Does Man of Steel measure up?

The pressure was on the shoulders of a Director known mostly for his visual style to breath life back into a character that was seen to be out of date and unrelatable. To do this he would need more than visual flare. He would need heart, soul and a wonderful actor strong enough to re-vitalise the role and make us believe in the character again. Did he accomplish this task of herculean proportions? Let's have a look...

The short, non-spoilery answer is a resounding YES!!! Absolutely. This is a definitively modern Superman. This isn't the Donnerverse overgrown boy scout comfortable in his own skin (not that I am decrying the Donner Superman in any way), this is a conflicted man, his origins and task thrust upon him but one that he rises to and becomes the hero we all want him to be.

So there, if you haven't seen the film then leave now, go see the movie and come back afterwards because leading on, this review delves heavily into spoiler territory. This isn't the ravings of a Superman fanboy (well...It is but...). It is a very good Summer blockbuster of a movie but beneath the surface there are all kinds of goodies waiting for you. So go. Enjoy. Then come back to see if you agree with me.

As a kind of spoiler break why don't we enjoy this picture of Mr. C. in the suit...

So...if you're still here I'm going to assume that you've already seen the movie or aren't particularly bothered about spoilers.

Let's start with THAT moment, the one everyone is talking about, the one most 'fans' of the character (creators included) are crying about...Supes snaps Zod's neck. 'That isn't right, Superman doesn't kill, etc, etc, etc,' Well, sorry to break it to you chaps but he does. He never likes it, he always trys to find a way round it but he WILL kill, when absolutely necessary.

For me this moment (and the line that actually sets it up) are the actual heart of the story and for me why it's possibly not called Superman Begins or something like that, it show's that he is, that he can be a 'Man of Steel', a hard man. Not just in terms of physical strength but in emotional strength too.

But what line, I hear you ask, I didn't hear it. You did. You may not have noticed it but it was delivered with vigour by Zod here it is..."Where did you train?...On a FARM!!!".  Yes. On a Farm. You see, a farmer would know how he had to deal with a feral creature who was hurting his animals, he would do everything he could to stop it but in the end he knows that if all else fails that he would have to kill the creature to stop it, which he does.

Does Kal/Clark like it? Not in the slightest. His howl of anguished pain immediately afterwards wrenched him into contortions but he knew he HAD to do it and that is where his 'Steel' comes into play.

All the way through the movie we're shown Jonathon Kent as a practical man, he's clearly a hardworking, grafter and a man who is willing to let a bus full of kids drown to protect his son's secret even giving up his own life. Kal/Clark would have been imbued with this same practical, hard, ethic. A man's got to do what a man's got to do. Or to steal a Donnerverse line 'So the Son becomes the Father and the Father becomes the Son'.

Kevin Costner along with Diane Lane play the Kents to perfection. Costner especially excelling in the role bringing a definite weary, gruff but loving, midwestern feel that suits the tone of this film perfectly. A grittier version of Schneider's Pa Kent and a performance that, at least for me, brought a tear to the eye as the tornado approached and 18 year old Clark watched his father make the ultimate sacrifice to keep the secret.

Lane is the sunshine to Costner's thunder bringing a real heart to a role which I would have liked to have seen more of if I'm honest but as the character is still around a kicking I hope we will. Every single scene she featured in was an emotional anchor for Clark. His Island in the see of endless and unceasing bombardment from the world, the home he returns to after the truth is revealed to him and his initial flashpoint to take action directly against Zod once her welfare is threatened. After it all, after the fights and the rubble he again returns for a mother's blessing.

The two younger Clark actors, Cooper Timberline and Dylan Sprayberry also give great peformances that are truly believeable, these are not 'stagechildren' deliveries, glorified extras there to fill the gap, real, honest performances. When Clark saves the school bus, the look of guilt and fear on Sprayberry's face is a superb beat and pause immediately before we take breath with Clark and head out with him to the barn where the first part of his story is revealed to him.

Moving up through the Clark's we get the only one that really matters, Henry 'Fat' Cavill. Could the man who could have been Superman twice before make it third time lucky? Could a British Actor really embody one of the US's most memorable icons? Could he make the role his own?

Yes, yes and a thousand times yes. Henry Cavill IS Superman.

Cavill absolutely owns the role. Redefining the character and giving us much, much more than even I could have hoped (and I've been a flag waving, drum beating member of the Cavill Appreciation Society since the day he was annouced way back in January 2011). Superman is alive and well in 2013.

The depth of acting chops that Cavill displays on the screen is very impressive from disarming charm to brooding mystery, barely contained anger, laughter and outright fury. We live these emotions with Kal/Clark all the way through the film. This may be spur of the moment hyperbole (and honestly is the reason I waited 24 hous to write this just in case I felt differently) but I truly believe that he is the finest actor and gives the finest dramatic performance in any Superman project to date (even beating Affleck in Hollywoodland!).

