Review of Man of Steel (2013) by Iomdutch — 20 Jun 2013

Man of Steel takes from Superman lore the aspects that fans of the original films have been dreaming about for over 3 decades.

Superman II is the film that really grabbed my imagination from the original motion pictures during my youth. It excited me like nothing else had before. It was the baddie film. Superbeings fighting and throwing each other through Coke signs! Despite the Lester/Donnar pollution, the film is iconic. Not least for Terrance Stamps role as General Zod and the über-sexy Sarah Douglas as Ursa.

This retelling of the franchise, grounded in the Zod story arc is just an incredible proposition for fans like me.

To open on the visualisation of the birth of the Man of Steel is brilliant story telling. The old story is fresh and new straight away. The film gives us enough on screen, and, coupled with 'the good jist', the story romps along without treading to closely on old worn ground and risk growing stale whilst stumbling over a back-story most of the audience will know.

All grown up and Superman who is known, excellently, as Kal-El throughout the film, is unsure of himself, new, or initially without, good knowledge of his past he appears a vulnerable lost soul. His powers are unrealised and he simply uses his moral compass (and some good hear-say)to direct him to an answer, if there is one...and there is *thumbs up* Then gets real.

Michael Shannon's portrayal of General Zod is nothing short of sensational. His character is not the 'Bad' guy in the usual sense of the word. He is a creation of a society who's morals are questionable 'even' by our human standards and he is driven in his beliefs and is all the more dangerous for it.

Henry 'Kal-El' Cavill is brilliant. The character is written so well you can identify with this vision of Superman like never before. With Cavill you feel that we are all along for the same ride and we like where it is going.

Amy Adams is perfectly cast as Lois Lane. She is a remarkable actress and this role seems naturally made for her. The relationship between Lois and Superman is fresh and uncertain. I enjoyed the story arc but missed a little chemistry between the two and the last kiss didn't impact on me and, looking back, I thought it should have. Teed up nicely for the sequel though I have no doubt.

I did have a couple of winces and the biggie for me was the 'Jesus Christ' shot of Kal-El departing the spacecraft following a final farewell to his father, Jor-El. I am not a massive follower of every Superman comic in print. I have a collection but would not consider myself an expert. So I cannot say whether this imagery is integral for the die hard comic fans'. For me, it is not needed, the symbolism of religious connotation is obvious if you 'want' look for it, without it being rammed down our throats so crassly.

Another stab came from the military subordinates' question regarding terraforming. In order to better explain the situation (spoonfeed the audience) a soldier/officer pipes up and asks "What's Terraforming". I truly believe that the majority of fans and people in general will have heard of the word terraforming and have a grasp on, essentially, what it is. A better put 'explain please' question would have been, in response to "They're terraforming" would be "How are they doing it"?

Good eyes also, on intrepid reporter Lois Lane, to spot a shadowy figure on her digital camera preview screen!?!

Influentially I think that Christopher Nolan was on the bus but Zach Snyder and David Goyer were definitely in the driving seat. The pace of the film is relentless, I thought that the 3rd act needed to take breath before the final showdown to prepare the audience a little more for the upcoming clash. And... What a battle. What a fight. Nothing was spared, those buildings were empty by then, smash 'em up and ..oh and *He breaks his freakin' neck* Evolution or extinction? Right there the Superman character took a massive evolutionary leap forward.

Man of Steel is visually stunning with an incredible soundtrack. The 3D aspect is good. I thought that the effect worked best during close up shots especially between Jor-El and his wife Lara before launching the capsule. I am not a fan of the art at all so I would have preferred a 2D viewing (not possible at our local cinema) So I look forward to that fresh viewing on a beautiful Steel-book Blu-Ray with a flawless transfer...I hope.

Leaving the cinema, I immediately wanted turn round, sit down and watch it again (Very rare since I was probably 16) and took with me the message that I got from the film and that was; We can be better. We all, really can be 'Superman' if we choose to be. And that's not bad.

I don't often dole out top marks. Many people believe that a 10/10 or 5 Stars is not the done thing? 'No such thing as a perfect film'! But when a film comes along that has so much riding on it and is much more than the sum of it's parts and is really bloody good then really; Fair Play, Sold!

Suffice it to say that Man of Steel is a benchmark Summer Blockbuster classic.