It would be fair to say that I went into this new Superman movie excited but also very nervous, the first two films as handled by Richard Donner found the right approach for the character in terms of having the fun of it as well as the serious side and the action, something that would've come together in Superman II had Donner not been fired from that film, that said Bryan Singer's 2006 Superman film didn't do much so could this new one pull off a surprise?
Well, it does and it doesn't as the film is simply okay, nothing terrible but also nothing all that special either, first off I'll talk about the positives I do think Cavill is pretty good here and he comes across as a worthy successor to Christopher Reeve but it takes him some time to find his feet in the role, Amy Adams is nice and inspired as Lois but her character sadly is more of an afterthought this time, being in the film because well we have to have Lois appear in a Superman film even though she doesn't really add an awful lot to this story.
But the real show stealer here is Kevin Costner as Pa Kent, inspired casting for sure and it more than delivers, so much show I could easily imagine him saying Glenn Ford's lines from the first film "One thing I do know son and that is you are here for a Reason.", it was for me the only real human element the film had.
As for Shannon as Zod well he's disappointing as he goes way to over the top in the role and comes across as nothing more than a violent brute which Terence Stamp's Zod wasn't plus Shannon's Zod isn't very smart in terms of finding out about his new powers until he's on Earth whereas Stamp in Superman II puts it all together on the Moon, Stamp was also much straighter and much more menacing than Shannon is, again reflecting the approach to the characters Richard Donner took with his Superman films.
Snyder really finds his stride in the climax with enormous special effects and destruction sequences and very very very very loud noises that just become way too much for one person to handle and it all goes on so fast that you don't get any real idea what is going on or who is fighting whom and when it's over you just think to yourself "Thank the Maker"
The other main thought I had during this movie was how much I was reminded of the first film, it wants to evoke it so badly but like Singer's film a few years ago it misses the point, Man of Steel doesn't have the comic touch, the heart, the majesty or the wonder of Donner's film which are a few key reasons that film holds up so wonderfully well.
And lastly as for Hans Zimmer's score well its very bombastic and not that fantastic and makes John Williams's beautiful score from the first film sound like a great opera and believe me Williams's score for the first Superman is one of those great film scores of all time that tugs every emotion and heartstring a human can have.
So all in all, Man of Steel is a decent enough film thanks mainly to those key cast members doing more than the material allows them to do but you can easily avoid this movie and rent Richard Donner's first two Superman films instead which are still wonderful examples of comic book movies that balance heart, excitement and humour in a seamless way, 2 out of 5.
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