Film Friday--"Man of Steel"

Opening Credits

I saw "Man of Steel" today, and as it is mandatory for a comic-reader who also watches movies to review these things, I shall do so now. Note, there will be SPOILERS but I'm not really revealing much, and I won't describe the overall plot of the movie so much as bits that stuck with me.

Quite Good, but not Great

"Man of Steel" is a movie that has some delightful moments, but then it will drag along. This results in a film that starts out extremely promising with its mixture of action and quiet scenes (especially the flashbacks I'll discuss a bit more shortly), but towards the end becomes such non-stop action you just kind of find your senses overstimulated to the point you walk out drained.

Superman ain't playing when it comes to dealing with Zod.

After an incredibly weird opening on Krypton with strange technology and dragons (seriously) we shift to the good stuff with the drifter-style Clark Kent going around, having flashbacks to his interesting childhood, and occasionally rescuing some people. The movie peaked for me during a genuinely eerie scene where General Zod broadcasts a message to all of Earth about how he is seeking out Kal-El. It is foreboding, with a strange grainy-look, and I liked it a lot. 

Then, the movie spends the last hour with 50 of those minutes or so showing basically nothing but fights. Superman fighting Zod's minions, followed by Superman punching Zod, then combating a big machine that could destroy earth, and finally fighting Zod some more. The special effects for the fights are just glorious, but as I said, you get bored with the non-stop brawls.

Adams injects some much needed humanity into the super-heroic action.

I did enjoy the early parts of the movie, and even some later bits, mainly because Henry Cavill as Clark Kent really has chemistry with Amy Adams as Lois Lane. Plus I like that Lois helps Clark a lot and isn't just a damsel-in-distress. The end of this film also sets up future installments perfectly, with us not seeing Clark don the glasses and start working at the Daily Planet until right before the credits roll--so perhaps the next movie will have more human moments interspersed with the action. 

Speaking of the human moments, the bits with a young Clark Kent are probably the best parts of the movie, especially thanks to Kevin Costner as Clark's adoptive father--he absolutely rocks the screen. They are emotional, sweet, and really grab you.

"Man of Steel" is a quite good movie, just not a great one. I would of course recommend you see it if you're a fan of Superman or comic-book movies, but just don't expect something absolutely amazing. Therefore, taking into the account the fun I had, mixed with the aspects that bugged me, I would give this movie:

3 out of 5 stars.