“Man of Steel”
Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Antje Traue, Richard Schiff, Christopher Meloni and Laurence Fishburne
Action, Adventure, Fantasy
143 Mins
PG-13 
With a first half that focuses on exposition and a second that’s all about the explosions, Zach Snyder and Christopher Nolan have done it… Superman is finally cool. With the whizkid pyrotechnics born of Synder’s directorial hand and the tenderly crafted narrative laid out by Nolan and David S. Goyer (the team who wrote Batman Begins) this modern revamping gives the Man of Steel a much needed update into the post 9/11 era with intelligent panache.
What Nolan and Goyer have added to the franchise is a sense of stakes that have never existed before within the context of Superman, particularly on film. Supes has always been too immaculate, too shimmery, and too invincible but with Man of Steel, we meet a very flawed and isolated individual putting on a brave face. Rather than downplay that reclusive nature, it’s the forefront of the piece.
Kal-El (or per his Earth name, Clark Kent) is a character with tremendous duality. Not only does he have a bi-planetary passport but the ideals passed on to him from his two fathers are at odds with each other. Having sent him from the dying planet of Krypton, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is Clark’s biological father while goodhearted Midwestern, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) takes up the mantle of being Clark’s adoptive father when Clark crash lands on Earth.
While restraint in the presence of menace is of paramount importance to Jonathan Kent as he’s raising young Clark, strength in the face of fear is the message preached by his real father Jor-El. While Jonathan urges Clark to keep his super gifts secret, Jor-El encourages him to be proud of being different, but let’s skirt around any underlying political subtext here and leave that debate for later.
Crowe and Costner are both Uncle Ben-esque in their obligatory moral guardianship but the act of passing wisdom on, that has become a staple of the contemporary superhero film, subverts the standard with their two polarized stances. Both genuinely care for Clark and want nothing but the best for him. The differences arise with regards to whether or not they think the people of Earth are ready to accept change or not. Would humans accept an “alien” as their own or would they reject him? It’s no surprise that the Midwestern one shouts “Nay” while the ultra-tech savvy, cape-wearing, intergalactic man of science leans another way. This underlying battle of progressive versus conservative stirs Clark – ultimately pulling him in opposite directions, between secrecy and disclosure. It’s this metaphorical dichotomy that makes Clark the compelling character that we haven’t seen before in a Superman film.
Nolan and Goyer have written in an admirable foe for Superman in their character, Zod. Zipping around and smashing into each other, Zod and Supes have been matched equally – breaking the film free of that dulling sense where we find ourselves thinking, “Well of course Superman is going to win. He’s Superman.”
As Superman, Henry Cavill may be British but he fits the bill for the iconic American well. Instead of the impervious beacon of light, this is an immigrant struggling with his identity and battling his own wicked urges. As commendable as the Christopher Reeve iteration of the character is, Cavill does more heavy lifting than the fluffy, Americano poster-child that Supes has been known to be. Albeit a quiet force, he is brimming with broody angst. But instead of letting his kettle boil, this hero is afraid of becoming angry, as his limitless power is sure to make any fight a lesson in masochism. Instead he learns to temper that rage and channel it for the greater good. He’s a fledgling of an icon, the first block in a pantheon, but getting to see the rivets along the walls before they are all smoothed out makes the process of construction more interesting than the final product. Luckily, we’re there to witness the transformation.
The always lovable Amy Adams plays Lois Lane, a character who’s always been more of a damsel in distress than a heroine of any kind, but this is a Lane that even the feminists can stand behind. Rather than a reactionary woman in need of saving, she’s a caution-be-damned, no frills kind of girl, willing to stand up for a cause and Adams is the perfect fit for the role. Her infatuation with Superman is not a schoolgirl crush, as she actually deserves the attention she gets from him rather than their romance being based on coincidental happy accident.
Although Clark’s home planet of Krypton is destroyed, there is something left standing from his previous life: an outcast military leader from his home planet by the name of General Zod (Michael Shannon).. With Superman, Zod, and crew – the last remaining vestiges of their now extinguished planet – Zod comes to Earth seeking Supes’ assistance in rebuilding their fallen brethren. Upon hearing Zod’s ideas for how to save their lost race, Superman faces his greatest challenge in Zod and, thankfully, it’s Kryptonite-free. The whole Kryptonine conceit is something of a MacGuffin that is most likely impossible to play to great effect and I’m glad to have seen it ditched here.
As a fan of Shannon’s work, Zod is an apt villain but he doesn’t have a ton to work with outside of shouting his lines and being generally angry. At times, I wished Shannon would play with volume a little more and not crank everything up to 11 but it’s hardly as over-the-top as many of his comic book compatriots and we are talking about an Academy Award nominee here.
Zipping around and smashing into each other, Zod and Superman are on the same page in the power book which breaks the film free of that dulling sense of, “Well of course Superman is going to win. He’s Superman” because it’s really Superman versus about six people with the equivalent of Superman’s powers.
From a technical aspect, the film is brilliant. The truly epic set pieces are indulgent but inventive and go to show that Synder is willing to reel in his heavy-handed flair for slo-mo theatrics to let the story shine when it matters most. Synder’s special effects team flawlessly incorporate the actors in the massive set pieces by juxtaposing intimate shots with massively panned-out shots that create a crisp and vibrant sense of realism.
As the final hour is one mounting action sequence, the smashing and zooming somehow manage to remain fresh, thanks in large part to Hans Zimmer and his string section’s thumping score that confidently guides the film. Like Snyder, Zimmer shows that he too can tune down the dramatics, as his work is able to lay low for the quiet bits of the film and crescendo to epic heights for the compulsory action sequences.
Contrasting Man of Steel to Bryan Singer‘s Superman Returns, it is head and shoulders superior. DC Comics continues along the path set out for them by Nolan where a sense of reality is more important than easy comedy. I’m willing to say that I am now very much invested in the franchise and the plight of the iconic hero at its forefront. In this world, there is no assumed familiarity with the franchise but neither is the mythos spoon-fed. It’s a bird. It’s a plane. No, it’s a good Superman movie.
B+
