Man of Steel (2013)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

Zack Snyder

Country

USA

Cast

Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne, Antje Traue, Christopher Meloni, Ayelet Zurer, Russell Crowe, Harry Lennix, Christina Wren, Richard Schiff, Michael Kelly

Storyline

A young boy learns that he has extraordinary powers and is not of this Earth. As a young man (Henry Cavill), he journeys to discover where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Opinion

Because of all the excitement for "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice", I thought "Man of Steel" was supposed to be a big deal. So I watched it with high expectations, and I was rewarded with a big let down.

"Man of Steel" is loaded with action and special effects, but never quite takes off mainly because of the writing.

While I would have expected something like this from Zack Snyder, David Goyer ("Batman Begins", "The Dark Knight") and Christopher Nolan really disappointed me, and they made a film that portrays the famous Kryptonian with very little befitting the character - Superman never kills, no matter what.

The film can be easily divided into two parts. The first one introduces Clark Kent, with many significant flashbacks about his childhood, and his two fatherly figures, Jonathan Kent and Jor-El. It also shows what happened on Krypton, and why Kal-El's father had to do what he did. This is what made me think it was all going to work out. This part was awesome, but then shit happened. I mean, part two happened, the whole fighting thing with Zod. What could possibly go wrong with that? Everything. This part is loaded with special effects - 80-90% of the time - and extremely long action sequences that made me yawn God only knows how many times, and made me spend more time checking Twitter than actually focusing on the boring action.

The modern context of the film is to be appreciated though, and Clark's multiple father-and-son tales are beautifully done, but the Lois Lane/Superman romance is shallow.

I've already mentioned special effects and action a few times, and I think they deserve their own paragraph. They tried to compensate the lack of a solid story with unnecessary special effects that will be soon outdated, and action scenes there are just smashing scenes for the most. There is so much smashing going on, the Hulk would have gotten sick of it.

But let's move to the acting. After watching "Smallville" for 10 years, it's quite hard for me to get used to someone playing Clark Kent/Superman other than Tom Welling. But I wish that was the only problem. Since we are talking movies, the comparison between Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill is quite obvious - I'm leaving Christopher Reeve out of this because I'm yet to see his Superman. Anyway, I was saying, while Routh had grace and some acting skills, Henry Cavill has a great screen presence but he's just like a piece of wood. The rest of the cast, oh man. Michael Shannon was great as General Zod, and Kevin Costner did good in the little screen time he had, but Russell Crowe and Amy Adams are completely wasted here.

All of this being said, am I going to see "Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice" next week? Of course I will, I love superheroes flicks, and I won't miss the chance to complain about it.

The Dark Knight Rises (2012)

Genre

Action | Drama | Thriller

Director

Christopher Nolan

Country

USA | UK

Cast

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Gary Oldman, Anne Hathaway, Tom Hardy, Marion Cotillard, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, Morgan Freeman, Liam Neeson, Cillian Murphy, Joey King, Josh Pence, Nestor Carbonell, Alon Abutbul, Juno Temple, Matthew Modine, Ben Mendelsohn, Brett Cullen, Chris Ellis, Aidan Gillen, Burn Gorman, Rob Brown, Desmond Harrington, Josh Stewart, Tom Conti, William Devane, Aaron Eckhart

Storyline

8 years after the Batman (Christian Bale) taking the fall for murders committed by Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), the Dark Knight is forced to return to save Gotham City from Bane (Tony Hardy), a terrorist, and former member of the League of Shadows.

Opinion

As I finished the Dark Knight trilogy, I'm assailed by melancholy and sadness, and the following quote comes to my mind, "Don't cry because it's over, but smile because it happened", because for not liking neither DC Comics nor Batman, I loved Nolan's franchise.

The Dark Knight Rises is a brilliant, intense, emotional, brutal, potent final chapter that concludes the best superhero series ever.

Christopher Nolan incredibly managed to maintain the high level of the previous two films, and crafted a two hours and 44 minutes long film that not only is never dragged or dull, but it is so spectacular, and entertaining you'll demand for more, because you will never get enough.

The screenplay, written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, is brilliant, and dialogue is smart as Lucius Fox, and the characters are amazing. As also happened in "The Dark Knight" Batman is a little left behind, and more space it's given to other characters, in particular to the villain, Bane. He might not come too close to the greatness of The Joker, but this time Batman has to face a physical, and not psychical enemy. Still, I think removing Alfred was a mistake, because he took away much of the humour and humanity.

The several acting sequences are spectacular, thrilling and jaw-dropping. The musical score by Hans Zimmer is terrific and enhances the film.

Christian Bale has been brilliant throughout the whole franchise as Batman, and this time adds lot of emotional depth to the character - the only thought of Ben Affleck playing Batman in the future makes me cringe. Tom Hardy is terrifying, intimidating as Bale, and he manages to do that only with his eyes. Some people from the US have been saying they couldn't understand much of what he was saying, but I don't really see how that's possible since I understood every single word he said; and English is not even my mothertongue. Anne Hathaway is the perfect casting for Catwoman. Marion Cotillard does a pretty good job, even though her character isn't well developed. Michael Caine gives a heartfelt performance as Alfred. Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman do great as Jim Gordon and Lucius Fox. Joseph Gordon-Levitt perfectly fits Robin, and gives a great performance.

Quotes

Jim Gordon: [reading from Charles Dickens's "A Tale of Two Cities"] I see a beautiful city and a brilliant people rising from this abyss. I see the lives for which I lay down my life, peaceful, useful, prosperous and happy. I see that I hold a sanctuary in their hearts, and in the hearts of their descendants, generations hence. It is a far, far better thing that I do, than I have ever done; it is a far, far better rest that I go to, than I have ever known.

