Man of Steel

Superhero flicks are now seemingly compulsory for each of the major studios in the North American summer movie season. So I guess it seemed a little silly that the most powerful of all superheros has been left out in the cold for so long. After the mixed success of ‘Superman Returns’ in 2006, it was high time for Hollywood to have another stab at making a decent Superman film.

‘Man of Steel’ like ‘Batman Begins’ gives the audience an insight into the protagonists’ early life and therefore his motivations and the source of his power.  This could be due to the fact that Chistopher Nolan had a hand in writing the story for both films. The movie is directed by Zack Snyder known for 300 and Watchmen. I thought this to be a match made in heaven because of Nolan’s talent as a writer and Snyder’s flair for impressive action sequences such as those in his previous films. This turned out to be true to a degree. While the film was well pieced together, with scenes leading from one to the next with adequate logic, it could be argued that the amount of time spent on each was a little off. If perhaps more time was spent on the story and character development and less on action sequences, the film would have been less rushed and the dramatic scenes would have been more impactful. In saying that, the film does have its touching moments and the special effects and action are a huge step up from the earlier superman films. When Superman and General Zod clash, it’s entirely the way in which you would expect super people to fight.

Henry Cavil is a fantastic superman. Not only does he very much look the part, he also does a great job of portraying a young superman who hasn’t yet found himself and is unsure of how to play his part in the world. He at times looks genuinely vulnerable as he struggles with the responsibility of the power that he finds himself with. Michael Shannon plays the films main villain (General Zod). He too plays his part fittingly, displaying a sense of warped morality that you can understand and therefore connect with. Amy Adams is Lois Lane and is sufficiently cocky and headstrong as we know the character to be, but doesn’t quite hit the mark. The film has a very impressive support cast, including Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner as Superman’s Kryptonian and Earth based fathers. Whilst the films leads are arguably the least known out of the all star cast, they manage to steal the show with their impressive performances.  

‘Man of Steel’ is definitely an improvement on the last somewhat dull instalment in the Superman franchise. While a little on the cheesy side, I think they’ve laid a solid foundation for subsequent sequels. I’d give this movie a 6.5 out of 10. Its action sequences are intense and visually spectacular.