“You will give the people of Earth an ideal to strive towards. They will race behind you, they will stumble, they will fall. But in time, they will join you in the sun, Kal. In time, you will help them accomplish wonders.” – Jor-El
Man of Steel is the reboot origin story of a Kryptonian child Kal-El whose parents Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara (Ayelet Zurer) send him to Earth as an infant to escape the destruction of their home world Krypton. Raised by his adoptive earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane ) Clark/Kal-El (Henry Cavill) struggles in a world where he believes to be the last of his kind. Daily Planet reporter Louis Lane (Amy Adams) who tracks down the stories of the mysterious Clark Kent and discovers there is more to him than meets the eye and when General Zod (Michael Shannon) comes to earth demanding with the plan to build a new Krypton upon the ashes of earth Kal-el will become Earth’s greatest protector and a symbol of hope to all mankind.
I have to say that on my first viewing of this movie last June, I was not overly impressed upon leaving the cinema. Watching it again just over a year later my attitudes have changed somewhat but some of the same issues still arose. The constant comparison of Kal-El to Jesus, the near apocalyptic levels of destruction, the countless plot holes through and it’s about 45 min too long. However these “faults” in many ways must be over looked when taken into account the complete reboot of the series that Zack Snyder and David S. Goyer have imagined. It was said that he “cut all ties” from previous Superman movies and was beginning on a new slate with new rules, and it definitely is a new type of Superman. Its darker, grittier and has a “Nolany” feel about it. Superman who is essentially good is a super hero who’s difficult to identify with but this Man of Steel is conflicted, he’s more human and in many ways is resentful of his powers. He is a Superman who will act on his heart and impulses rather than the iconic do no harm Superman of the past. The mythology of Superman origins and the role of Jor-El are also a step away from the norm, it totally embraces the science fiction and fantasy side of this story. It is a lot more kick ass and fantasy laden than the utopic vision of Krypton I have been used to. The soundtrack is beautifully scored by Hans Zimmer and I actually own it having a slight Soundtrack obsession. The special effects speak for themselves and there’s a baker’s dozen or more of Easter eggs throughout!
Why did I chose this movie? Its ben a year and then some since I last watched this and I fancied some super hero action. I also wanted to see if my opinion had changed since last watching it because I really wasn’t the biggest fan first time round. On second viewing a lot of the “plot holes” in reference to the Superman’s origins and the destruction of Krypton where shown more as nods towards comic book mythology. The story does not directly describe everything, and if it did it would be extremely boring. Reading up on some of those aspects has shown me than crazy detail has gone into this movie with source material being drawn from countless comic book series’ most notably “Superman: Birthright”. However there are countless annoying inconsistencies which I won’t mention for fear of spoilers, and to be honest they don’t really take much away from the over- all movie. I will say for every bad point I would raise I can counter with a reason for it and a good point so over all this movies a winner. The cast assembles is amazing Henry Cavill superman is the best I have seen and the dad team of Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner is nothing short of perfection, in fact if Russell Crowe had a Jor-el prequel story id go watch that! . Man of Steel serves as a reboot and origin story so there’s a lot to pack in and with Superman being such a difficult character to film I think the film makers have done an outstanding job on this movie. You will be entertained and its worth buying.
Rating: B
Format: Blu-ray
I Own This Movie
Artwork By: Fabio Castro
The Flat Cap 