Director Zack Snyder, writer David S. Goyer and producer Christopher Nolan gave movie audiences today their Superman. Man of Steel does everything a reboot should do – forget about the past films and create a character all its own, for better or worse. In the case of Man of Steel, it is much better than Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, an ill-advised project that was more a tribute to the Richard Donner film than a film to stand on its own. Still, it does bring Superman up to date, which means that many of the cliches of the modern superhero film are brought to Metropolis.
Man of Steel is hopefully the last time we have to sit through the destruction of Krypton at the movie theater. Right off the bat, Snyder and Goyer are introducing us to a new Superman universe, one where Krypton is not an ice-based world, but rather a dreary landscape run by politicians who are too stuck in a rut to see the problems. General Zod, played by an intense Michael Shannon for the film's entire duration, and Jor-El (Russell Crowe) are set up as brothers who could have fought side by side, but Zod was bred a warrior and Jor-El is a scientist. Zod is obsessed with using violence to take over Krypton, while Jor-El is looking to the society's future. Jor-El knows the planet and Kryptonian society is doomed, so he sends baby Kal-El off to Earth with the hopes that he can “bridge” the societies together.
The most interesting part of the film is easily its own “bridge” - the middle part before we get to the inevitable final 45 minutes of everybody blowing things up and punching each other in the face. How Snyder and Goyer get Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) to the point of being Kal-El and Superman is remarkably different than how else that transition has been portrayed. They actually continue to build on the idea that Superman is really an amalgam of what Clark learns from the Kents (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane) and what Kal learns from Jor-El.
But once Zod and his Kryptonian criminal gang reach Earth, it's time to go back and remind yourself that you are watching a Hollywood blockbuster made in 2013. Be prepared to watch an entire final act that is all violence, all explosions, punching and people flying right at each other. Take out the 'superhero movie score card' to keep track. Exploding gas truck? Check. Bullets bouncing off invincible baddies? Check. Buildings toppling over? Check. Millions of people dying in the middle of a Metropolis? Check. It's all there (even mechanical serpents!). At one point, you just want to ask Superman – can't you try a little harder to save those millions of people? Take the fight to space!
Oh and forget about the humor element. There's no time for funny editorial fights between Perry White (Laurence Fishburne) and Lois Lane (Amy Adams) at the Daily Planet. (There is just one in the entire movie.) Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen is nowhere to be found and the quirky journalist Kent didn't make it to the party either. Man of Steel is as serious as it gets for a blockbuster.
The acting is one of the film's strong suits, along with incredible special effects (it'll get the Avengers treatment from the Oscars – a nod for VFX and that's it). Cavill, the first British actor to play Superman on the big screen, does an admirable job, keeping Superman from being a stoic figure, but not imitating Christopher Reeve. Shannon, as I noted before, brings an incredible intensity to the role, which he keeps going throughout. Unfortunately the writers didn't provide Adams with more opportunities to show off her skills, since Lois gets lost quite a bit in the story.
Man of Steel is better than Superman Returns, which isn't that hard a feat. Warner Bros., Nolan and Snyder have produced a slick, serious take on Superman that works when it focuses on what makes the character great. When we get to fighting, originality gets thrown aside and the Man of Tomorrow becomes the Man of Today. Since the inevitable Man of Steel 2 is already in the works, let's hope that Snyder and company get to lighten the mood.
image: Facebook