Pompeii Review

Genre – Historically-based Fiction, Romance

Director – Paul W.S. Anderson (Mortal Kombat: The Movie, Death Race series, Resident Evil series
Cast – Kit Harington (Jon Snow from Game of Thrones), Adewale Akinnuoye-Agbaje (Lost, Oz), Emily Browning (Sucker Punch), Kiefer Sutherland (24), Carrie-Anne Moss (The Matrix), Jessica Lucas (Evil Dead), Jared Harris (Mad Men)
Alluring element – Jon Snow goes back in time a thousand years or so to rise against Jack Bauer and get the girl! 

Check it out if you liked – 300, Troy

SCORECARD (each category out of 10):

Plot – 7
Acting – 7
Representation of Genre – 9
Cinematography – 9
Effects/Environment – 9
Captivity – 9
Logical consistency – 8
Originality/Creativity – 7
Soundtrack/Music – 9
Overall awesomeness – 8

Pompeii is about Milo (Kit Harington), a Celt whose family and entire people were slaughtered by the Roman senator Corvus, played by Kiefer Sutherland. Milo is enslaved and turned into a gladiator. Eventually, he is taken to Pompeii where he meets the captivating Cassia (Emily Browning) and fellow gladiator-slave Atticus (Akinnuoye-Agbaje). Once Mount Vesuvius erupts, it becomes a race against the clock not only to save Cassia but to seek revenge against the corrupt Crovus. Pompeii is part love story, part political rebellion, and all parts natural disaster.

I am a big fan of ancient historical fiction, and to be honest, I was a bit worried about this film. Many times, films like Pompeii are a bit over-the-top; they are over-acted and rarely historically accurate. To say the least, I was pleasantly surprised with Pompeii. The visual world was captivating and, at first glance, I thought I was working my way through the Pompeii exhibit at the museum. In reality, the volcanic ash from Mount Vesuvius kept the town so well preserved that archeologists have been able to replicate the city of Pompeii with detailed accuracy. The movie paid close attention to these details of the city and this was heightened by the use of 3D which really made the world pop down to the street venders. The eruption of the volcano was on point and accurate in sequence. The only inaccuracy were the pyroclastic bombs and the dramatic tsunami which dragged a ship into the city. During the time of the actual eruption, there were warning signs days before the eruption and many people actually left before the volcano erupted.   The film didn’t touch on these facts, but it is forgivable because of the visual effects.

The dynamics of the characters were what I enjoyed most. While the plot was cliché and predictable, the character nuances and subtleties made up for it.  I really liked Cassia. Granted, she was a wealthy elite stereotype, but she also wasn’t totally naive nor a typical damsel in distress. Her parents also were likeable. They were present parents and good people. Her mother Aurelia (Carrie-Anne Moss) was a strong, charismatic woman who worked closely with her husband’s politics as Corvus has come to Pompeii to invest in the construction of a new arena which Severus hopes will continue to brings money into the city. Both Severus and Aurelia genuinely dislike Corvus who later find out he’s also come to Pompeii to scheme for Cassia’s hand in marriage.  The other thing I really have to give the movie props for was a lack violence against women used to garner entertainment. Corvus was creepy and gross without being over-the-top violent.

While there was a love story, Pompeii was more a story between Milo (The Celt) and Atticus, who was one fight away to winning his freedom under Roman law. Both lost their families to the Romans and are trying to maintain their identity while enslaved. The arena becomes their political battlefield as Milo seeks revenge on Corvus and by extension the Roman Empire. Atticus joins Milo as his faith in Roman law is betrayed. I don’t want to give away the rest of the story, but in many ways, this overpowered the love story. It may be unfortunate for the popularity of the film that Pompeii was seemingly marketed as a love story, because the film was prominently a historical and political plot. Though, I’ve been known to read too much into stories and may be reading more into the plot then I need to.

One last note of importance: the soundtrack was fantastic. It was emotional, engaging, and epic. The music enhanced the overall experience of the film and is something I’ll invest in to listen to later. Rotten Tomatoes only gave the film 29% rating, and critics were harsh. I, on the other hand, enjoyed the film. The storyline was simple, engaging, and oddly deep in its subtlety. The 3D didn’t sully the movie but rather enhanced it; I would highly recommend watching this film in 3D.  However, the story is strong enough that it will be worth watching at home if you can’t get to the theater.

