Maybe this is because I was so young when I first saw it, but I have always measured every comic book film I have ever seen against Richard Donner's "Superman: The Movie", wherein Christopher Reeve played the famous superhero from Krypton. The reason I still feel this way is that version was able to perfectly balance the fun and seriousness that came with the territory. Reeve's Superman is able to be at once funny and serious, and the movie could be both a lark and an epic. The other crucial element to that film was Gene Hackman's perfectly executed Lex Luthor. His Luthor is hell bent on both world domination and on the perfect burn to his idiot side kicks. Having said that, "Man of Steel", does not measure up to Donner's version. There are lots of reasons why this is, but even with that in mind, this movie has a lot to bring to the Superman mythology. It is a great summer popcorn movie.
The plot is well known by now. Jor-el (Russell Crowe) is a scientist on the doomed planet of Krypton. He and his wife have just brought a baby son into the world named Kal-el, and they devise a way to get him off the planet before their planet implodes. At the same time, military traitor General Zod has been convicted of treason and been placed with his cohorts into the Phantom Zone (a comic book version of suspended animation). Since Zod also is off the planet, he vows to Kal-el's mother that he will seek and find Kal-el and exact his revenge upon his old nemesis Jor-el, whom he has murdered. (On a side note, why didn't Jor-el just leave Zod in jail on the planet to be blown to bits with the rest of the planet? Nitpicking, I know).
Kal-el is found on earth by Jonathon and Martha Kent, and brought up as their own son. He ends up growing up knowing he is different, and his schoolmates think of him as a freak. His father Jonathon (Kevin Costner, in a role perfectly suited for him), advises him to not use his extraordinary powers-powers that he has from his Kryptonian body on earth. As Kal-el (whom his earth parents name Clark) grows, he finds it increasingly difficult to hide his powers from others, particularly at times when he is bullied, or at times when people around him are in trouble. As a young man, Clark/Kal-el ends up shuttling around doing odd jobs here and there. He always ends up having to leave due to some feat of strength he performs, which in turn forces him to hide again. Eventually, when an alien craft is discovered at the arctic, Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane begins researching this man who has done incredible things, and the trail reaches Clark. Just as this happens, General Zod arrives at earth to seek his revenge, and the great showdown between Zod and Kal-el begins.
There is a lot about this movie to admire. The "fish out of water" syndrome (complete with Christ imagery without any nuance) is played very well in this film. In the end, the human (or Kryptonian) element is the movie's strongest point. The film does a wonderful job of depicting how difficult it would be to be in the situation Clark is in, but it also shows how hard it would be for others as well (his parents, his classmates, etc.). The movie also plays some great new angles on the mythology that I hadn't seen before, particularly involving the interaction between Clark and Lois Lane. The performances of all the actors are great. Henry Cavill brings a great inner strength and sensitivity to Kal-el. Amy Adams proves here that she can make even the most canned dialogue sound great. Kevin Costner and Diane Lane are both note perfect as Superman's adoptive parents. The other bit roles are also well played, though I could have used some more humor in the dialogue for Laurence Fishburne's Perry White (Fishburne is great, but his dialogue needed to lighten his character up a bit). Russell Crowe brings a healthy dose of gravitas to Jor-el.
I had two problems with the movie. I felt that Michael Shannon's performance as General Zod was fine, but that the character itself lacked the kind of depth we saw in the Terence Stamp version, or the depth we found in Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. The villain in comic book movies is key, and here, I felt more of a caricature than a real substance in the Zod character. The second problem I had was that after a very strong first 2/3 of the movie, most of the last 1/3 is tedious fighting. A lot of punches are thrown, and while watching the two Kryptonians hurtle through corn fields looked impressive, the fighting went on too long and got boring to me. I think that the way the film ended sets the franchise up very well, and I hope that this movie does well enough to be able to build on the strengths of this movie and leave behind some of the tedium.
All in all, this movie could be a great restart to this franchise after the tedious and boring "Superman Returns" of 2006. What I hope is that the makers of the sequel build on the characters more and use elaborate visual effects to bolster characters and story. This movie has a lot to chew on, and the viewer can tell that Christopher Nolan's (the director of all three masterful Batman movies of the last 10 years) fingerprints are on this movie. But, the substance and grappling he brought to the Dark Knight films outshone what happens in this movie. Here's hoping that this movie is only the beginning of great things. But even if it isn't, get ready for a good time at the movies!
