MAN OF STEEL

“You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But one day…They will join you in the sun. One day, you will help them accomplish wonders.”

The birthplace of the DC Cinematic Universe, Man of Steel tells the origin story of Superman, as he comes to terms with his powers and saves Earth from General Zod, a Kryptonian who follows Kal-El to Earth with the hopes of terraforming it into a new Krypton.

What I like most about Man of Steel is that this isn’t a Superman who’s had a lifetime to hone his skills, something I think a lot of people overlook when it comes to the final battle. This is a guy who flies for the first time, then about five minutes later is burdened with saving the world. And, speaking of the final battle, yes, I agree the scale of destruction was a bit over the top. But think about it, it’s essentially two unbreakable gods fighting among breakable objects, trying to break each other.

Just think of it as two people fighting amongst a city made of Lego bricks. You'll understand.

The story is actually pretty good for an origin movie. Yes, the whole thing is basically symbolic of Jesus, but that’s just Superman. It’s about being an alien in a world that barely tolerates different races, let alone different species. And while Dawn of Justice may have crossed the line with how grumpy Superman should be, it’s almost perfect here. Yes, he should use his powers to help people, but is the world ready for him to do so, and more importantly does it want him to do so?

The cinematography is, well, very good. Which is surprising, seeing as a lot of the film is snap zooms and CGI. Don’t get me wrong, the CGI is great, and it helps Krypton in particular stand out as a fresh and confusing world, but there is a lot of it. I’m willing to let that slide though, seeing as it’s a superhero film. Where it truly thrives is the flying scenes, a staple of Superman movies, and the classic ‘hero’ shots.

Henry Cavill’s performance as Superman, while not necessarily the more classic approach to the character, suits the world the movie creates. However, the star of the show is Michael Shannon as Zod. Unlike a lot of villains these days, Zod gets an emotional story behind him, and Shannon pulls it off brilliantly. Even if it’s just single lines like “I will find him!”

One of the movies strengths is something it shares with the first Iron Man movie. Unlike the other Marvel films and unlike Dawn of Justice and the other DC film coming after that, it doesn’t focus on setting up the sequel. Maybe it’s because a sequel wasn’t planned yet, but Man of Steel, like Iron Man, gets to focus on it’s own story, it’s own characters and it’s own plot. It doesn’t have to introduce a world of new characters in the final act so it leads into a sequel.

I guess the biggest problem with Man of Steel is the divisiveness it causes among viewers. I still argue that it’s a great film, but I can understand why people don’t like it. Superman is meant to be a gleaming beacon of hope, I get that. But in Man of Steel, he kind of still is, they just don’t rave about it. Plus, it is his first outing. Maybe it’s the fact it’s a darker hero film than we’re used to. For Superman, at least. I mean, this did come out only a year after The Dark Knight Rises. That wasn’t exactly the cheeriest of movies. Maybe I should write reviews for those…Never mind, I’m getting off topic.

Speaking of The Dark Knight Trilogy, Hans Zimmer returns to the DC Universe with, let's face it, another superb soundtrack. Whilst it probably won't become as iconic as John Williams' Superman theme, Zimmer, as usual, brings his A game. It's fast, it's loud, it's epic. It's...it's perfect for the movie it's in.

Whatever your view on Man of Steel, I think we can all agree it was a better entry than Dawn of Justice was into the DC movie universe. A story of discovering one’s true power and the conflict that brings in today’s world plus the threat from outside works well in starting the story of one of the world’s most famous superheroes for a new generation of movie go-ers.

What I really don't get, is that people don't mind when Superman kills Zod in Superman 2, but when it happens in Man of Steel, everyone freaks out.