Poll: What Did You Think of ‘Man of Steel’?

Our reviewers are split on the merits of Zack Snyder’s ‘Man of Steel’ reboot. This may turn out to be one of the more divisive films of the year. The movie has had preview screenings the last couple of days and opens wide today. This is your opportunity to tell us what you think. Is this a great rebirth for the franchise, or a super dud? Vote in our poll.

The Comments section of this post will be open for discussion of plot spoilers. If you haven’t seen the movie yet, you may want to come back and read the Comments after you have.

What Did You Think of 'Man of Steel'?

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28 comments

    • I always agree with Luke Hickman but this would be one exception. I didn’t like it that much. I thought it was a tall order to best Superman and Superman 2. Man of Steel tried to offer a variant of Superman movie. Aside from different details, the central theme is pretty much the same. So what does this movie offer that the Superman 1 & 2 didn’t? Not much other than special effects. Other than Clark’s parents and zod, Lois Lane and Clark Kent were way too under-developed if you compare it with Superman movies. Perhaps there is room for improvement in the sequels.

      I did notice few people were snoring. I’m not sure if the movie was boring or they were too tired.

      It wasn’t a bad movie. But it wasn’t as good as I had hoped.

    • Quincy Sloan

      What an outstanding interpretation of such an iconic comic book hero. I’m definetly not a Superman expert, but I have always enjoyed and have been entertained by the story. I’ve always been completely bias towards any film, cartoon, or remake by comparing them Christopher Reeve’s Superman. I really connected with the characters, the plot, and the conflicts. I loved the CGI and although I was really impress the effects, the film didn’t rely just on the special effects. I loved the subtle connections to prior films in addition to connections to novels like the destruction of one of the moons of Krypton. Finally, it was very cool to go with my 14 year old son and see how much he similarly enjoyed the movie.

  1. charles

    Yea, thought it was great. FINALLY Superman faced a villian that could go toe to toe with him. Of all the movies that have over the top action, Superman is THE ONE to deserve it since he is a god among men. Delivered exactly what I’ve been waiting for since I was a kid, Superman fighting a villian that seemed like a real threat with city scaled destruction in the wake of the fights.

  2. hurin

    Dumbest parts of the movie:

    Faora talking about evolution, the kryptons are bred in tubes, so what would she know.

    The ship that landed 20000 years ago has a genesis chamber. Makes sense if it was a failed attempt at colonization. But why can’t Zod simply use the codex from that ship?

    Why would you terraform a planet if doing so would make you lose your superpowers.

    • I would think Farora believes that the fact that they are biologically designed is the next step in evolution. Meanwhile, Earthlings are born randomly with no set purpose…something Kryptonians believe is barbaric (and Zod claims is heresy early in the movie).

  3. William Henley

    This ended up being a busy weekend for me – spent all day yesterday morning and afternoon getting car repairs, last night working at a concert, got called into work today, got stuff going until 8 tonight, work tomorrow through Wednesday…. May have to wait until Thursday to see it.

    However, I did just discover that one of my local theaters installed Atmos. I was kinda wondering, because when I saw a movie there two weeks ago, the management came in and was talking about how they installed ceiling speakers, and were now a 32.2 channel auditorium.

  4. Elizabeth

    I didn’t think it was a bad movie but I did find myself being bored and disengaged. The movie really didn’t go anywhere for about the first hour. And then Zod finally arrives. Superman surrenders and I really couldn’t figure out why I should feel anything about it at that point in the movie. Ultimately, I think the movie felt more like it was about Jor-El and Zod than about Superman.

    And then there were the plot holes. If Jor-El’s persona got uploaded into Zod’s ship and it could control the doors and launch the escape pods, why couldn’t it keep Zod from launching the World Engine. If Superman is so interested in protecting humans, why does he have a long drawn out battle with Zod in the middle of Metropolis? How many people died as a result of all the builidings their battle destroyed? Hardly seems a good way to protect humanity.

    And honestly, is there anything more boring than watching two basically indestructible beings fight each other? think this is one area where my taste in movies has changed with age. I get completely bored watching movies with extended fight scenes when you already know the outcome (like the sandstorm chanse in MI: Ghost Protocol. Snooze!!!).

    • Voldemort

      You nailed it completely. I didn’t care at all about any of the characters.
      An S on the chest doesn’t make it Superman. He does not kill. He does not whine. He is not a crybaby.
      My worst fears were realized when Nolan became involved in Superman. He butchered the character & made it unrecognizable, same as he did Batman.

      • Butchered the character? Nolan brought these characters into a more realistic world, in case you havent noticed, comic book movies over the years didnt resonate with people that much until Batman Begins reinvented Batman and made him someone that could exist in our world.

