Man of Steel (2013)
Russell Crowe: Jor-El
Photos
Quotes
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Jor-El : You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.
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Superman : [about Earth's people] Why am I so different from them?
Jor-El : Earth's sun is younger and brighter than Krypton's was. Your cells have drunk in its radiation, strengthening your muscles, your skin, your senses. Earth's gravity is weaker, yet its atmosphere is more nourishing. You've grown stronger here than I ever could have imagined. The only way to know how strong, is to keep testing your limits.
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Jor-El : Goodbye, my son. Our hopes and dreams travel with you.
Lara Lor-Van : He will be an outcast. They'll kill him.
Jor-El : How? He'll be a god to them.
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Jor-El : Our people can co-exist.
General Zod : So we can suffer through years of pain, trying to adapt like your son has?
Jor-El : You're talking about genocide.
General Zod : Yes! And I'm arguing its merits with a ghost.
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Jor-El : To see you standing there having grown into an adult... if only Lara could have witnessed this.
Clark Kent : Who are you?
Jor-El : I am your father, Kal, or at least a shadow of him. His consciousness. My name is Jor-El
Clark Kent : Kal? That's my name?
Jor-El : Kal-El, it is.
Clark Kent : I have so many questions. Where do I come from? Why did you send me here?
Jor-El : You came from Krypton, a world with a much harsher environment than Earth's. Long ago, in an era of expansion, our race spread out through the stars, seeking new worlds to settle upon. This scout ship was one of thousands launched into the void. We built outposts on other planets, using great machines to reshape environments to our needs. For 100 thousand years our civilization flourished, accomplishing wonders.
Clark Kent : What happened?
Jor-El : Artificial population control was established. The outposts and space exploration were abandoned. We exhausted our natural resources. As a result, our planet's core became unstable. Eventually, our military leader, General Zod, attempted a coup, but by then it was too late. Your mother and I foresaw the coming calamity and we took certain steps to ensure your survival. This is a genesis chamber. All Kryptonians were conceived in chambers such as this. Every child was designed to perform a predetermined role in our society as a worker, a warrior, a leader, and so on. Your mother and I believed Krypton lost something precious, the element of choice, of chance. What if a child dreamed of becoming something other than what society had intended? What if a child aspired to something greater? You were the embodiment of that belief Kal. Krypton's first natural birth in centuries. That's why we risked so much to save you.
Clark Kent : Why didn't you come with me?
Jor-El : We couldn't, Kal. No matter how much we wanted to. No matter how we loved you. Your mother, Lara, and I were a product of the failures of our world as much as Zod was. It's hard to explain.
Clark Kent : So I'm alone?
Jor-El : No, you are as much a child of Earth now as you are of Krypton. You can embody the best of both worlds. The dream your mother and I dedicated our lives to preserve.
[He reveals to him the Superman suit]
Jor-El : The people of Earth are different from us, it's true, but ultimately I believe that is a good thing. They won't necessarily make the same mistakes we did, but if you guide them, Kal, if you give them hope, that's what this symbol means. The symbol of the House of El means hope. Embodied within that hope is the fundamental belief the potential of every person to be a force for good. That's what you can bring them.
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[first lines]
Jor-El : Will you not understand? Krypton's core is collapsing! We may only have a matter of weeks! I warned you, harvesting the core was suicide! It has accelerated the process of implosion!
Lor-Em : Our energy reserves were exhausted. What would you have us do, El?
Jor-El : Look to the stars, like our ancestors did! There are habitable worlds within reach. We can begin by using the old outposts.
Ro-Zar : Are you seriously suggesting that we evacuate the entire planet?
Jor-El : No, everybody here is already dead. Give me control of the Codex. I will ensure the survival of our race. There is still hope. I have held that hope in my hands...
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Jor-El : My son is twice the man you were, and he will finish what we started. I can promise you that.
General Zod : Tell me, you have Jor-El's memories; his conscience. Can you experience his pain? I will harvest the codex from your son's corpse, and I will rebuild Krypton atop his bones.
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Jor-El : Born on Krypton and raised on Earth, you had the best of both and were meant to be the bridge between two worlds.
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General Zod : What have you done?
Jor-El : We've had a child, Zod. A boy child. Krypton's first natural birth in centuries, and he will be free, free to forge his own destiny.
General Zod : Heresy! Destroy it!
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Lara Lor-Van : I can't do it... I thought I could, but...
Jor-El : Lara, Krypton is doomed. This is the only chance of safety he has.
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Lois Lane : [Jor-El's image appears behind Lois] Where did you come from?
Jor-El : The command key Miss Lane; thanks to you, I'm uploading into the ship's mainframe.
Lois Lane : Who are you?
Jor-El : I am Kal's father.
Lois Lane : Can you help us?
Lois Lane : I designed this ship, I can modify its atmospheric composition to human compatibility. We can stop them, we can send them back to the phantom zone.
Lois Lane : How?
Jor-El : I can teach you; and in turn you can teach Kal. Will you help me?
[Scene cuts to ships flying through clouds, and then approaching Earth's surface]
Jor-El : The Ship's crew are alerted. We need to move quickly. Retrieve the command key.
[Lois retrieves the key, and Jor uses power to open door, they are ambushed a moment later by a female guard, Jor uses power to slam the door on her arm]
Lois Lane : Did you do that?
Jor-El : Yes, pick up her sidearm.
Jor-El : [Lois retrieves the weapon then begins to follow Jor down the corridor, scene cuts to Kal escaping from Zod's chambers, then to Earth where spaceships can be seen flying overhead, then returns to the corridors aboard the command ship] To your right, fire. Behind you.
[uses power to slam door. Then guides Lois to escape pod chamber, using power to open the door]
Jor-El : Secure yourself inside the open pod. Safe travels Miss Lane, it's highly unlikely we'll be seeing each other again. Remember, the phantom drives are essential in stopping them... Move your head to the left.
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Jor-El : [to Lara] Out there, amongst the stars, he will be free.
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General Zod : This council has been disbanded!
Ro-Zar : On whose authority?
General Zod : Mine.
[Zod shoots and kills Ro-Zar]
General Zod : The rest of you will be tried and punished accordingly.
Jor-El : What are you doing, Zod? This is madness!
General Zod : What I should have done years ago! These lawmakers with their endless debates have led Krypton to ruin!
Jor-El : And if your forces prevail? You'll be the leader of nothing!
General Zod : Then join me. Help me save our race. We'll start anew. We'll sever the degenerative bloodlines that led us to this state.
Jor-El : And who will decide which bloodlines survive, Zod?... You?
[pause]
General Zod : Don't do this, El. The last thing I want is for us to be enemies.
Jor-El : You have abandoned the principles that bound us together. You've taken up the sword against your own people. I will honor the man you once were, Zod, not this monster you have become.
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Jor-El : Goodbye, Miss Lane. I do not think we shall ever meet again.
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[from TV spot]
Jor-El : You can save them... You can save all of them.
