Dear Critics, it isn't 1978 anymore: A Review of Man of Steel

Perhaps one of the most shocking scores on Rotten Tomatoes is the 56% rotten rating on Man of Steel. Mind you, this is even lower than the rating for Spider-Man 3 which currently has a "fresh" rating of 63%. Why is the rating for Man of Steel so low? My answer is that too many critics are comparing it to the 1978 Superman movie.

Although the original Superman film is great on it's own, people need to be reminded that the film was made 35 years ago! Times have drastically changed, and while many critics comment by saying that Man of Steel did not have the Superman they grew up with, they are absolutely right. Man of Steel features the Superman of this generation. In other words, this is the Superman that I grew up with. The comics and television series have become darker and more violent, and Man of Steel expresses that perfectly. If critics wanted to see more of a traditional Superman, they should remember that 2006's Superman Returns was already a tribute to the original Superman films, and the Smallville series finale paid tribute to them as well. I'm pretty sure that an entire movie and show's finale is enough to bring back some nostalgia, therefore Man of Steel made the right move without bringing back anything from the original films.

Man of Steel is a film that fits in with today's society. Whereas Superman and Superman 2 displayed the hero as a character with great patriotic values that America respects, Man of Steel shows Superman as someone that the government see's as more of a threat, which makes perfect sense. Superman is someone from another planet who has powers that are stronger than any weapon the world currently holds, and I'm pretty sure people would be freaked out by that. However, the film gradually builds on people trusting Superman after he saves the world from Zod.

What is really incredible about Man of Steel is that we get a good look at Krypton as this completely different world with advanced technologies. 1978's Superman didn't quite give us that look, but then again it was made 35 years ago.

Man of Steel also joins the list of superhero films that are trying to make more sense of small things that didn't make sense before. Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy makes more sense of Batman having a secret identity, by having Bruce Wayne change his voice while he's in the Batman suit (because it's hard imagine that no one would make a connection between Bruce Wayne and a masked guy that that talks exactly like him). The Amazing Spider-Man also makes the Spider-Man outfit look like something that a teenager actually made himself. In Man of Steel, Lois Lane finds out very early on that Clark Kent is Superman, which demolishes the issue of her not making a connection between Clark with and without his glasses on. We also have an explanation of Jor-El's presence after his death, as his consciousness is stored and allows him to have conversations with Clark. In the original Superman film, we have to believe that Jor-El pre-recorded every answer to all the questions that Clark would ask years later.

A lot of critics have a huge issue with Superman killing Zod at the end of the film. Personally I believe that the scene was necessary. It shows that sometimes even Superman has to go beyond his own morals in order to do what is right. Zod did not have the same compassion for people that Clark did, and Clark knew that Zod would initially bring destruction upon Earth if he was alive. Clark also knew that he was the only one that could even stop Zod, so I think Clark's actions at the end were justified. Didn't he kill Zod in Superman 2 anyway?

All in all, if critics want to see the 1978 Superman, there is no harm in picking up the VHS or DVD and watching it all over again. Man of Steel was a much needed film for today's generation, and deserves at least an 8 out of 10 score. The only issues I found with the film were that the camera was a little shaky, and some minor characters could have been on screen a bit more. Henry Cavill was a fantastic Superman, and Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane and Russell Crow were all great in their roles as they were able to make them their own.