SPOILERS FOR MAN OF STEEL FOLLOW! When Superman Returns failed to live up to expectations in 2006, its poor performance was blamed on a lack of action. Of course, with typical executive logic -- and with Zack Snyder at the helm -- Man of Steel was a complete 180. Superman and General Zod beat each other up and down the streets of Metropolis before Superman finally ends the fight by breaking his foe's neck. The violence was seen as excessive, and worse still, Superman's actions were seen as a complete betrayal of the character. Many fans -- including Superman's most avid supporters -- left theaters with sour tastes in their mouths. Fans weren't the only ones who were disappointed, as critics were also muted on Man of Steel. It currently holds a 56% -- or "rotten" -- rating on film site RottenTomatoes.com, which generates percentages based on mass reviewer response. By contract, Thor: The Dark World -- the lowest-rated of Marvel Studios' films -- has a "fresh" rating of 65%. Zack Snyder's films aren't everybody's cup of tea, to be sure. Still, Warner Bros. has hitched their wagon to him -- he'll be directing Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice as well as both of the Justice League films.
Scott Fried is a Slammy Award-winning* writer living and working in New York City. He has been following/writing about professional wrestling for many years and is a graduate of Lance Storm's Storm Wrestling Academy. Follow him on Twitter at https://twitter.com/scottfried.
*Best Crowd of the Year, 2013
