Whereas I’ve by no means been an enormous fan of Superman, James Gunn’s upcoming DC film starring David Corenswet is considered one of my most anticipated upcoming 2025 motion pictures. So, I figured now was an excellent time for me to lastly get round to watching Zack Snyder’s 2013 interpretation of the final son of Krypton, Man of Metal.
The ridiculously divisive reception of the Henry Cavill-led Superman movie led me to cross on checking it out for greater than a decade, however I had a sense my common lack of curiosity within the character would profit me with an goal perspective so I might choose it pretty. Nicely, I ended up not caring a lot for it, and for most of the identical causes that disenchanted even die-hard comedian guide followers. Nonetheless, there was one side I assumed I might take pleasure in that sadly turned out to be the one factor I disliked most about Man of Metal. Enable me to elucidate…
Michael Shannon Was Unsuitable For Zod
Ever since I noticed his efficiency in Take Shelter, a 2011 film that will get sincere about psychological well being, I’ve believed that Michael Shannon is likely one of the most gifted actors alive. I’ve particularly loved a few of his villainous roles, comparable to in Guillermo del Toro’s Greatest Image Oscar winner, 2017’s The Form of Water, so I used to be genuinely excited to lastly see how he performs considered one of Superman’s archenemies, Common Zod, in Man of Metal once I booted up my HBO Max subscription. Nonetheless, my response to the efficiency could sound like heresy to different followers of the two-time Oscar nominee.
I just lately wrote a listicle about miscast film and TV villains, and had I seen Man of Metal then, I might have included Shannon’s Zod. Forgive me, however in my view, he lacks an genuine aura of menace wanted to drag off an antagonist able to creating such cataclysmic destruction. On prime of that, I feel he simply feels typically misplaced within the position, particularly when interacting with fellow Kryptonians within the prologue. One might argue that’s by design, primarily based on the alien warrior’s opposition to how Krypton is ruled, but it surely merely didn’t work for me, and that disenchanted feeling lasted for the remainder of the movie.
Michael Shannon’s Zod May Have Labored In A Much less Bleak Superman Film
There is part of me, nevertheless, that believes Shannon’s portrayal of Zod might have been an all-time nice DC villain efficiency, however not in a film like Man of Metal. You see, one other main challenge I’ve with the film, which has additionally proved very divisive amongst followers, is that it takes itself just a bit too critically for its personal good, particularly when you think about that its lead hero is historically depicted as hopeful, optimistic, and enjoyable. I can not assist however consider that the concept of getting enjoyable was additionally on Shannon’s thoughts.
Whereas a few of his feedback prior to now recommend Shannon did take his Man of Metal position very critically, watching him, I get the sensation that he additionally needed to ham it up a bit bit with a extra historically over-the-top comedian guide villain efficiency. Zod’s fourth, overexaggerated yelp of the road “I’ll discover him!” within the prologue was sufficient to persuade me of that. I’m completely all for that method, and I consider it in all probability would have labored if the tone of this Superman film matched the tone of his portrayal, as I see it.
A film that supplied an ideal alternative for Shannon to not maintain something again, as Zod was The Flash, which I feel proudly leaned into its cheesiness. Nonetheless, he appeared to have much less enthusiasm for the position in that reprisal, and his feedback to Collider in 2023 mainly affirm that. I do marvel, although, if he had been to offer the position yet one more strive–with Zack Snyder’s blessing, after all–how properly his Zod would fare in an upcoming superhero film set in James Gunn’s new DC Universe. It’s price excited about…