Written by Jené Conrad

Ender’s Game Review

Genre – Scif-fi, Action, Book-to-Movie Adaptation

Director – Gavin Hood
Cast – Asa Butterfield, Harrison Ford, Ben Kingsley, Viola Davis
Alluring element – Based off the 1984 novel of the same name, Harrison Ford returns to space

Check it out if you liked – District 9, Harry Potter, the book “Ender’s Game”

Plot – 7
Acting – 8
Representation of Genre – 7  
Cinematography – 8
Effects/Environment – 9
Captivity – 9
Logical consistency – 6
Originality/Creativity –  7
Soundtrack/Music – 7
Overall awesomeness – 7

Ender’s Game directed by Gavid Hood is about a young boy (how young? not really sure) named Ender (Asa Butterfield) who is chosen to go to Battle School by Graff (Harrison freaking Ford) and Anderson (Viola Davis).  The point of Battle School is to train young people to defend the Earth against the Formics, an alien species who attacked Earth 50 years prior.  Ender is bullied on Earth before he is chosen to go, and once he gets to the school in outer space, he continues to be bullied.  He proves his worth to his peers by winning some epic looking no-gravity battles.  He proves his intelligence to the other students and administrators and then is chosen to “graduate” from Command School where he is trained by Mazer Rackham (Ben Kingsley). He learns the truth of all his teacher’s motives and the movie, much like the book, has a big twist at the end, leaving many viewers lost.

After watching the film adaptation of controversial author Orson Scott Card’s Ender’s Game, I left the theater feeling a little confused.  What was that story really about?  Without getting into the brilliant writing in the book, the plot points that were missing in the movie, or Card’s bigoted remarks in the recent past, the logical consistency and moral of the film were just not obvious to the viewer.  Without reading the book, I’m not sure that the story would make total sense to a noob, but since I have read the book several times, I am a biased viewer and reviewer.  That being said, it is nearly a week later, and I am still wondering what point the director wanted to make.

First and foremost, this is the first time in history that special effects have been advanced enough to be able to make a movie out of the sci-fi book and not be cheesy.  The effects were amazing.  Particularly the scenes in the Battle Room.  There is one Battle Room clip that is so unbelievably bad-ass because Ender, a young kid, is floating up though no gravity sphere, with two guns in his hands and shooting the shit out of all the other little kids.  It’s amazing.  The visuals of outer-space and the simulation video game Ender plays are creepy, but very enjoyable to watch.  So much so in fact, that it isn’t apparent that the plot and logical consistency are not up to par with what other science fiction films are capable of.  The scenes are so fast paced that it is hard to catch everything upon the first viewing, or even the second.  Ender is being played the whole time by adults, particularly Graff (what a mean man you became, Mr. Ford!) but it is so subtle it is almost non-existent.  The best part of the movie were the battle scenes between the kids in the school, but even those scenes were so fast-paced that it was hard to get the true flavor of all the tactics that go into winning those battles.  The book was built on tactics, something that the movie only lightly touches on, eliminating a lot of the connection we could have had to Ender.

The Battle Room in Ender’s Game. A reality in our future? Some of us can only hope.

On top of that, we are exposed to Ender’s family for only a brief time. His parents seem to have no personality or effect on Ender’s life.  His only relative who has a positive influence on him is his sister Valentine (played by Abigail Breslin).  Valentine also lacks personality in the film, but is mentioned enough by Ender, and is so important the final scenes of the film, that the viewer may be tricked into thinking she was more vital than she really was.  On the flip side of the coin, Ender’s intelligence wasn’t as vital as it could have been.  He seemed to jump to conclusions a lot and the audience got little to no understanding of his thought process.  It was very difficult to grasp his logic because there was little narration of what he was thinking, other than missing Valentine constantly.  By not having enough of a 1st person narration, the audience could not possibly have a full understanding of the last 10 minutes of the movie.

On a positive note, isn’t it great seeing Harrison “Han-Solo” Ford back in space? He plays the over-bearing Graff so well. It’s just unfortunate that he’s not in the movie longer. Asa Butterfield plays an endearing Ender. Although the character in the book grows over the ages of 6-12 during the story, this Ender is portrayed as a gentle-yet-capable young manboy, and aside from a few pre-pubescent squeals, Butterfield plays this role very well. There are a few missteps in the child acting, but not every movie with child actors has to be Beasts of the Southern Wild. I felt charmed by many of Ender’s classmates, Bean specifically, and overall the cast is comprised of very solid acting. Breslin’s performance as Valentine was all it could be with the material she was given.  She did a good job at being pretty, which was the only “depth” she was allowed to have. However, characters like Bonzo, who is a laughable 5’5″ to Butterfield’s 5’10”, plays a serious bully to Ender in the film and can just never quite be taken seriously (especially considering that his main following comes from his role as Rico on Hannah Montana – a fact I had to look up, I promise! I don’t watch Hannah Montana anymore).

