MAN OF STEEL (Superman 2013)

MAN OF STEEL. Zack Snyder, dir. David S. Goyer, script, from the story by Goyer and Christopher Nolan (Superman character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster). Christopher Nolan, one of four producers. Alex McDowell, production design. USA/Canada/UK: Warner Bros. "presents, in association with Legendary Pictures, A Syncopy Production" along with DC Entertainment and Third Act Productions (prod.) / Warner Bros. main dist., 2013.

Of interest here for images of mechanical wombs and very high-tech interstellar infant transport — plus various kinds of high-tech body armor, perhaps including the suggestion of chainmail with Superman's costume, and for the flying and spacefaring vehicles: many of the craft are offshoots of the H. R. Giger tradition of the biomechanical (in "das Thema der Biomechanik"). Erlich spotted flying analogs to dragonflies and beetles, with perhaps a hint of dragon, plus a Krypton-design that appears as a hovercraft suggesting a kind of Martian mechanical crab with an H. G. Wellsian triplet motif — or suggesting one of those dumb "Claw Crane" games, rendered with a pomo/Industrial sensibility. Howard Golden sees that last vehicle resembling attackers in the space-invaders game Galaga.

See "Zod's spacecraft":

CAUTION: The climactic battles of MAN OF STEEL have been attacked as "disaster porn"; the attacks are justified. Susan Sontag was correct in noting that the "The Imagination of Disaster" is central to the SF film, but MAN OF STEEL adds to a mildly pernicious trend — as pernicious competitions go, movies aren't serious contenders — MAN OF STEEL adds to a mildly pernicious trend for relatively upbeat conclusions of films to include "collateral damage" of vast proportions.

5. DRAMA, RDE, 18/VI/13