The Dark Knight (2008)

Genre

Action | Crime | Drama

Director

Christopher Nolan

Country

USA | UK

Cast

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Heath Ledger, Gary Holma, Aaron Eckhart, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Morgan Freeman, Eric Roberts, Chin Han, Colin McFarlane, Nestor Carbonell, Keith Szarabajka, Monique Gabriela Curnen, Anthony Michael Hall, Joshua Harto, Melinda McGraw, Nathan Gamble, Tom Lister Jr., Michael Jai White, Ritchie Coster, William Fichtner, Cillian Murphy

Storyline

With the help of Lieutenant Jim Gordon (Gary Oldman) and District Attorney Harvey Dent (Aaron Eckhart), Batman (Christian Bale) sets out to dismantle the remaining criminal organizations that plague the streets of Gotham. The partnership proves effective, but soon they find themselves prey to a reign of chaos unleashed by a rising criminal mastermind known as The Joker (Heath Ledger).

Opinion

Darker and more sinister than its predecessor, The Dark Knight is entertaining as a comic book adaptation would demand, and deep, and thrilling as Nolan's films are, and indeed the best superhero film ever made -- do better is impossible.

As mentioned before, Nolan managed to blend to perfection the entertainment component, and a psychological depth and a thematic seriousness never reached by any other film based on a comic book.
Along with his brother Jonathan - with whom he had already teamed up for "Memento" and "The Prestige", two of his best films indeed -, Christopher Nolan wrote the screenplay to perfection. The dialogue is pure gold, and almost every single line is memorable. Also, they perfectly managed to handle all the characters, giving each great importance in the story, no longer focused on Batman. The most impressive character is unarguably the villain, the Joker - big credits go to Jonathan and Christopher Nolan for the writing and treatment of the character.

The action sequences are thrilling and absolutely spectacular - for once the exorbitant budget has been used properly -, and the wonderful shots are breathtaking. The makeup and the visual effects are fantastic. The musical score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard è flawless.

The acting is sublime. Christian Bale is wonderful as Bruce Wayne/Batman. Michael Caine perfectly fits the part of Alfred. Aaron Eckhart is great as Harvey Dent/Two Face. Maggie Gyllenhaal's Rachel Dawes is much better than Katie Holmes, and she is terrific in every scene. Also she has great chemistry both with Bale and Eckhart. Gary Oldman and Morgan Freeman are also great. However, the star is Heath Ledger. He delivers an astonishing performance as The Joker: he manages to get inside your head, and make you laugh at his sick jokes. The performance is definitely Oscar-worthy, too bad he has not lived long enough to accept the award.

Quotes

Harvey Dent: You either die a hero or you live long enough to see yourself become the villain.

The Joker: Do you want to know why I use a knife? Guns are too quick. You can't savor all the... little emotions. In... you see, in their last moments, people show you who they really are.

Batman: Sometimes the truth isn't good enough, sometimes people deserve more. Sometimes people deserve to have their faith rewarded.

Batman Begins (2005)

Genre

Action | Sci-Fi

Director

Christopher Nolan

Country

USA | UK

Cast

Christian Bale, Michael Caine, Liam Neeson, Katie Holmes, Gary Oldman, Cillian Murphy, Morgan Freeman, Tom Wilkinson, Rutger Hauer, Ken Watanabe, Gus Lewis, Emma Lockhart, Mark Boone Junior, Larry Holden, Colin McFarlane, Christine Adams, Linus Roache, Sara Stewart, Charles Edwards

Storyline

After training with his mentor (Liam Neeson), Batman, alias Bruce Wayne (Christian Bale), begins his war on crime to free the crime-ridden Gotham City from corruption. 

Opinion

I am not a DC Comics fan, and I surely don't like bats, but I've always been kind of fascinated by the new Batman trilogy. Maybe it's because of the extraordinary director, maybe because of the wonderful cast. I don't know, I'm still trying to figure it out, but the thing is I love it.

Simply the best - or one of the best - superhero film ever made, Batman Begins has it all: action, drama, depth and thrills.

By telling the tale of how Bruce Wayne faced his fears and the loss of his parents to become the crime fighting legend called Batman, Christopher Nolan stars a spectacular trilogy, and gives to one of the best and more iconic DC Comics superheroes the treatment he deserves. Also, his way of telling stories will keep you interested throughout the whole film.

The excellent dialogue is carefully tended; the screenplay, written by Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer, provides good basis for character development, and even though the secondary villain, Scarecrow, isn't much developed, I appreciate Nolan's' choice of focusing on Bruce Wayne.

The action scenes are a little messy, yet spectacular - the Batmobile chase is outstanding. The wonderful, dark, gloomy cinematography by Wally Pfister perfectly enhances the scenes involving Batman. The musical score by Hans Zimmer and James Newton Howard is perfect.

However, if possible, the acting is even better. Christian Bale is a real chameleon, and he delivers a wonderful and emotional performance as a serious, and determined Bruce Wayne. Michael Caine is absolutely perfect as Alfred. Liam Neeson wonderfully portrays the main villain, Ra's Al Ghul. Cillian Murphy gives his character, Scarecrow, the right amount of insanity. Gary Oldman, Morgan Freeman, and Tom Wilkinson are also great. Ken Watanabe is wasted, but he does a pretty good job with his little screen time. Unfortunately, Katie Holmes makes you hate Rachel Dawes.

Quotes

Alfred Pennyworth: Why do we fall sir? So that we can learn to pick ourselves up.

Rachel Dawes: It's not who you are underneath, it's what you do that defines you.