Man of Steel Reborn

After years of being overshadowed by their competitors, it seemed as though DC was ready to throw in the towel.  With Christopher Nolan's Dark Knight Trilogy the only real success and response to Marvel's string of films culminating into The Avengers, it looked like DC was being overwhelmed by Marvel's onslaught.  Luckily for DC, they had an ace in the hole.  As he is a shining beacon of hope within his own comics, the Man of Steel was DC's last hope.  If this film were to fail as the 2006 Superman Returns film did, DC would lose their foundation and crumble underneath Marvel's might.  With the team that brought us The Dark Knight Trilogy, an equally amazing cast led by Henry Cavil, Russel Crowe and Michael Shannon, and Zack Snyder in the director's seat, this was shaping up to be the Superman movie we had always been hoping for.  A lot rested on the shoulders of this movie and the question is, did it deliver?  You bet your ass it did.

The film starts off on the planet Krypton, which is on the verge of being destroyed by its unstable core as a result of years of Kyrpton's natural resources being depleted.  Kryptonian scientist Jor-El, played by Russel Crowe, goes to the governing counsel in an effort to warn them of the planets destruction and pleads with them to begin evacuation.  As the counsel refuses the planet's military commander General Zod, played by Michael Shannon, arrives and with the aid of his followers, overthrows the counsel in an effort to save Krypton.  Upon seeing this, Jor-El flees.  After infusing his newborn son Kal-el with a genetic codex of the entire Kryptonian race, Jor-El and his wife Lara launch their son in a spacecraft to Earth.  General Zod then murders Jor-El and tries to figure out where they sent the baby.  However, he is soon arrested and sent to the Phantom Zone, a prison dimension.  After some time, Krypton explodes, killing all that were on the planet, including Kal-el's mother.  Zod watches as his planet is destroyed, now free to seek out Ka-El.

After that, we get our Superman movie.  Even though this is an origin story, the plot moves along at an alarmingly fast pace.  Upon landing on Earth, the film quickly cuts to Kal-El as an adult.  The film shows him wandering the Earth, trying to find out where he belongs.  He works different jobs across the country, always disappearing once someone catches a glimpse of his powers.  His childhood is shown through means of flashbacks.  They show his adoptive Earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, struggling to raise young Kal-El, now named Clark Kent, as his powers begin to manifest themselves.  Meanwhile Lois Lane, a journalist from the Daily Planet played by Amy Adams, begins researching this "superhuman rescuer" and, after Clark rescues her, she finds him but chooses not to reveal his secret.  General Zod then arrives to Earth, claiming that he is looking for one of his own, and threatens the planet if Clark does not come forward.  What follows after is some of the greatest action sequences on the big screen.

As a stepping stone for the Justice League movie to come, or any other superhero movies to follow, this was a superb attempt to ground Superman, to make him human.  Henry Cavil did a fantastic job portraying Superman, embodying him both physically and mentally.  I was slightly disappointed in Amy Adams.  She came across as just a nosy journalist.  At times I felt as though she was just there to create some sort of connection with Superman, not really needed for the story.  However, the stand-out performances go to Russel Crowe, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, and Antje Traue as Faora, Zod's second-in-command.  Both Shannon and Traue are menacing and intense, owning any screen time they have apart and together.  Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner were the two actors I was unsure of going into the movie, but both shined as loving fathers trying to give their son the life they believe deserves.  I thought the flashbacks would be the slow points in the movie and while that may be true in the sense of pacing, these moments were equally captivating.  These short moments were crucial in explaining who is Superman and what will he stand for.


And finally, the actions scenes.  Holy shit, they were awesome!  Although Snyder should have cut back on a few scenes ("less is more") so that the viewers could catch their breath, this....this is what I have always been waiting for.  This is where all other Superman movies failed.  Christopher Reeves was fantastic as Superman, and will forever be remember as the original Man of Steel but those movies failed to show us just what Superman is really capable of.  Superman is a beacon of hope, a shining light for humanity, but he is also one of the most powerful superheros to ever exist and in this movie, you get to see that Superman. Snyder, who directed 300, Watchman and Sucker Punch, gave us some amazing action sequences that put all those movies to shame.  The final fight between Superman and Zod is simply amazing.  After The Avengers defeated Loki and the Chitauri, New York was left in pretty bad shape.  Metropolis, on the other hand, got leveled.  You really got the feeling that Zod was there for the complete destruction of Earth.  There is a scene at the end which is extremely significant as to where they are taking this Superman.  I will not spoil it but if that is direction they are going to go, then brace yourselves for Man of Steel 2.

Overall, Man of Steel is a great film, easily one of the best of the year so far.  My only gripe is that the action scenes were a bit too long, to the point where you begin to worry that it may become just another mindless action film.  Thankfully, it does not.  Solid performances, directing, and writing make for the Superman movie we have all been waiting for.  It is a much darker story than we are use to in the Superman world but that is exactly what it needed.  The biggest problem with Superman is that he is essentially a God, so it is difficult making him relatable to the audience.  Henry Cavil did a great job showing us the "man" side of Superman.  My biggest worry now is that I could not see how they were going to incorporate the Justice League into this world, despite the Easter Eggs in Man of Steel.  Thankfully, my worries were put to rest with the recent announcement at Comic-Con.  With this film, it seems as though DC is back and ready to bring the fight to Marvel.

Rating: 8.5/10