SOME SPOILERS AHEAD!  Ender suddenly realizes that not only he killed the entire Formic species, but that there is still a queen left, she is just outside of the bunk he has been living in on the planet Command School is, and she is in the cave like structure featured in his video game where Valentine always appears.  END SPOILERS 🙂 This isn’t the last half hour of the movie, but it very well could have been.  In fact, the last 10 minutes should have been expanded into 30. It wouldn’t have seem so stuck on the end to movie without purpose, giving a false sense of a moral.

All great storytelling, whatever the medium, needs to know the balance of show versus tell. If I’m supposed to believe that Ender is put through hell as a launchie and commander, then I need to be shown that he is going through hell – you can’t just tell the audience using a few quick moments of given dialogue. Ender’s Game is a deeply detailed book, and this team may have bit off too much to chew with it. While the visual elements of Ender’s Game were so captivating, many of the important plot points were either removed or glided over. At the end of the day, a film that clocks in at just under 2 hours and has a problem with depth is something that could have been solved by just going deeper – deeper into Valentine & Peter’s story, deeper into Ender’s rise to stardom at Battle School, deeper into the incredibly enthralling battle scenes and political and war commentary that made this book such an amazing story to begin with.  The target audience was (I assume) middle schoolers to the 40 somethings who read the book when they were in high school.  I am certain that audience would have appreciated a longer movie with more depth in the characters and more logical consistency.  It was a sci-fi movie that will most likely be forgotten, which is unfortunate, because the story the book tells is anything but forgettable.  A better moral, a better story and unfortunately, the ugly remarks of Orson Scott Card not ever happening would have made Ender’s Game the film something worth unanimously touting on all angles.

Don’t let this book make you leave the theater feeling empty or scare you from seeing it altogether. The movie is not a shell of the book it spawned from; no, let it be the foreplay for enjoying one hell of a story. Let it inspire you to read a book about a young boy and his journey. If you are interested in seeing the film, I strongly suggest seeing it in theaters.  The special effects are amazing on the big screen!

written by Adrian Puryear and Sherif Elkhatib

Kick-Ass 2 Review

Genre – Comic Book/Action

Director – Jeff Wadlow
Cast – Aaron Taylor-Johnson & Chloe Grace Moretz (Kick-Ass), Christopher Mints-Plasse (Superbad), Jim Carrey, Donald Faison (Scrubs, Clueless), John Leguizamo (Ice Age)
Alluring element – A sequel to the 2010 movie about home-grown superheroes based off the original Kick Ass comics

Check it out if you liked – Kick-Ass, Watchmen, violent action movies, comic book movies

Plot – 8
Acting – 9
Representation of Genre – 10  
Cinematography – 8
Effects/Environment – 9
Captivity – 10
Logical consistency – 9
Originality/Creativity – 7 
Soundtrack/Music – 8
Overall awesomeness – 9

In a world saturated in comic book movies already, the Kick-Ass franchise well-represents the minority of the lesser-known stories. Unlike the hoards of comic book inspired films before it, Kick-Ass didn’t have fifty plus years of lore to pull from. All it had was one eight-issue run to create a fully-enveloped universe. There was no Batsuit to fit into, no Lois Lane to save and no Avenger to come save the day. Instead, Kick-Ass uses frequent fanboy references to characters of all nerd mythos. Come to think of it, I don’t know any other instance that the words “Batman” and “Stan Lee” are used together in the same movie. In doing so, Kick-Ass really makes viewers feel they are getting an entirely new experience. I also felt that the struggles of our main characters were much more relatable than those of the blockbusters hits. Struggling with superpowers is cool I guess, but what about just getting the crap kicked out of you for trying to stand up for what’s just? My childhood was much closer to the latter. Another great trait of the film is it’s ability to play as a comic book, full of Comic Sans panel transitions and bulging out character introductions.

