RocShemp

It seems it was indeed more than just sunlight. The Kryptonian atmosphere made him "sick" and therefor weak. Like when he's near Kryptonite in the comics. But the lack of direct sunlight doesn't immediately drain his powers. Otherwise, he'd have no heat vision on his way to the scout ship or in it. However, even with his strength at 100%, the security drone managed to draw blood and even come close to overpowering him. That establishes that even with all his power, he was still vulnerable.

On Zod's ship, it was mentioned that he could eventually adapt to Kryptonian atmospherics. And he did that somewhat when he faced the World Engine. It weakened and a pained him but he managed to destroy it. Though he still needed to recharge with the sun. But this does imply that even if Zod terraformed the Earth, the Kryptonian's would still eventually retain the powers they gain from the yellow sun.

But, again, that's not as clearly established as it should be. And it's something that Emil Hamilton would have been useful at explaining. Which irks me again that they offed him.

I found Pa Kent to be a flawed and conflicted human being. He wanted Clark to do good but he also feared what would happen if people truly knew what Clark was. He was "selfish" as all parents are regarding the well being of their children. But he also knew Clark was meant for more than just hiding out in a farm, despite their argument in the car. It was an interesting balancing act and far more "real" than the righteous moral compass Pa Kent is traditionally presented as being. But I understand why people would have issue with it.

Mr. Cinema

New worldwide gross is now $398.3 million per Deadline Hollywood.

Supermallet

Someone in this thread has no clue what a hipster is.

Why So Blu?

Don't put me on your ignore list, bro.

RocShemp

To this day I'm still not sure what they are. Most people I see described as hipsters just sound like douchebags to me.

Brack

Hipster doofus

Jackskeleton

I don't think you understood what I was doing there.

Solid Snake

Had to say it twice eh?

moviefan2k4

I think there's a fine line between righteousness and self-righteousness. Jonathan wasn't sure what to say about those people on the bus, because he's not divine, and either is Kal-El. The point of that scene was to show it's not their job to decide on a whim who deserves to live or die. Clark did the right thing for his fellow students, but he also risked exposing his existence, and it was a dangerous gamble. Jonathan and Martha were trying to teach him the need for a healthy balance of authority and compassion.

Spottedfeather

I didn't get any of that, moviefan. I got that from the parents in the Donner movies, even in Smallville and Superman Returns. But not in MOS. Jonathan in MOS was a bit of a cowardly wimp. Barely anything in the movie showed Superman for what he should be and what's he's always been and stood for.

Patman

I can't imagine dinners at the Kents were all that fun after the tornado...

Geofferson

Finally went to see this today and was pleasantly surprised. Helped immensely that my expectations were lowered significantly after the initial reviews started coming in last week and the feedback here.

I liked the first half more than the second. Thought the destruction in the final act went on far too long. Liked some of the subtle callbacks to the Donner movie (trucker harassing Clark, Supes hitting Zod with a steel beem). Not much chemistry between Supes and Lois. Crowe was okay as Jor-El but wasn't much of a fan when his conscience kept popping up. I did like Costner as Jonathan -- despite his bone headed move of risking his life to save the dog. The soundtrack wasn't iconic, but worked well in several scenes.

I'd give the movie a solid B.

moviefan2k4

Well, several other attempts have been far less than stellar with Superman's moral character, even the "Smallville" series. I liked "Man of Steel" because for once, he actually got to fight someone without holding back. I'd love for a sequel to feature someone like Brainiac, Darkseid, or even the psycho version of Kara.

Yeah, that was a really sad scene, and completely unexpected. Jonathan deliberately holding Clark back from saving him was so heartbreaking; I felt for both he and Martha in that moment.

Spottedfeather

That's what I always liked about Superman. He almost always managed to find a way to beat the bad guys without going overboard or berserk. He was always on the watch for people that might get in the way and, even if it meant that the bad guy would get away (at least temporarily), he would stop in the middle of a fight and help someone that was in danger. Especially if they were in danger because of the fight he was in the middle of. I didn't get that from Man Of Steel.

If they're going for a more realistic approach with this new series of movies, then I really don't see them being able to use Brainiac. Especially if they wanted to use him as he's almost always been portrayed.

And the heartbreaking scene with the tornado ? I had the opposite reaction. I was extremely angry at the whole thing. Not as angry as with the ending of Watchmen or the entirety of Cloverfield or Toy Story 3, but still...

Darkseid could be cool, though. What psycho version of Kara ?

DieselsDen

Yeah, that was a really sad scene, and completely unexpected. Jonathan deliberately holding Clark back from saving him was so heartbreaking; I felt for both he and Martha in that moment.

If by sad you mean nonsensical, and by unexpected, you mean contrived (seriously..a tornado? Jonathan Kent dies by tornado? Talk about manipulative and bombastic!), and if by heartbreaking you mean confusing, then yes, I felt for both Clark and Martha at that point.

I don't think this clumsy scene deserves any emotional investment. It was just another large-scale destructive moment awkwardly executed to convey a moral which didn't make any logical or rational sense. The director really screwed up that moment.

Supermallet

The fact that we're passionately arguing about the film on its own merits pretty much proves we're not hipsters.

If we were hipsters, we'd only cop to liking Superman comics from the '30s. And even then only the panels where he isn't using his powers.

Jackskeleton

Yeah, the thing about Pa Kent's death in various other sources via a heart attack was that Superman is utterly helpless to prevent it. A fucking tornado though? Come on man, no me chingas.

redrum

he didn't want him to save him, whats the big deal, maybe he was suicidal

redrum

but ya they both should of just let the dog die

RD1973

I just saw the movie yesterday and I'm pretty disappointed. I really wanted to like it despite the reviews, but I just didn't.

Superman Returns was criticized for not bringing anything new to the table, so Man of Steel was supposed to be a fresh new beginning. But in the end, its just a remake of Superman 1 and 2. At least Superman Returns tried to extend the story.

I'm not completely against remakes. But everything in the originals was better (the pace, the casting, the writing, the music, the costumes, the set design).

I guess, once again, I'll just stick with the original.

redrum

grandpa?

Brack

That made no sense. How did that kid get super powers? I thought Clark had to give up being super to be with Lois. Either it's a flawed concept that was tacked on to add "drama", or his sperm stays super even when he's not.

starman9000

Didn't hate it, but didn't love it. As I'm sure has been stated before there were times when it felt too much like a Bay or Emmerich movie and I found myself checking my watch. I was surprised at how boring Amy Adams and Micheal Shannon were.

I did like Caville in the role, so I'm still in for future entries.

Not trying to nitpick, but do we know what the ultimate plan for putting all that genetic code into Kal was?

fujishig

I was also a little confused about the Phantom Zone. Was it still a parallel dimension? Zod seemed to indicate that his people were adrift in the vicinity of destroyed Krypton, but managed to reverse engineer the phantom drive to get back, but I don't understand how they got free in the first place... surely the destruction of Krypton wouldn't have affected them in the Phantom Zone?

What prevents the other military Kryptonians from breaching the Phantom Zone again? Don't they now have two Phantom Drives, and no restraints? Granted it took them 30+ years to get out, but still. Are the humans alive there too?

Geofferson

Another reason MOS suffered is that the novelty of believing a man can fly has worn off in the last 35 years. It was a big deal in '78 and thus the tagline for the movie. That moment when Supes first takes to the air in the Fortress of Solitude after his journey with Jor-El -- magical.

35 years later and essentially the same scene -- not so much.