Man Of Steel

Man Of Steel

Directed By: Zack Snyder

Written By: David S.Goyer

Produced By: Christopher Nolan, Charles Roven, Emma Thomas, Deborah Snyder

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane

Plot: An infant Kryptonian is sent to Earth moments before his home planet is destroyed. Thirty years later, and the boy has honed his skills, and strives to become a symbol of hope for the people of our planet. That is until a group of violent beings from his homeworld come looking for him, threatening annihilation.

Superman has entertained the world over ever since his appearance in 'Action Comics' in 1938. We've seen numerous films, television series, animations and comics featuring the hero. This reboot aims to create something deeper in the character, and it attempts to show the emotional side of him. It also tries to show the difficulties he faces in becoming the man of steel, and coming to terms with having to hide his true self. 

The film shows (via flashback) the hardships that the young Clark Kent has to go through, and slowly we see the aggression that builds up within him (an aggression that is later released upon General Zod's face). In terms of character development, the film is fantastic. Each character has at least one moment where we see an insight into their lives outside of the film. The first half of the script is beautifully written, especially dialogue between Clark and Martha Kent (His earth mother). Unfortunately, this first half feels extremely slow, and their isn't a particular build up.

Once Zod enters, the film feels very rushed, as if it wants to just jump to the end. The arrival of the villains comes out of nowhere, and it was at this point the film didn't seem to have a general direction. Michael Shannon portrays the villain brilliantly, however, the majority of the lines he is given are generic 'bad guy' threats. And whilst he is completely separate from the Terence Stamp version of 'Zod', he just doesn't feel original. The film looks quite dark and moody, but the overuse of the J.J. Abrams 'lens flare' becomes annoying. I also feel like the film is trying too hard to be 'The Dark Knight' for Superman. 

If the producers are trying to create a more realistic version of the hero, I don't think the way they introduced Zod was the option for this. It felt too 'space age', and the armor the Kyrptonians wear looked as if someone had stolen the costumes from Prometheus. The film was enjoyable, and I think that Henry Cavill's performance was probably one of the best since Christopher Reeve, but is this a milestone in the Superhero genre? It doesn't seem that way, if anything, it feels rather generic. I also feel like the acting talents of both Laurence Fishburne and Russell Crowe were squandered, their roles were ridiculously minimal considering their characters are both important factors within the story Superman.

Like I mentioned previously, the film is quite enjoyable, but is a disappointment. I felt as if they could've done something alot better with the legendary hero. Don't go in expecting the next Dark Knight trilogy.

6.5/10

Written By Eammon Jacobs