The transition from comic book to film might have been done so well that few people have any idea it was based off a comic book to begin with – which, to me, is a big nod to the creator, Mark Millar, and the film’s director, Jeff Wadlow. Millar’s story is so well-crafted, with just as many witty comebacks and touchy feelings as there are gruesome violence and adult (like, SUPER-adult) language. There is a vast cast of characters that complement each other and the dialogue alone has enough momentum to carry the film to the end, which should be noted is very different from the book’s plot. All star talent like Jim Carrey and Donald Faison are great additions to the crew as Colonel Stars & Stripes and Dr. Gravity, respectively. Carrey serves almost as a father-figure to new “superheroes”, mirroring the same relationship that Hit Girl had with Big Daddy. However, as hard at Nicolas Cage tried, and believe me he tried, he’s just too corny to pull off being a badass superhero, especially one that was a cheesy rip-off of Batman to begin with. The charisma of Colonel Stars & Stripes reverberates throughout the film and he’s genuinely likable as an actor for the first time since Fun With Dick and Jane.

I can’t tell which is the more convincing psycho.

Colonel Stars & Stripes’ merry band of misfits, Justice Forever, is comprised of various inspired citizens with tragic “origin stories,” especially a suspiciously familiar Battle Guy whose parents were shot in an alley behind the opera house. Or maybe that was Batman’s origin, whatever. Another is a slender gay man that battles against bullies and discrimination while refusing to wear a mask because “it reminds him too much of being in the closet.” My favorite, though, has to be the middle-aged married couple in Knicks-colored jumpsuits, trying to avenge their son’s death. On the other side of the spectrum is the Motherfucker and his Toxic Mega-Cunts (Sidenote: in case you were wondering if this was going to be a family flick, I can tell you now that it is not. You’re probably better off taking the kids to see American Pie.) Formally the Red Mist, The MF’er is bent on the destruction of Kick-Ass and all that he holds dear after Kick-Ass blew his dad up with a bazooka. I mean, vowing revenge is one thing, but dressing up in your mother’s BDSM (oh God, I wonder how many searches for BDSM will bring views here. How disappointing!) outfit and calling yourself a supervillain might be taking it too far. It’s a  archetypical approach that often feels heavy-handed through the film from Christopher Mints-Plasse. McLovin has managed to typecast himself after just one film (Superbad) and has really lost his charm by trying too hard to be a douchebag supervillain. I haven’t figured out if I dislike the acting or the character, but I just really can’t stand that Motherfucker.

Oh, how the times change.

The same dark and violent humor from the original returns in Kick-Ass 2, bringing back the same formula, but turning up the intensity – more death, more brutality and more foul language (most of which is handed out by Hit-Girl). Contrary to the popular belief that this is pointless and gratuitous, I feel that the tone of the movie and the book are both very dark and violent, in the same way that Sin City and Watchmen portray a bleak and dangerous outlook on their worlds. In fact, the movie actually pulled a few punches instead of unleashing its graphic content on us to prevent some bloodshed and sexual violence making it on screen and avoiding those scenes with awkward humor. That’s not to say Kick-Ass 2 is full of warm fuzzies. After the Sandy Hook massacre, supporting actor Jim Carrey came on the record of saying that after such a tragic act, there’s no way he could support that level of violence. I see when he is coming from, but I do not agree. After the Aurora theater shooting last year during The Dark Knight Rises, nobody rushed to condemn Batman and his use of violence. The truth is, Kick-Ass 2 is one of the most violent comic book movies you can watch, but it is also keen on showing the consequences of that violence and goes far to make clear that it is not something to be glorified. Dressing up and playing superhero isn’t a game. The most violent urge I had after watching the movie was to find a DARPA “sick stick” and use it in line at the DMV.

Another dynamic to the movie is that Hit-Girl is actually the main character. Although Kick-Ass is the title character, Chloe Grace Moretz has just as much screen time and character development as her male counter-part. She actually refers to herself as the Batman to Kick-Ass’ Robin throughout the film and is constantly saving Kick-Ass’… ass, training him and teaching him to be a better hero. It’s funny, because even though this is a Marvel book, there are deeper comparisons to DC Comics’ Batman and Robin – beyond the one that’s mentioned in the trailers. When Big Daddy dies at the end of the first Kick-Ass, hit girl is left grieving in a way that begs asking the question “what would happen if Damian Wayne survived Batman at 15 years old?” Both Damian Wayne and Mindy Macready are callous, trained killers that have a stubborn issue with authority. In this analogy, Kick-Ass plays Nightwing, an older more stable family-figure that brings Robin/Hit-Girl back from the darkness to find deeper meaning and guide them back on the right path. It’s an interesting angle that makes me appreciate the writing a little more.

