Did Man of Steel go too big too soon? Find out in the review after the jump!
Man of Steel delivers a very satisfying (while not perfect) reboot of Superman we've been waiting for since the much adored Richard Donnar's Superman The Movie starring Christopher Reeve. So far this summer, most big blockbusters have been going with the formula 'style over substance'. Even though that sounds bad most of those blockbusters generally prevail its short comings while still being entertaining with brisk pacing, huge action set pieces and charismatic cast. Star Trek: Into Darkness, Fast & Furious 6, G.I. Joe: Retaliation and even Iron Man 3 is a little guilty of this, but Man of Steel take all that I mentioned and turns it to 11 then rips the controls out.
For the first 15-20 minutes this film gives us the most visually stunning and fleshed out Krypton we've ever seen in a Superman film. Gone are the clean white sterile worlds and crystal structures of the Richard Donnar film; now its a darker and genuinely more alien Krypton. Superman's father Jor-El played by Russell Crowe, definitely portrays a greater sense of paternal love and purpose than Marlon Brando's cold distant god like figure in previous iterations. Suffice to say Crowe's Jor-El is better which is understandable looking back, because you can clearly tell that Brando is cruising in his role and Crowe was given a lot more to do in Man of Steel. The origin story for the most part remains mostly unchanged while different enough to feel fresh. Kal-El is the first naturally born Kryptonian in centuries and is sent to Earth by his parent from their dying planet which has been mined to destruction. There Kal-El or Clark Kent is raised as a human while getting to grips with his powers and finding out who he is and what to do with his super powers. Before Krypton's met its demise an insurgent splinter group of the military try to stay a coup but fail and are banished to the phantom zone only to escape after the planet explodes. Now free, they hunt for the 'codec' that was sent with Kal-El which has the genetic codes to preserve the Kryptonian race.
Henry Cavill takes up the lofty mantle that is the role of Superman aka Kal-El and he is terrific as the man of steel. Cavill is great at conveying his sense of longing when he's on his journey to find himself. When he finally dons the cape he oozes the confidence and charisma of the most powerful being on Earth. Clark's foster parents the Kents are wonderfully portrayed by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane who both put out some emotional scenes with Clark. Especially the scene where Jonathan Kent first shows young Clark the spaceship he came to Earth on; it just melts your heart. Amy Adams clocks in a solid effort as Lois Lane who has more to do than her previous counterparts but ultimately needs to be saved multiple times. Now every hero needs a villain and the big bad this time around is Zod (Michael Shannon). He is a Kryptonian military general who tries to stage a coup just before Krypton went belly up; not out of malice or evil but because he wants to save his people. Zod truly believes with absolute conviction that his actions are in the best interests of all Kryptonians and that makes him a serious threat. I won't say much about Michael Shannon's General Zod but he is the show stealer in Man of Steel and is chewing the scenery when ever he is on screen.
Now the meat of the movie, the action; an aspect which was sorely absent in the most recent Superman film "Superman Returns" back in 2006. I'm giddy to say its an area this film packed to the brim with. Man of Steel action set piece are intense, lightning fast, high impact and filmed in a way where you can see everything clearly with no chopping editing or messy close camera angles. Thank God!! To accompany the on-screen mayhem the musical score is composed by Hans Zimmer and it hits all the right notes. While nothing will ever be as memorable as the classic John Williams score, Hans Zimmer's score will be enough to get your blood pumping.
SPOILERS AHEAD
Now its sounds like I got nothing but praise about this film but it does have a few issues that keep it from reaching the heights of The Dark Knight; which is the gold standard to which comic book movies will forever be compare to. Firstly, Superman kills general Zod which is a big no no in the Superman Mythos. The thing about Superman is that he always finds a way no matter what; he will always find a solution where no one has to die. I also felt that Warner Bros. overplayed their hand a bit in giving us a enemy as powerful as Zod and you kind of think, How on earth are they going to create a threat big enough to justify a Justice League let alone the sequel to Man of Steel? The dialogue also could have been better; it was good but not Avengers or Dark Knight good. Some more humour and levity would have been nice. The final fight between Zod and Superman was freaking spectacular but damn how many people died during the course of that fight! Superman was just reckless and should have been more shocked by the insane amount of destruction and at least try to redirect it to a more remote location. Plus who is Jenny and why should we care about this person? Jenny only has one or two line up until she gets trapped under rubble only to have some unnecessary tension while Superman tries to stop the world engine from crushing everything. Most of these complaints are relatively minor but hopefully they'll be addressed in the sequel.
SPOILERS END HERE
Final thoughts and Score
Overall its a beast of summer blockbuster and the best superman movie ever. This is a real sensory smorgasbord! In its purest form its a first contact story and about a Superman being a man torn between two worlds trying to find himself. You could call it a Clark Kent the origin story.
Now Kneel before Zod!
Reinventing Lex Luthor
Hey here some food for thought who would you want to play Lex Luthor in the upcoming sequels? I want Breaking Bad's Bryan Cranston or Justified's Walton Goggins for the role. Both are extremely talented actors who can give us a much more serious, charismatic and threatening Lex Luthor for this new DC cinematic universe.
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