WARNER BROS. | DIRECTOR Zack Snyder STARRING Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Kevin Costner, Russell Crowe RATING PG-13 Right from the opening moments,
Man of Steel sets itself apart from any Superman film before it. Hans Zimmer’s thundering score introduces us to Krypton, a rocky biosphere on the brink of destruction; Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife have the planet’s first natural birth in centuries, and rockets his son to Earth to escape Krypton’s explosive fate. It’s the story we all know so well.
At least, we thought we knew so well. This isn’t a superhero film, this is a science-fiction epic, a catastrophic 21st century retelling of a super-charged ET. Screenwriter David S. Goyer (
The Dark Knight Trilogy, Blade) recalibrates the origin of Kal-El, Clark Kent and Superman (Henry Cavill), each linked but ultimately separate. Cavill’s Kal is a man of two worlds, lost among a sea of people seemingly without a purpose, and the film displays his journey from a brooding ghost to Earth-saving hero. His inner conflicts come from opposing views of his two fathers, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) and Jor-El, both superbly acted. The former suggests Clark remain humble, hide as a god amongst men; the latter says Kal should inspire the people of Earth. The Man of Steel has to make a choice.
"THIS IS A VERY DIFFERENT SUPERMAN, A COMPLEX NEW INTERPRETATION OF A 75-YEAR-OLD ICON." But he doesn’t hide his heroic endeavors under a clumsy persona like Christopher Reeve’s defining performance. Much of Clark’s personality is a mystery, as his alter-ego isn’t the focus. Rather, it’s the very modern tale of the world’s reaction to an extraordinary alien. Cavill brings an edgier and angrier Superman, so contrasting to Reeve that the two belong in very different spectrums of the superhero genre. Both inadvertently and directly, he causes a lot of destruction, collateral damage that soars past
Avengers levels. Amy Adam’s tech-savvy, red-haired Lois Lane is hot on the trail, but this is a very different Lois/Superman relationship. This is a very different Superman.
Man of Steel is, like Christopher Nolan’s
Dark Knight Trilogy, a complex new interpretation of a 75-year-old icon.
Superman himself is hidden until the second act, where Kryptonian General Zod (Michael Shannon) finds Earth, and, fueled by a feud with Jor-El, goes after the last son of Krypton. Shannon brings an intense menace with clear cut motivations, although his acting is stumbled by some clunky dialogue. His Zod is not the arrogantly disinterested Zod of Terence Stamp - he’s a man with a mission.
And an explosive mission, at that.
Watchmen and
300 director Zack Snyder is at the helm here, with wonderfully warm scenes of fatherly teaching contrasting the huge spectacle. From the first minute, there is spectacular, bombastic action that doesn’t disappoint. The Kryptonians trade devastating, destructive blows; particually ruthless is Zod’s second-in-command Faora played by Antje Traue with slithery villainy. Explosive battles in Smallville, in space and the climatic showdown in Metropolis are all well thought-out action set pieces that bring an incredible rush of excitement, in contrast to
Superman II’s overlong non-battle between Zod and Supes.
But Snyder has not gone completely
Dark Knight on the brightest light of all; rather,
Man of Steel takes itself seriously. Very seriously. But perhaps it has to. In our modern world, an alien threat would not go unnoticed, nor would a super-powered being be met with merry waves of a hand. The government treat him not only as an illegal immigrant, but a weapon of mass destruction. How could you not fear that? But Superman, as a human being, grows throughout, and the end of the film teases a very hopeful future. This is not the Man of Steel we know and love - this is issue #0, where he develops into the world’s most well-known superhero. In the past few years, the grandaddy of DC hasn’t quite gotten the respect he should. This is the attempts to bring that back; it isn’t the Superman film we deserve, but the one we need.
VERDICT: ★★★★ (Awesome)
This a Superman for the modern age: edgier, more destructive but ultimately more interesting. There’s a lot of hope here. Hope for the movies to come.