Review: Man of Steel

by. Joe Moss
★★★1/2

“Welcome to the Planet” as said by Lois Lane (Amy Adams)

at the close of Zack Snyder’s (300, Sucker Punch, Watchmen) epic “Man of Steel” is a playful ending to a prolific film—yet provides the perfect cliffhanger for the [already announced] sequel. The movie DEFINITELY lives up to its nearly two years of advertising hype by delivering a larger than life, yet believable, DC Comic super hero as portrayed by Henry Cavill (Immortals).

Thankfully, Zack Snyder’s film, as developed by the creative duo behind the Dark Knight Trilogy (Dayid S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan), does not attempt to harness the cult following of the 80’s classics starring Christopher Reeve; rather they have taken a solid base of information from the Superman Universe of comics and developed a more modern version of the storyline. This film plays to the more science-fiction orientation of Superman’s existence rather than the fantastical.  Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is the lead science advisor on Krypton and he senses the urgency of the planet’s death due to non-sustainable uses of the planet’s resources. With eminent doom quickly approaching, he and his wife Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) have the first child of natural birth in centuries in the HOPE that he will lead their race into a brighter future.

Kal-El/Clark Kent is then sent to earth as a newborn with the entire civilization of Krypton resting firmly on his shoulders. He is loved and cared for by his earthly parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane), where he is educated with the solid morals and ethics we expect Superman to have. He learns at an early age that he is different and that people are scared by these differences—so he needs to hide them. Hide them he does. He moves around…a drifter…a loner…yet strangely appearing in places around North America that need his unique talents.

This drifting leads to the inevitable chance encounter with the Pulitzer Prize winning field journalist, Lois Lane (Amy Adams). She quickly ingratiates herself to Kent and becomes only the third person he finds he is able to trust. As the movie progresses, so does the evolution of their relationship (as expected) but there is a much better foundation provided in this script than any of the other versions—true character development…not simply pure visual lust.

Michael Shannon’s portrayal of the antihero, General Zod, provided the perfect counterpoint to Cavill’s Superman. I found myself really believing the characters in this film as it played out—the story was just that solid. I really enjoyed how Snyder wove the backstory intermittently into the main plot of the film. Everything seemed so effortless…seamless…that I cannot find a single element to nit-pick over.

The original music score by Hans Zimmer (Lion King, Dark Knight, Inception) was equally incredible and hauntingly mesmerizing. It was subtle yet hypnotic at the same time. I am still humming a few of the melodies even as I type this review.

The technical cinematography of Amir Mokri (Transformers 3, Lord of War, Fast & Furious) coupled with the editing genius of David Brenner (ID4, The Patriot, Born on the 4^th of July) allowed the film's CGI elements to flow seamlessly into the storyline—breathtaking…almost. There were only a few places early in the film that I caught a few glitches…but I will overlook them as I 100% enjoyed this film for what it is. Welcome to the next Summer Blockbuster of the 2013 season!!