Who was the best portrayal of General Zod?
Terence Stamp?
Michael Shannon?
Michael Shannon. Almost always, the last actor to play the character is usually the best, because he gets to improve on each prior character portrayal. For example, Ben Affleck is the best Batman and Daniel Craig is the best Bond
shareMillsey, you old rascal/agent provocateur
How's your college professor?
Michael Shannon. Terence Stamp played him as a pantomime villain (not that he wasn't entertaining), whereas Shannon made the character real and relatable.
shareNo Shannon was trash and ate the scenery
shareI disagree. Shannon's Zod was just as evil as Zod in Superman 2. He wanted to kill all people and animals on Earth to make Earth into Krypton. If that's relatable to you then I think you're crazy!
shareI think Shannon's speech before the big battle at the climax of MOS painted him differently. He was doing what he'd been bred to do, and what he believed was best for his people. It might have been abhorrent to us (and to Kal-El, who was raised by on Earth by and amongst humans), but in his eyes he was true to his purpose for being.
shareIn other words he was mentally ill.
shareI don't see how you get that from what I wrote.
shareWhat's not mentally ill about a guy who wants to wipe out all life on a planet in order to turn said planet into his home planet because he can't stand his home planet blew up? There's no way that's not mentally ill. It's complete insanity. And I really don't get you acting like that's sympathetic. He was kind of a monster on Krypton who wanted to kill the council of his own people. The only real explanation is he's mentally ill but that doesn't make him sympathetic.
shareI saw nothing to say Zod was mentally ill. He was doing what he'd been 'programmed' to do his whole life, his reason for existence. I'm not condoning it - as I said, it's abhorrent to us; but we're not Kryptonians genetically designed and raised to do whatever's necessary for the survival of our people. He was, and what he did was completely consistent with that.
shareI have always loved Stamp's version the best but there's no denying that Shannon did a wonderful job with the character. As good, but in some different way.
shareStamp
shareStamp and it's not even close.
share