Review of Man of Steel (2013) by Zachary Y — 23 Mar 2016

There's been a lot of controversy over this modern reboot of superman. For me, the bottom line would be that this is the best version of superman we have gotten so far. Sure, Christopher Reeve's 1970's superman was one of the first superhero movies to debut and it was an amazing take on the character that showed how hopeful and bright he could be.

But lets face it, that superman does not hold up in today's world. Superman is a character that would have many problems living in this society and that's what I like about Zack Snyder's version of the character.

In this incarnation, superman is a lost soul looking to find his place in the universe. Much like anyone would with his powers, he encounters many complications throughout his life (seen in flashbacks) that show the struggles of a man trying to find his place in a society he does not belong in.

Because of this, the film tends to be pretty dark. However, it still managed to capture the aspiration to do good that superman is known for. There's no denying that this film has some problems. I believe that the writing could have been improved in some areas to really capture the feeling that some moments were going for.

Also, I think that some of the scenes (such as the church scene with the priest) should have been cut and replaced with others that would make the story flow better, make more sense as well as add emotion to the characters.

I here a lot of critics complain about the action and destruction in the last act of the movie. Their arguments are valid but only for the length of the fight which perhaps should have been cut slightly.

The destruction that happened was a realistic look at what would occur if two superhuman beings engaged in combat and therefore was necessary to get the point across of how dangerous these aliens could be.

Overall, I really enjoyed this movie regardless of only a few issues. I think Snyder has a gift for visual directing and when paired with the right writers and producers, he can really make something special in the future.