        With Superman they did the same thing, his adaption to the people he grew up with and how they still are afraid of him and dont trust him is exactly what would probably happen if he showed up today in real life, it brings a human quality to him that the other movies just couldnt pull off. Now I’m a big fan of Reeve and the original Superman movies, I even enjoyed Superman Returns but this was the best reboot Superman could ask for and it obviously and finally made an impact with audiences and that to me is worth any changes they did 🙂

  5. I liked the movie and any sense of disengagement (and I’ll confess there was some) I believe has more to do with the design/layout of the film than the actual content of it. This ISN’T your father’s Superman, nor is it akin to most of the other superhero movies we’ve seen in the last decade…the filmmakers seem to have been determined to bring us something different AND keep with the somber, serious tones already provided by the Dark Knight trilogy.

    The Green Lantern movie aside, DC seems to want their superhero franchise to be the less lighthearted of the two. I think they also wanted to do a 180 from SUPERMAN RETURNS, and as a result both overcompensated on toning down the humor and upping the action. There’s not quite enough of the former and way too much of the latter.

    Still, I think this is a film that’s going to grow on me the more times I see it, as there’s a lot going on in it (I think the movie, despite the length and long action sequences still feels rushed). I remember not having a huge positive reaction the first time I saw BATMAN BEGINS, either, and now consider that a great movie.

  6. Tommy Morris

    Many parts of MAN OF STEEL were epic and awe-inspiring. The main problem for me, other than the aformentioned fight over a HIGHLY populated city, was the lack of any visual and auditory breathing room in the last hour. I honestly think I just became mentally exhausted with all the action. They needed a few minutes of peace for us to collectively catch our breath. To me, THE AVENGERS gave you pulses of action, followed by some sort of character scene so you could give your brain a rest. For me, 3 out 4 stars.

    • I felt the same way, it went way too fast from when Superman fights with the Kryptonians in the town, straight through to the end. I know the last LOTR movie got flack with its 3 endings tie up, and this was the reboot but it could have used a little more pacing instead of one huge sprint for that last part.

  7. Ryan

    I was pretty amazing! I had a few SMALL nitpicks, but overall I enjoyed it much more than any of the Marvel films. It really did make Avengers look like a silly little movie in comparison.
    Can’t wait to see it again!

      • movie goer

        i think its funny that in The Avengers there was a crazy alien invasion, yet the damage was kind of minimal with all things considered…then at the end all the alien soldiers just kind of disapear.

        Man of Steel did a great job of showing what kind of destruction would ensue from such powerful creatures facing off.

        if if wasnt for Iron Man (RDJ), Avengers would have been meh.

  8. Cj

    Hmmm i noticed lots of people walking in and out of the movie.. as it was very slow paced.. we get it he had issues growing up.. he struggled.. the thing that was missing was the humour and joy of being superman, being super fast, strong.. the casting was great, the superman looked identical to christopher reeves in some scene’s.. but a blonde lois lane.. the fight between god’s is very boring reminded me of third matrix.. it was a very emotional troubled slow movie which fit the batman identity perfectly, but this movie need to be more fun like the new spiderman.. i saw lots of young kids bored and don’t think they enjoyed it.. which is sad..
    The beginning back story was cool and neat, but the movie seemed to drag out..
    Had high expectations the movie was a bit of a let down.. but it leaves lots of room for the next one to be more fun..
    oh yeah the part of the superman clark kent lois lane story was so fun was that she didn’t know he was superman! so many cheesy jokes and moments missed sigh..

    • And thats exactly why I loved this movie so much, Superman has been done before with all the cheese and jokes, this is a serious film with Clark dealing with the fact that he’s different, there was more time spent on his upbringing and what brought him to become the “man” his father wanted him to be, more with Jor El was great and also showed how his real father wanted him to be the catalyst to bridging the gap between two people. It was a lot for him to deal with and they did a great job of portraying his emotions and actions on dealing with it all.

      Even Zod had an arc and most villains dont get that kind of attention, Zod in Superman II was just evil, not so much here, there is a reasoning behind his madness and it worked really well.

      I couldnt have asked for a better Superman movie honestly, its updated to fit with the times, brought down to a more realistic level and they still stayed true to the character, this is why I loved Nolan’s Batman so much too, they made you feel like Batman and now Superman, could easily exist in our world and that to me is so much better than some cheesy, geared at teens, redo thats already been done before.

