Forget “Justice League”: This superhero epic offers pure action bombasticity – and is even better than many MCU hits

Today, June 2, 2023, the DC blockbuster “Justice League” will be shown on ProSieben at 8:15 p.m. I can only strongly advise against the film, not least because this is not the vision that director Zack Snyder actually wanted to convey. For private reasons, he left the project in the middle of production, passing the baton to Joss Whedon (“The Avengers”). The “correct” version should not be released until 2021 with “Zack Snyder’s Justice League”, which we heartily recommend (and which is available on DVD and Blu-ray) at this point.

No less awesome is Snyder’s DCEU opener “Man Of Steel”, which the next article will cover and which you can get from online stores like Amazon as Blu-ray, 4K, DVD or VoD. Zack Snyder got a lot of rap from the trade press for his bombastic Superman spectacle. Wrongly! Not only when compared to Joss Whedon’s “Justice League”, “Man Of Steel” is a basic blockbuster experience that stands out from many comedy adaptations of recent years for its artistic vision.

That’s what “Man of Steel” is about

Kal-El (Henry Cavill) has abilities beyond human imagination. That’s why he feels so alone and lost on Earth, where his name is Clark Kent. Years ago, his father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) sent him to humans from Krypton, a highly evolved planet. Now Clark is constantly faced with the question: Why am I here? Formed by his foster parents Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan (Kevin Costner), Clark quickly realizes that having superpowers comes with responsibilities.

With that comes the need to make tough decisions. Clark’s adoptive father firmly believes that humanity is not ready to know who his son really is and what superpowers he possesses. But when the world is finally attacked by the evil general Zod (Michael Shannon), also from Krypton, she needs his “Superman” more than ever – whether Clark is ready or not.

A visually stunning epic

Already at the first trailer it became clear that Zack Snyder does not want to blow the classic superhero horn with “Man Of Steel”, but follows his own aesthetic. While the trailer still had some of the aloof naturalism of a Terence Malick and was accompanied by Howard Shore’s “Lord of the Rings” play “The Bridge Of Khazad Dum,” the finished film works precisely through this artistic otherness as well.

The so-called “dark and gritty” look may have worn off by now, but since Christopher Nolan’s “The Dark Knight” trilogy no other director has managed to embrace this style as impressively as Zack Snyder. In connection with its weighty themes of responsibility, self-discovery and determination, “Man Of Steel” takes on an almost holy seriousness that makes it clear that the fall is much bigger than most Marvel films.

While Man Of Steel takes ample time to showcase Clark Kent’s loneliness, building on the obligatory superhero theme that with great power comes great responsibility, it’s scenic power, with which Zack Snyder mercilessly challenges his viewers. The gigantic ferocity that the fight between Superman and Zod entails can be quite exhausting. However, the creative destructiveness is groundbreaking.

They’re quivering, bubbling visual worlds that Zack Snyder creates to unleash his superhuman elemental powers in the finale. It’s interesting that “Man Of Steel” never ignores the ambivalences of its characters and sees the pure action bombast as a refugee parable, even in the thunderstorm effect, forcefully forcing two lost souls to find their place in the universe.

However, “Man Of Steel” doesn’t just stand out from the Marvel Cinematic Universe for its unbridled audio visuals. Zack Snyder also has his characters so wrestle with their identities that their decisions reveal irritating friction. A new hero may be born at the end of Man Of Steel, but he will never become the pure savior humanity has come to expect from him. The excellent Batman v Superman and Zack Snyder’s Justice League (the one and only version of the movie) that followed proved that.