Let's be honest. The last good Superman movie to ever get made was Superman II. Three bizarre, contrived, aimless movies and a slew of successful movies later from several other superheroes, the Last Son of Krypton needed a win. Furthermore, DC Comics needed a non-Batman win. Enter Henry Cavil. Enter Man of Steel, a film that, in many ways, asks old fashioned comic fans like myself to let go a little and open themselves up to a re-imagining of the Superman mythos that could be compared to the early ambitions of Marvel's "Ultimate Comics" line. Gone is Richard Donner's largely optimistic world, traded for a darker tone and more post 9/11 atmosphere of fear (while still goodhearted and well-meaning) in keeping with a slightly more cynical brand of heroes in the current superhero genre. Even the Man of Tomorrow's outfit (referred to as "armor" here) looks like it's meant to be more functional than it's noticably brighter predecessors in the same way Christopher Nolan's Batman forgoes tights for battle armor. With the exception of a few laugh tactics here and there, Snyder's story is light years more serious in nature than anything Richard Donner or Bryan Singer dreamed up.
The origin story of Superman is, in many ways, a challenging one. In many superhero beginnings, we see a character given a drastic alteration necessary for their evolution. Captain America was given his strength via a science experiment. Daredevil was endowed with enhanced senses during an accident with toxic waste. Batman was born of trauma. Clark Kent has always been what he is whether he realizes it right away or not. More than anything, Man of Steel tells the story of a powerful but noble man discovering his place in the world.
A notable departure from tradition is most apparent in the depiction of Krypton, Superman's ancestral home. Though the designs cannot lay claim to being the most original, the lifeless crystal cities we've seen so much of in the past are no more. Here, we see a vibrant planet that's equal parts Dune, Avatar and The Matrix's Zion. Superman's biological parents, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara (Ayelet Zurer), while intellectual, are also men and women of action, leaping onto flying creatures and shooting down surface air projectiles with little more than a shrug in the face of rebel leader General Zod (Michael Shannon, who has mastered the villainous face clench), who isn't nearly as much the third person talking, would-be-conquerer we saw in Superman II. We find Clark (Henry Cavil) later in adulthood after being raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner, Diane Lane) as a drifter, taking odd jobs, compelled to help people wherever he goes. Eventually, his destiny becomes almost unavoidable when his fate intertwines with the vengeful Zod's as well as that of Earth's.
Cavil gives us an immensely likeable but burdened Superman that recalls key moments in his childhood where he and his parents struggle to understand his powers and the necessity to conceal them. There is an especially awesome scene where Clark is overcome by his super senses to such a point that the whispers and footfalls around him are too much to bear. By far, the show-stealing performance in this movie is almost certainly that of Costner. This is easily my favorite incarnation of Pa Kent because he came across as a man and not an idea much like Martin Sheen's Uncle Ben in the Amazing Spider Man. He was a man that many of us could see in the company of our own fathers who was, sometimes, unsure of the right thing, completely conscious of not being fully equipped to give his son all the right answers in every situation, something many (if not all) fathers struggle with at some point in their lives. Amy Adams was definitely a better Lois Lane than we've seen in a while, capable of getting herself out of most of the trouble she gets herself into. She shoots at the bad guys, uses her journalistic know-how (and honestly, common goddamned sense) to investigate Superman and tells off military officials unapologetically. It's one of the first times we see a love interest (although it's a rushed love) that proves why she's worthy of our hero. Michael Shannon was a compelling Zod, moreso than his predecessor, played by Terrance Stamp, simply because he's a protagonist with more dimension, who doesn't just feel he's doing what he does because the hero is doing the opposite. He thinks he's doing what's right. In turn, Superman seems to understand this much about his foe while still seeing the necessity in stopping him. And that's who this hero is, one who sympathizes and grasps the need for compassion even though he can't always make his enemies see it. Though it's a self contained adventures, it obviously leaves enough leg room for sequels and (who knows) cross-franchising later on to compete with Marvel's Avengers initiative. Good luck with that, by the way.
Bottom Line: This movie is exactly what the Superman of this generation should be: equal parts morality play and slugfest. It's refreshing to see a Superman who is still attempting to figure out who he is and who he wants the world to see him as just like every other person that was raised by human people instead of a hero who instantly knows exactly what to do to solve every problem. 9 out of 10
