If you couldn't tell by the trailers, this is not your daddy's 1978 Superman! I'll tell you right off the bat, this was not a perfect movie by any means because there were some missteps and pacing issues that just didn't jive with me personally. But for all intensive purposes, this is the Superman movie we've been waiting for since Superman 2!
As you well know, Superman Doomsday was started 3 years after Superman Returns as my vision for what a sequel could have offered us. I was skeptical about the reboot when they were in talks 3 yrs ago, I was skeptical about Henry Cavill, skeptical about the new suit, skeptical about the music, and I like to think part of that was because throughout all of the Man of Steel hype, i was still stuck in the Superman Returns world thinking Brandon Routh would've done fine with a sequel if done properly. But time went on and the whole idea of a new take on Superman started to grow on me. And finally seeing it all together fully puts me on board with the new direction DC is taking. Like it or love it, this is the new Superman for our generation!
Light spoilers...
The movie opens up on Krypton with Jor El doing his "Krypton is doomed" shtick with the council and sending Kal El off to Earth... Russell Crowe did an excellent job, played the hell out of the role! My first critique of the film came here though, because Jor El is more of a bad ass warrior than he is a scientist, so much so that he kicks General Zod's ass!
I loved that the story telling aspect of Clark's childhood was told through flashbacks rather than trudging along from year to year. It skips back and forth from Clark as a man, to him as a child learning how to deal with his powers. I'm sure this was done because Snyder was well aware that we all know the origin story, and don't need to have it hammered in again, though I'm willing to bet though that there will be deleted scenes in the blu ray of one or two things that felt like they were missing. For instance.... LIGHT SPOILER: [There wasn't a scene of the Kents actually finding Clark and his ship. We just get a flashback to a scene of Pa Kent and young Clark talking next to the ship. ]
My next critique came before and during the scenes where Clark encounters Jor El and learns of Krypton, his past and gets his costume. For me, all of this happened way too fast, and there wasn't enough shock and weight to Clark finally meeting his real father and hearing this. Their suits weren't colored on Krypton, why was it now colored blue yellow and red, and how did it happen to be ready for Clark at that particular moment? What made Clark decide to go into the ship? Maybe I missed something that I'll catch again on another viewing, but in one instant he was talking to Jor El, in the next he was walking out onto the snow in the cape. If I recall though, what's funny is that the 1978 Superman version of this scene went by even faster! Clark went in as a teenager with a backpack and flew out as a grown man in the suit! lol but for some reason it felt right back then, this time around if felt really rushed.
The whole cast was phenomenal, everybody was spot on! if there was one weak link, it would've been Ma Kent. I'm not sure why, but there was a tinge of hill-billy in the performance lol Maybe Diane Lane was too young? I dunno, I just always see Ma Kent as an older woman with more strength and warmth. Controversy over Laurence Fishburne as Perry White should be extinguished after seeing his performance... he's [frick]ing Laurence Fishburne lol And again, with this being a new take on Superman, the changes fell into place just fine. the red head Lois Lane was another change some weren't happy with, but Amy Adams did just fine. She's a great actress, and portrayed the intrepid reporter well. I will say her relationship with Superman felt a little forced. Yea we know they're supposed to be an item, but it seemed like it was kinda crammed in there. Henry Cavill IS the new Superman, my doubts about him were washed away after this. I thought he did a great job as both Clark and Superman, you can see that there really isn't a hard difference between the two alter egos like Bruce Wayne and Batman. You see Clark in the suit, not just 'Superman', and i think all the things they did to make us feel for Clark and relate to him are what makes us actually feel for Superman as well. You don't get to see a bungling Clark Kent though, I'm guessing Lois Lane will push him to make those changes to his alter ego in the sequel. Michael Shannon as Zod was spot on, creepy as hell with a vendetta. But one minor issue... spoiler alert... he doesn't tell anyone to kneel :/ Shannon and Cumberbatch, best villains of 2013
I had a small issue with the Jesus references, which were o'plenty in this flick. Yes the Jesus references have been done before yes, but the ones done here were too on the nose. I get it he's our savior, but it seemed like it was shoved in our faces with the those blatant examples like the arms out stretched in the cross, him saying he was 33yrs old, the exchange he had in the church with the priest, as well as with almost every conversation he has with Pa Kent and Jor El. Just too on the nose. But that was just an observation, didn't bother me that much.
