movie. DC is all about being dark and so you don't find the funny moments that Marvel packs into their films, which is fine with me. But something lacked in Man of Steel. Heart. Superman's heart to be exact. I wanted to fall in love with him and I just...didn't. Still a decent first movie with lots of room to grow.
Becca: No heart? :( That's cold. Real cold.
VS.