Man of Steel Review

Okay then, now it’s time review what is probably the biggest film of the year, Man of Steel. There has been a lot of hype and marketing promotions going around to make sue that people know that this film is coming out. It has been suggested many moons ago that this would be the film of the year. So now that I’ve seen it, is Man of Steel the triumphant return of Superman? Well I can say that this is finest Superman film that’s come to exist since the original 1978 film.

The premise for this film is as follows:

“Clark Kent is a humanoid alien who after being transported to Earth from the dying planet of Krypton, was adopted as a child by Jonathan and Martha Kent. Raised with the values of his adoptive parents, he feels alienated because of his unique super powers and struggles to find his own place in life. When the world is attacked, he becomes the hero named Superman to protect Earth and its people.”

The story in this film definitely was different. In comparison to the previous Superman films it is a lot more serious, realistic and modernized from the original source material. We get to see more of Krypton, learn Zod and his crew and have more for Superman do too. The film’s overall narrative works though it doesn’t always feel cohesive at points. This film finds a way to tells Clark’s story through flashbacks and for the most part it works, though sometimes it doesn’t work as effectively. In truth I found the first half of the film not as interesting as the second half, some points just felt like they dragged or didn’t properly connect, but eventually the film finds its feet and gets really cool especially towards the end.

Also for those who have seen Superman 1 & 2, you’ll notice the similarities to the previous films and how some of these story elements or characters have been updated/changed for this film. Some of it works a lot better in this film whereas some of it works in the classic films instead. I can’t go into spoilers so watch the film and then you’ll see what I’m talking about.

When it comes to the characters of the film the cast do a great job of bringing these characters to life.

Let’s start with Henry Cavill as Clark Kent/Superman/Kal-El (he has many names lol). Cavill shows that he has true star power as he gives us probably our best version of Superman. I like how this version of the character is conflicted, isolated and a little more serious and had a good sense of justice too. I guess my only nitpick would be that Cavill was a little too serious and wasn’t too jolly and that’s something I missed from the Reeve version of the character. Then there’s Amy Adams as Lois Lane, I like Adams as an actress and I thought she was good in the film, all I need to say really. Now to talk about Michael Shannon as General Zod. I really was looking forward to seeing Shannon in this film because I’m a massive fa of his and while he was good in the film, I guess he wasn’t as epic as I thought he’d be (believe me he can be even more intense than this.

Russell Crowe as Jor-El was definitely different and had a more active role than Marlon Brando back in the old films, I did like this version of the character Crowe did it was cool. Also Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as Jonathan and Martha Kent were awesome, I loved their portrayals of the characters, they were active in Clark’s life and offered some great advice and life lessons for him and I felt like this was the best version of the characters I’ve seen so far. Laurence Fishburne was as Perry White but I wish I’d seen much more of him. Antje Traue as Faora, one of Zod’s followers, she was pretty badass in the film but I didn’t really care for her character as much as Superman and Zod. And lastly Ayelet Zurer as Lara Lor-Van was lovely as Kal-El’s mother, she had a much more active role than the actress in the first film and I liked how this film made her feel a lot more relevant.

When it comes to the presentation I can easily say that it’s the BEST aspect of the film. This film looks amazing, the cinematography is great, the look and style of the film was nice and the CGI was great. The visual feats crafted in this film was nothing short of amazing. This film finally gave us a film where Superman looks and feels like Superman. His powers were beastly and really came to life in this film in ways the previous films couldn’t do (like Superman’s laser eyes, they were perfect in this film). Plus we get to see Superman fight people IN ACTUAL COMBAT AND IT WAS BADASS. The scenes were intense, epic in scale and great to watch. As for the soundtrack, it was handled by the brilliant Hans Zimmer and I really liked it. Obviously it was a tough challenge to follow-up the iconic score and themes created by John Williams, but Zimmer does a great job at giving us some beautiful and dramatic that sometimes sounds similar to Inception on occasions too.

In conclusion Man of Steel wasn’t a disappointment by any means, I guess I just expected more because of the critics who hyped this film up to the heavens. I had absurdly high expectations and I guess some of them weren’t met. That being said, Man of Steel is the definitely a good modernized and dramatic take on the classic character and its also most action-packed DC film I’ve seen for a while now. While I’ll probably have to see the film again before I can truly tell whether I love it or not, most people will fall in love with it straight away. Go check this film out, it’s finally a Superman film that works in the present realm of superhero films.

Rating: 7/10 (The most epic Superman film that’s come into existence)

So what did you think of Man of Steel? Did it met your expectations or were you let down? Do you agree with me or think I am mental for my score? Whatever your thoughts drop them below and I’ll see ya one the next film review yo! 😀