00:00In 2008, Christopher Nolan and screenwriter David S. Goyer were deep in thought about what the future story of the third installment of the Dark Knight trilogy would be.
00:08But at the same time, Goyer is thinking about a new way to reintroduce Superman to the big screen.
00:12He manages to produce the beginnings of a story that could anchor the Kryptonian in a modern context.
00:16Nolan was extremely enthusiastic about Goyer's pitch and did not hesitate to present the project to Warner.
00:21At that time, he could ask anything of the studio, given the success of his Batman reboot.
00:25He only accepted a producer role, although Warner wanted him as a director.
00:28And David S. Goyer became the screenwriter for the film.
00:31All that was left was to find a director, and it was fortunate that in 2010, the Nolan couple met the Snyder couple and they got along quite well.
00:38Nolan knows that Zack Snyder can offer something unique to the DC universe, as he has already done in the past with Watchmen.
00:44Everyone gets to work, because yes, Snyder cannot refuse such an ambitious project, and the Men of Steel universe begins to take shape.
00:51The idea is to anchor the character in our time.
00:52So we get rid of the red briefs, we reinforce the darkness surrounding the character's origin story, and we offer a very dark visual aspect, where the dull contrast takes precedence over the color.
01:01And quite honestly, the result lives up to expectations.
01:04The film is a great success.
01:05Firstly, because its director fully appropriates it, through themes that are dear to him, such as the sacrifice of his heroes, whom he very often depicts as mythological figures.
01:13His work is also visually recognizable, supporting a certain pessimism through dark settings that depict a brutal world.
01:19The intro to Men of Steel goes in that direction.
01:21It sets the tone and ambition of the film, which will prove to be both serious and epic.
01:26The film will also demonstrate its ambition through its meticulous production.
01:29Snyder shoots on film, and I don't want to sound like an old fogey, but you have to admit that between film and digital, there's still a huge difference in image quality.
01:36I wouldn't know how to explain it, but film has this power to offer a truly cinematic aspect.
01:40It constitutes an absolutely perfect visual boundary between fiction and reality, where digital technology sometimes prevents the immersion that a film should provide.
01:48At least through films that don't know how to address this aspect.
01:50But Men of Steel is a carefully crafted film.
01:53The casting lends credibility to the ambition of the work.
01:55Henry Cavill is perfect.
01:56Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, and Diane Lane perfectly complement him.
02:01I also think that the development of the character of Clark Kent is very successful.
02:04I'm not going to go over all the Christ-like parallels of the character again.
02:06This is one of Snyder's favorite themes, and it is well represented here.
02:09Featuring a 33-year-old hero who will wander through this world before discovering his origins and dedicating his life to helping others.
02:15Even going so far as to sacrifice himself for them later on.
02:17But that's in another film, and we'll come back to that.
02:19Not to mention the director's staging, which reinforces, sometimes a little too much for some, this messianic parallel.
02:24But what I really liked about this character was the relationship he has with his two fathers.
02:29For me, this is the very foundation of the story.
02:31His human father will push him to question things.
02:33To make him understand that his superhuman status will change the face of the world.
02:36And that it is through small gestures, sometimes of acceptance, sometimes of renunciation, that he will come to understand what his place is in this world.
02:43He goes so far as to sacrifice himself because his son is not yet ready to face the world in its true colors.
02:48And when he finally is, after several long years, it is his other father who will make him understand that he is a guide for humans.
02:53He must protect this world because he is capable of doing so.
02:56And when Anzimer's exquisite music decides to enhance the superhero's first flight, it primarily underscores the flight of a man who finally knows who he is.
03:03Who has finally found a goal to achieve.
03:05And who, like every human being, will fall in order to rise again.
03:08Before this pivotal flight, Clark Kent is a man deeply affected by the contemporary world.
03:13He feels alone and misunderstood there.
03:15This is a far cry from the American boy scout of the 70s.
03:17We have a character who is doubting himself.
03:19His quest for identity is not that of a triumphant hero, but that of an orphan in search of meaning.
03:23This is what makes the film so interesting.
03:25In its first half at least, since afterwards it unfortunately falls back into the clichés of the genre, with pyrotechnics galore and destruction everywhere.
03:32The whole thing with aliens introducing themselves via television channels is very Roland Emmerich-esque.
03:36And that's not very subtle, to say the least.
03:38Now it is true that in this very physical, very Dragon Ball-esque fight, there is also an ideological fight hidden.
03:43The appearance of Superman provokes a certain collective fear.
03:46Many questions, paranoia.
03:48This will also be one of the central themes of the second film.
03:51Governments react with threats.
03:52General Zod, on the other hand, is the embodiment of totalitarian extremism, which wants to exterminate in order to rebuild in its own image.
03:58Faced with this, Superman makes a moral choice.
04:00He refuses to sacrifice humanity to save his race.
04:03He is not the proud hero who just saved a city.
04:05He partially destroyed it.
04:06He saved humans, but also unintentionally killed some.
04:09And it is probably the questions that haunt a character like Clark Kent that cooled the public's interest at that time.
04:14The perfect hero that Superman represents in people's eyes has been completely redefined.
04:18Reduced to the level of mortal questions.
04:20But in 2013, it didn't go through.
04:21The film was a great commercial success, but it also sparked a lot of controversy.
04:25We are in an era where Marvel is a hit with every film thanks to a colorful, vibrant image and lighthearted stories.
04:30Warner had the good idea to take the opposite approach to that.
04:32And today, with hindsight, the film has aged incredibly well.
04:35It offers a real breath of fresh air in a cinematic landscape saturated with low-quality superhero movies.
04:40However, the controversy would continue after Man of Steel.
04:43Because Zack Snyder didn't want to listen to the criticism and wasn't going to stop while he was on a roll.
Non hein, comme tu le sais, le meilleur film Superman, que dis-je, le meilleur film de super-héros, que dis-je, le meilleur film de tous les temps c'est le Superman de James Gunn. Une révolution dont on se souviendra encore dans 10 ans.
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