  9. I wanted to Love this movie but unfortunately the hyper active CGI at superspeed made it difficult to clearly follow and thus properly enjoy the fight scenes. What I was able to see clearly was pretty amazing but for the sequel they are going to have to remember that there audience is from earth and can’t see blurs. Maybe I just need new glasses. The only other real complaint is the movie jumped too quickly from set piece to set piece and even though Michael Shannon was great, his lines were really cookie cutter. They were going for the dutiful soldier and unfortunately he came off robotic.

    I know I sound like I did not like it, but I did, just not as much as I wanted or thought I would.

    • Ryan

      I wonder if you do. We went with a group of people….and one of the guys doesn’t have the best eyesite, and was also complaining that he couldn’t really follow or see the action all that well….while no one else had that issue

  10. pauly

    Superman II beats this hands down. Christopher Reeve had emotion and charisma.
    This new film lacks depth. I care about Superman, but, i realized that that care stems from Christopher Reeve’s films.
    Superman is a God, but Where Christopher Reevve brought subtle human frailty to his Superman, Henry’s take is very one dimensional. I was not afraid of Zod either. This was big on spectacle and small on emotion. SUPERMAN II had the perfect blend.
    ‘GENERAL! WOULD YOU CARE TO STEP OUTSIDE?’

    • While I will always love Reeve as Superman, I’m glad this reboot took Superman in a more serious and realistic way, anything else I dont believe would have been successful (IE Superman Returns) and this making mega bank and breaking records for June shows that others are interested in this new take on Superman this time around, which is great for us fans!

  11. Rick

    Judging by the polling results, I wouldn’t call it divisive or split. Over 80% said it’s at least “ok”, and 70% said pretty good or higher. Not too shabby.

  12. Not gonna read any comments, will see the movie at the end of June, but just commenting to say I laughed very hard at Josh’s “super dud” choice of words. I don’t know why. It sounds like “super dude”. Or “Disco Stu”. Nevermind. I laughed.

  13. Les

    I really liked the movie but my biggest complaint, that is never even addressed, is that there had to be a massive loss of human life. I mean these (2) are blowing each other through buildings and skyscrapers are coming crashing to the ground repeatedly. Seems like a few hundred thousand people were killed?

    I mean Superman was the target and Zod wanted his blood. Seems like Superman should have lured Zod to a more uninhabited area like the desert or space?? I realize, for action purposes, that it is much more dramatic to knock super heroes and villains through skyscrapers than into sand dunes.

    And then, when there is a, granted, somewhat brief break in the action, Superman is more interested in sucking face with Lois Lane than even attempting or mentioning that maybe he should help save a few thousand people that might be hurt and alive in all of the debris??

    I mean these are the people that Superman has adopted and cares so much about?

    Anyway, it just seemed like there was a complete directorial indifference to what effect this massive confrontation had on the human populace. They sort of make it seem like not one person got hurt.

  14. Glenn Diggs

    The first half had an interesting twist (serious and soul searching) in retelling the origin. Russel Crow’s efforts at Jor-el were very apreciated and the casting of Superman although not quite up to Reeve was still very good. Amy Adams, however, was terrible – no real edge to her and I felt she was simply being herself and going along for the ride. But the real killer was the second half, which simply turned into a big loud bombastic Michael Bay blow em up, which has been seen many times before and unfortunetly will be seen many times again.

  15. LSDavinci

    I finally loved Lois Lane in this one. She’s feisty and has some mouth on her. Also, the bond between the 2 makes so much more sense now than it did with the original movies. I mean he starts working at the Daily Planet and it almost seems like he takes such an immediate interest to Lois. Really? Not to mention that it was Margot and that she was a smoker, etc…
    As for it being rushed, I felt like it was a little myself. However, based on the trailers, I was a little surprised they didn’t make it in chronological order and I’m really glad they didn’t. We’ve been there already. If they did that again, it would have even been a longer movie or felt even more rushed.
    As for the danger for humans during the city battle, I would think that most people would have evacuated by then. If not from the city itself, at least from the buildings.
    And lastly, I loved the ending. For those missing the “charm” and the “humor”, wait for the next movie (and that’s not to say that this one was void of humor). And it was Henry’s fault, it was the direction they wanted to go.
    I have already seen it twice and CAN’T WAIT until it hits Blu-ray! Was it a bit over-the-top? Sure but hey, it’s Superman!!!

  16. Mr Apollo

    I don’t understand why people keep saying that Superman would never kill anybody. In the comics he’s given the right to kill by the president at times and it’s justified to him because he doesn’t have to make that decision. That order comes from someone else in power and not once does he hesitate to do it. For instance, in The Dark Knight Returns, he’s told to take care of the Russian nuclear warships and he kills A LOT of people. No big deal for him. he even warns Batman that he will kill him if he does not surrender.