Kick-Ass 2 has a lot to say, but the message can get muddled amongst the Tarantino-level violence and harsh language, but overall it is a great follow-up to an original idea. In a lot of ways, the sequel actually surpasses the original in terms of supporting cast and character development. The action scenes are on a larger scale and the comedy keeps you from crying from the tragedy. Its great writing leaves it open for a third installment to play out in a way that the comic book (ongoing) has a noticeably different direction than the movies.The Kick-Ass franchise is not just creating its own universe, but reflects a very real part of society in which people try to go out and make a difference doing the very thing that Justice Forever does in the movie. One thing that is transparent is that these real life superheroes aren’t gimmicks, well at least all of them. If you want to dress up and fight crime, you need to go out and do it. Or just watch this movie. All the reviews I’ve seen on it have been quite polar, but I recommend going out and seeing it for yourself to decide how much ass it really kicks.

Artist John Romita, Jr. and Writer Mark Millar getting super-photobombed by Dr. Gravity

Easter Eggs

Even past the above-mentioned connections, Kick-Ass 2 pays homage to comic book mythology in a number of ways. During the scene where Justice Forever christens their new hideout, all the heroes line up and take a picture very reminiscent of the photo that the Watchmen take when they form the team. Kick-Ass also wears an ironic “I Hate Reboots” Star Wars shirt to bed. Also, you can find references to other Marvel and Mark Millar work throughout the film, all found in Kick Ass’ room. Colonel Stars & Stripes is actually two different characters in the comics, Colonel Stars and Lieutenant Stripes, with Stripes being the other founding member of Justice Forever with Colonel Stars.

Written by Sherif Elkhatib

Man of Steel Review

Movie Review – Man of Steel

Genre – Comic Book, Sci-Fi/Fantasy
Director – Zack Synder
Cast – Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner
Alluring element – It’s Christopher Nolan’s Superman. That should be enough.
Check it out if you liked – The Dark Knight trilogy, The original Superman films, comic books

SCORECARD (each category ranked on a 10-point scale):
Plot – 9
Acting – 9
Representation of Genre – 10
Cinematography – 8
Effects/Environment – 9
Captivity – 8
Logical consistency – 8
Originality/Creativity – 7
Soundtrack/Music – 8
Overall awesomeness – 9

I’ve hi-jacked the movie reviews to write about Man of Steel, the newest reboot of the iconic Superman character. After a wildly successful run in the late 70’s and 80’s with Christopher Reeves as Superman, the Big Blue Boy Scout has really had trouble getting any traction in a decent movie. After the forgettable Superman Returns in 2006, fans of comics and movies alike were excited to hear that this story would be the vision of the great Christopher Nolan, whose mind-blowing Dark Knight trilogy had breathed new life into the Caped Crusader and helped propel comic book movies back into the mainstream. As a disclaimer, I must say that I am, unequivocally, a Batman fan. I have always loved the internal struggle and have always related to heroes with tortured souls. For this reason, it has been hard for me to really enjoy Superman in comics and on screen, where seemingly the biggest problem he has is that he is just too plain awesome to fit in with normal people. Having got that initial bias out in the open, I really enjoyed Man of Steel. It’s a bad-ass action film, wrapped in some sci-fi and fantasy.

Man of Steel follows the formula of an origin storyline, but with plenty of Walking Dead-esque twists so you can usually guess but never really predict what will happen next. It’s a nice quality that I think even the biggest comic book hipsters can agree adds more to the experience than straight-from-the-pages adaptation would. Unlike the original film, which tried to stuff as much Superman knowledge as they could into it, there was decidedly less Super-stuff in Man of Steel. More than anything, main focus of the film is the identity crisis of Kal/Clark/Superduperman; having three names is enough to give anybody confusion about who they are. This adds an endearing quality to the film, as you can relate to childhood Clark as he puts up with bullies, notably “Dicksplash,” who makes multiple appearances throughout the film. It’s as a child that you really see the transparency of the Man of Steel. He wants to help people, he wants to fit in, and he goes on a long journey full of great short scenes to try to do so, but never really stays in one place long enough to make the audience feel a part of the experience.

