Directed by Zack Snyder
Starring Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

Grade: B-

Superman is a serious character. The go to criticism of Man of Steel is going to be that Superman is supposed to be lighter, more whimsical. I know this because that criticism had already started from the moment it was announced that Christopher Nolan would serve as a producer. The internet was upset because, as they would say, dark and serious tones work for Batman but not the Last Son of Krypton. The problem is, that’s not true. As I said, Superman is a serious character, every bit as serious as Batman. Superman: The Movie was more parody than anything, a very well made and entertaining one, but a parody nonetheless. Unfortunately that film has essentially defined the character for mainstream audiences. But Superman and Batman are in some ways the flip sides of the same coin. Think about it, they’re both orphans, both abide by an unwavering moral code, and both are alone in this world. The difference is that Batman fights the darkness with a darkness of his own, while Superman fights it with light. He serves as an inspiration to what humanity should aspire to. That doesn’t make him any less serious, just more awe-inspiring.

With that out of the way, Man of Steel has its flaws. The action sequences tend to drag on far too long, namely the climactic battle between Superman and General Zod where two super powered beings punch and throw each other with enough force to destroy skyscrapers, yet do no harm to either of them. Filmmakers don’t seem to understand that this kind of action gets boring really quickly. If your characters can’t get hurt by conventional means than it’s your job to find a way to raise the stakes in a fight. On that note, the collateral damage in this movie is just far too severe. General Zod and his army essentially destroy the entire city of Metropolis. By the end it looks like a post apocalyptic wasteland (though the Daily Planet building naturally seems fine in the very last scene). A conservative estimate of casualties has to lie in the hundreds of thousands. I understand the desire to make this movie epic as Superman Returns was panned for not having enough action, but if the whole point of the story arch is to establish Superman as an ally, and potential savior, of humanity, this is really a failure. There is absolutely no believable way that people of earth would trust this alien after seeing all the destruction him and his fellow Kryptonians caused. They would be terrified of him.

The changes to the Superman mythos I didn’t mind too much for the most part, with one exception. That is the Lois Lane relationship. The allure of Lois Land and Superman is the cat and mouse game, the constant flirting, the deceiving, the impossible conundrum that she thinks Clark Kent is a doofus while being in love with Superman. This is what makes the relationship fun. Here, there’s no banter, just instant love. There is nothing more dramatically boring than instant love.

My last major complaint is that the opening sequence is far too long. We see too much of Krypton. This is not a movie about the demise of another world, it’s about that world’s lone survivor and his adaptation to earth. The overly lengthy segment just feels like director Zack Snyder wanted to show how cool he could make Krypton look. We really didn’t need to see Jor-El flying through the sky on the back of some kind of winged monster as he races to save his son from General Zod. A scene on Krypton needs to be in the movie, but it needs to be quick and to the point. In the words of Grant Morrison, “Doomed Planet, Desperate Scientists, Last Hope…”

I don’t mean to totally shit on this movie though. It got some things right. Superman comes off as an outsider, desperate for acceptance from his new world while still pining for his old one. It feels very much earned when the film forces him to choose where his true loyalties are, and produces probably the best moment of the movie. Henry Cavill is good in the role, though the script forgot to give his character much in the way of personality. There are two essentials to the character of Superman, other than his origin and powers of course, and those are the two facts that he never gives up and he puts the needs of others ahead of himself. Cavill captures this very well. He gets knocked down, he gets back up. He’s overmatched, he keeps fighting. He brings a quiet determination to the role that speaks to an all powerful alien trying to find a way to use his powers to save humanity, and at the same time blend in with them, and live among them.

As an origin film, Man of Steel simultaneously drags on for too long and tries to do too much in a relative short amount of time. Still, there is enough good here that has me hopeful for the sequel. I’m in the camp of superhero fans who are tired of origin stories. We all know who Superman, Batman, and Spiderman are, so forget where they came from. Just tell us a good story about them. Hopefully the inevitable follow up to this movie can move on and just tell a great Superman story.