Man of Steel: Review

A re-telling of the origins of Superman, many believed Man of Steel would do for Superman what Batman Begins did for Batman, that is, create a much more mature and realistic depiction of a well-known superhero. The trailers built huge amounts of hype, with simply the mention of Christopher Nolan drawing interest. But did the film live up to all this, and is it truly as good as Nolan's Batman trilogy? 

The film isn't actually directed by Christopher Nolan, but rather Zack Snyder, responsible for movies such as 300 and Watchmen. It would be foolish to go into the cinema hoping to see The Dark Knight but with Superman, as that isn't what Man of Steel is. Yes, Nolan's unique style is noticeable, but this is far more Snyder's film. 

British actor Henry Cavill plays Clark Kent, and is very good at his role, as we pick up from when he himself is unsure of what he truly is, and Cavill presents Kent's confusion and intrigue very well. An interesting point about the film is that the main protagonist is only once referred to as 'Superman', and usually gets called Kal-El, his real name. I've never been an avid reader of comic books, so I probably couldn't appreciate several nods and references as much as some, but there are certainly things to enjoy regardless of whether you have a complete grasp on the Superman universe. 

Clark Kent (Henry Cavill)

The villain General Zod (Michael Shannon) is a very entertaining antagonist to watch, and we are introduced to him very early on in the film. I may even say that he was under-used, as any scene featuring him stood out as memorable and his on-screen presence was very intimidating. 

My main gripe with the movie is that some of the hugely enjoyable action sequences went on for a very long time, almost past being fun to watch. This isn't to say they became bad, but I sometimes would have preferred more character development similar to that in the Batman movies. 

Verdict
Man of Steel is a film well worth seeing, but I don't really believe it is worthy of being compared to Christopher Nolan's comic-book masterpieces. It runs for almost 3 hours, so certain segments may drag on a little, but overall I think that if you have the chance to see it you definitely should, especially if you are a fan of superhero movies.    8/10

"You just have to decide what kind of man you 

want to grow up to be, Clark. Whoever that man is, 

he's going to change the world."