Review of 'Man of Steel'
Another retelling of the Superman origin story sees Henry Cavill slipping into the blue and red suit. On the planet of Krypton facing imminent destruction due to an unstable core rebel military leader General Zod (Michael Shannon) wishes to evacuate selected bloodlines while scientist Jor-El (Russel Crowe) does not agree that they should play God by deciding which bloodlines should survive. Escaping from Zod, Jor-El steals the Codex containing genetic details of their people and puts his infant son Kal-El into a spaceship. Zod and his followers are imprisoned in the Phantom Zone by government forces but are freed a short time later with the destruction of Krypton. Eventually landing in rural United States, Jor-El is raised as Clarke by adoptive parents Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane) who encourage Clarke to keep his origin a secret along with the superpowers granted to him by living on Earth. When a Kryptonian spaceship is discovered Clarke visits and learns from a hologram of his late father his heritage but also triggers a homing beacon that Zod picks up and traces to Earth. It is up to Clarke to save Earth from Zod who is determined to rebuilt the Kryptonian race here on Earth…without humans.
Yes, this is the brief summary of the plot, it is much more complicated than that which is, I suppose, one of the problems with this film. Don't get me wrong, it is quite watchable and the effects are truly amazing, as the film tries to tell a familiar story in a new way, updated with modern concerns such as genetic inclusivity and concerns about the climate crisis. The evil Zod being the embodiment of race superiority and megalomania - Very one dimensional and quite uninteresting. Cavill does not exactly do a lot of emoting (then again, neither did Christopher Reeve) but has the cool and calm (seriously buffed up) exterior down. The problem is that there is a lot going on here and it is difficult to keep track of…though just sitting back and enjoying the spectacle is certainly a good approach as there is a lot see on the screen.
Another self-indulgent and overly-heavy story from Zak Snyder playing perhaps too much to obsessive fans rather than the rest of us.
The only complex and interesting character in this film, if that can be said, is Clark himself, even Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is limited to very much the “nosy journalist” with no complexity in terms of her relationship with Clark. The big names in the supporting cast such as Laurence Fishburne as Daily Planet editor Perry White and Kevin Costner as Clark's adopted father are woefully underutilized, performing not much more than cameos. Only Russell Crowe (Jor-El) is allowed to expand his role a bit more but this is little more than providing lengthy exposition, like we needed any more of that…
A good action flick that does a decent job at retelling the Superman story, bringing it a bit more up to date, but other than this not adding hugely to the canon other than a complex and often confusing story with cast that are limited to reading the script and moving about a bit on the screen.
Rating: “A bit better than average”
Review Date: 2025-06-01
Directed by: Zack Snyder
Studio: Warner Bros.
Year: 2013
Length: 143 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt0770828/
Other reviewed films by Zack Snyder:
- 300 (2006)
- Justice League (2017)
- Army of the Dead (2021)