In terms of acting, I think they really hit it out the ballpark on this one. Henry Cavill is the perfect Superman. He displays his emotions on his cape with a calm demeanor, much as Superman should. Lois Lane is portrayed adequately by Amy Adams (I still can’t believe they cast a redhead as Lane. The nerve! LOL) and Kevin Costner takes a break from Ocean Therapy Solutions to put on a good act as Jonathan Kent. What really stole the show was the great portrayal of Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon as Jor-El and Zod, respectively. Crowe plays Superman’s Kryptonian father in a capacity that we really hadn’t seen in this medium. It’s such a good performance that you almost forgive him for being in Man With the Iron Fists. Almost. Michael Shannon is great at playing total a-holes. From Revolutionary Road to Boardwalk Empire, Shannon has made me quite the fan, and he feels right at home with crazy ol’ General Zod. The only gripe I have here is that past the above-mentioned characters, nobody really has enough screen time to merit any attachment. The end of the movie left me wanting more Daily Planet, more Clark Kent as a child, more awkward childhood gaffes and more focus on the Kents. MORE MORE MORE. In a positive light, it gives the writers plenty to explore when the next installment comes out.

It might go without saying for a story that begins with a great civilization not listening to their eminent scientist when he says that the world is about to explode, but there are a lot of dumb choices made by a lot of different characters throughout the movie. At the beginning of the movie, Lois Lane says, “I get writer’s block if I’m not wearing a bulletproof vest.” This cannot be more true as she is always putting herself right in harm’s way, screaming and falling and I’m sick of it. Where is feisty Lois Lane? Why is she so easily knocked off her game? Johnathan”Pa” Kent also makes some poor choices, in action and words, that seem out of character. Remember in the commercial trailers, when Clark asks whether or not he should have let those kids on the bus die, and Pa responds with, “Maybe?” Yeah, well there’s really no more extent to that conversation… Ma & Pa Kent are the entire reason for Clark’s moral compass; why marginalize that to focus on the fact that he’s alone and misunderstood? And how can you choke a Kryptonian if they don’t need Oxygen to breathe? You can’t, but they do it anyway. Because it’s cool.

If you’re a fan of subtle gestures, there are Easter-eggs galore here. Somebody did their homework! LexCorp trucks, a peak at the fortress of solitude, along with a nod to the ridiculous product placement of the original film (and many other neat details) all add up to a film that really lets the fanboys feel like they’re appreciated. One great fire-starting dialogue I’ve wanted to start is the topic of gender-roles in comics. Since their New 52 launch a couple years ago, DC Comics apparently has an agenda to reboot more characters that were traditionally male as females. I’m not saying this is a poor choice, but it only works when those female characters have an impact. Case in point,  Jenny Olsen. Jimmy Olsen has long been Lois Lane’s protégé/lackey in the comics, television shows and movies. He’s full of corny “gee-golly” and “oh boy” banter, but not in this movie. In this movie, he is a she, and she adds absolutely nothing to the film. If we’re changing characters from men to women to make a point, then make a point! Another theme I found in the movie, which was not so subtle, is the comparison of Superman to Jesus Christ. Lost son, performer of miracles, incredibly good hair. I don’t want to spoil anything about the film, but it could perhaps explain why Superman can be such a difficult character to relate to. I feel like it’s their way to really start the conversation of religion in comics. To sum all that nonsense up, it’s clear that Man of Steel has more to say than what the dialogue suggests and the subtleties make it an enjoyable film multiple times.

The fight scenes are grand in scale, totaling Smallville and Metropolis in ways that, as an adult, really have you wondering, “Now who is going to pay for that??” Especially enjoyable about the action in Man of Steel is the ability to make the fights look like super-humans fighting, with lightning quick movements and earth-shattering hits. As a result of this, the height of the fight scenes can look like a cluttered CGI mess at times. The cameras during the movie are very shaky, likely to help synthesize the fast and loud nature of the film. This can be a bit of a distraction from the events of the film, or even cause a bit of motion sickness if you have to sit at the front of the theater. Overall, the cinematography is jaw-dropping. Kandor (the capital of Kryton) looks like it belongs in Naboo. And don’t even get me started on Jor-El’s cool ride; it’s a freaking butterfly-dragon! I also love Zod’s force in their legitimately frightening Helghast-like masks and the “YOU ARE NOT ALONE” PSA had me about to fall out of my seat.

For the first time in a long time, I truly felt like I was seeing an origin story. A brand new spin on a character I felt going in that I knew so well. While I won’t be trading in my cowl for rimmed glasses anytime soon, I definitely can revel in the fact that another sensational comic book movie has been released. While I have my personal bleats about what makes a Superman story, I love Nolan’s interpretation of The Man of Tomorrow and I think a Justice League movie would look great with Henry Cavill leading the way. Please go see this impressive film!

Written by Sherif Elkhatib