Hans Zimmer's score was pulse pounding, much like it was during the last half of Inception when was allowed to cut loose. Hearing it in the trailers didn't make me a fan, but it worked for the movie now that it's all said and done. His theme is not John William's theme, but it works for this Superman in a way that the Williams theme couldn't. Williams theme is a more regal, majestic look at Superman, whereas Zimmer's percussion heavy, action oriented score really reflects the brawling Superman you see on screen. Yes it has it's soft moments, but you'll mainly hear the theme played in the "Fate of Your Planet" trailer and the main theme as the action cues. Can't wait to pick up the soundtrack and blast it in the car, really good stuff.
I watched in 3d Imax, and there were moments where I felt like my eyes didn't catch everything happening on screen. I really thought I was going to "hear" a reference to another character in the DC Universe. Truth be told I thought Bruce Wayne or Diana Prince would be mentioned somehow either near the end of the movie or an end credits scene, but there wasn't space for it guess. And if you wanna say the Lex Luthor building in the background during that fiery debris shot was the reference, unless you knew about it before hand you would've never seen it because it literally happened in the blink of an eye. At least "I Am Legend" stayed on the Superman/Batman poster in the background for a second or two so you could notice it and cheer for it. Something with weight, much like Gordon handing over the Joker card to Batman, that's along the lines of what I wanted to see.
Another thing... Superman throws a punch in this movie LOL The action was friggin unbelievable! I loved the choreography! Avengers, just sit down and eat your shwarma, this will knock your socks off! Finally Snyder ditches the slo-mo and shows us Faora in high speed taking out soldiers, Superman and Zod kicking the crap out of each other in super speed, absolutely loved it. SMALL SPOILER - small complaint, when Faora was fighting Superman in Smallville, i wish Non was called by his name! Maybe he was and i didn't hear it, but he was the only Kryptonian that was 8 ft tall and didn't talk, so I assumed it was him Cool to see the tag team combos they pulled on Supes together. Faora is a complete bad ass!
Now speaking of fights, the fight between Superman and Zod was the mother of all fight scenes. Heat vision, super speed, flight, epic punches, strength, x ray vision, explosions, trucks flying, buildings crumbling, a suplex from outer orbit... good gawd, I was actually shaking my head during the fight thinking, "how are they gonna top this in the sequel?" Let me just say, they literally leveled half of Metropolis in the last third of the movie. Superman and Zod's fight alone took out a couple square miles! I hate to throw my project in here again, but it was on the level of Doomsday proportions! This fight did exactly to Metropolis what Superman and Doomsday did in the comics, just complete destroyed it!! Excellent fight sequences! SPOILER - At the end of this movie, Superman does something that absolutely catapults the character into a new realm for the DC universe and somewhat sets a precedent for Superman on film. I'm absolutely on the tip of my toes waiting to see what they'll come up with when Batman is introduced and seeing the conflict between the two, because after what Superman did, Batman will definitely feel he has a necessity to find his weakness and use it against him if he has to.
So overall I give Man of Steel a 8/10. It was not perfect, and actually could've gotten a lower score on my scale for a couple things, but I really have to give props to Snyder, Goyer, Nolan and everybody for reinventing one of the hardest characters to put on film. This is an excellent update for the fans. I loved the Donner films, was thankful for the nostalgia in Superman Returns, but we really needed this MOS for the new generation looking forward to the Justice League and an expanded DC universe on film. Go see it in IMAX!