But the best thing about Henry is that he delivers in the action stakes too...and with this film, that's perhaps a good job as Action, with a capital A, is what this film delivers in spades.

From the invasion of the Council Citadel on Krypton to the dying moments of the Battle of Metropolis the action is there. Whether it's laser gun battles, Space chases or the seemingly large amounts of buildings toppling during Kryptonian fisticuffs this is a Summer Blockbuster through and through. Some of the complaints that I have seen feel that the movie was too weighted in favour of the action and battles, I see their point (there are a LOT of buildings that fall over) but this is also where we have the emotional content of the movie for the rest of the cast. Jor-El's Death, Martha's fear, the Soldier's hope, Perry's bravery and all the way throughout the movie Pete Ross' journey.

It's Snyder doing what Snyder does best. A cognitive banquet and with the assistance of WETA digital handling the CGI all the Superfeats are brought to life in way we haven't been able to show before. The initial flight sequence is a true hold your breath moment, I really feel that I need to experience it in IMAX 3D (I plumped for the 2D showing).

This movie can be a popcorn munching, turn your brain off 'Hey, it's Superman beating up baddies' visual feast if that's all you want but for the people wanting a little more it's all there.

The remaining members of the ensemble cast, Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Antje Traue and Christopher Meloni all bring their own flavours to their characters and the film is richer for it, Crowe especially putting in a much larger amount of screentime than I was expecting and providing a rather Shakespearean take on Jor-El, the rebel of Krypton.

Ahhh Krypton...it looked gorgeous. It felt like a Gallifreyan Dystopian nightmare and really laid the scene for the McGuffin of the Kryptonian Codex containing the DNA matrix of every Kryptonian yet to be all now residing in The Last Son of Krypton. From the landscape itself, to the dragons, to the sterility of the inhabitants, to the costumes and the living metal servant's the production gave me all incarnations of Krypton that I had long ached to see on the screen (the only thing really missing was the citizen's leaping about).

Krypton also gave us our chief antagonist in General Zod. A man whose was born in the matrix to fulfill a single role. The protection of the planet Krypton. A man who would stop at nothing to ensure that his role was carried out. More living machine than a free man. This again is a theme that reoccurs throughout the film. Predestination vs. Free Will.

Michael Shannon, despite playing a one-note character does a lot with that note and doesn't resort to the campy theatrics that we loved in Stamp's Zod. This is a Zod who you would be terrified of. A warrior. A Zealot and a real threat.

This is also where this new Superman differs from what we've seen on the big screen in the past. This isn't a real estate/resources scam. This is an alien invasion story, a danger to the entire earth and our only hope being one of those Aliens who has been living amongst us for 33 years. It's tangible and real.

This has been a postively glowing 'review' up to now and, I'll be honest, I really, truly love the movie and this new take on my favourite character. It gave me everything I wanted to see for the continuation of the franchise and for the DC Universe but there are some points I take issue with.

Firstly, amount of collateral damage and loss of life that occurred during the battles in Smallville and Metropolis. Now to some degree Smallville was a heat of the moment battle with no real time to think only to act and the majority of Metropolis had already been levelled by the World Engine but it seemed that even if, just once, we had seen Kal-El's concern for the bystanders being injured or hurt it would have made the Train Station sequence that much more powerful. I've personally chosen to infer that he had already scanned the buildings with his X-Ray vision to see which one's were empty before the fight given that everyone was evacuating the city ;-)

However, this may be something that is revisited in the (already green-lit) sequel as the world comes to terms with the presence of a god-like being among them and the paranoia of one Corporation owner who's reach over the day to day products used in the universe was visible throughout.

My only other area of issue was Lois herself and how she was handled especially the first meeting. I thought Amy Adams did a great job but their first meeting should have been a wonderous love at first sight rescue (which, I suppose it was after a fashion...I just wanted something...more) and I don't particularly like the way that she sold her story to another organisation. Lois should be Daily Planet through and through not a contracted superstar writer. Other than that I adore the fact that she is aware of the dual identity from the get go and can't wait to see how this pans out.

If I had to pick a downer for the film it would have to be the score. It was nothing special. Some of it is lovely I'll give Zimmer that and it ties in themeatically with his Batman work giving the universe a cohesive feel  but there was just some immediacy lacking, no fanfare moment. Then again, this isn't a project for a nostalgic dose of  'BIG FILM THEME' this is a project about looking forward to a new future and I'm certainly looking for my shades, I think I'm gonna need them.

"Mr. Kent. Welcome to the Planet."

Indeed.

9/10