Now in 2013, the "Man of Steel" is back.
It certainly has some big time Hollywood talent involved in the production. We have Director Zack Snyder, who has not exactly endeared himself to me, with films like "Watchmen" and "300" neither of which were all that popular. In fact one of the movies I could not even bear to complete watching.
On the plus side, the Producer is one Christopher Nolan, who completely reinvigorated the "Batman" franchise with his stunning trilogy of movies.
So once again we pay a visit to Krypton, at a time before the planet fell. Jor-El has a new born, the first original organic born on the planet in some time. He is keen to see the child thrive, but is aware that the planet has been plundered for its resources, and will soon destroy itself. His pleas to try and save the people of Krypton fall on deaf ears, So he takes the only action he can, and sends his newborn son on a perilous journey, to the planet Earth.
Before the planet falls, one of its own takes a stand, Zod and his band of followers attempt to regain control those they hold responsible for the planets impending destruction. They fail, and are sent to the Phantom Zone, and Krypton is left to its inevitable fate.
This is a vision of Krypton like none that we have seen before. Forget all that you have seen in the past. There are real wonders to behold.
Kal-El arrives on Earth and is taken in by the Kent family. They raise him as their own, and try to instill their values within. But they know that he is not of this Earth, and do their best to shield him from the Authorities. There is also the internal struggle for Clark, as he knows that he has these special powers, but he could use them to such a degree that people would become of what he can do. And Jonathan is concerned that the people of Earth will become afraid of his Son. So he tries to make his Son only use them in exceptional circumstances, and that does come at a price.
Inevitably Zod and his followers are released from their prison, and follow Kal-El to Earth. With their home world in ruins, they seek to find a suitable replacement, and what better place than the World currently inhabited by one of their own, Earth.
So the battle for Earth commences. And this is where the major letdown of the film also begins. I would wonder if it was ever possible to say the following, but here goes - there is too much action in the film. It is an onslaught of continuous and needless action. Characters suffer, there is a lack of good dialogue. It just reminded me of the major battle towards the end of "Avengers Assemble". Whether the film makers felt that they needed to compete, I am not sure but that is how it felt.
Henry Cavill has some big shoes to fill, and does so admirably. Though hopefully we will get more of a chance to shine in the next movie. Amy Adams is decent enough as Lois Lane, but her character I feel is one that suffers due to lack of decent structure. Russell Crowe gives a worthy performance to take on the mantle of playing 'Jor-El'. Michael Shannon does seem to do a lot of shouting, and never really seems to be at one when playing 'Zod'. The one performance that really stood out for me was Kevin Costner as 'Jonathan Kent'. The humanity he projects was excellent, and makes his final scenes so moving.
Yes the visual effects are quite stunning, from the visionary Krypton, to seeing the Man of Steel take flight, and then the attempted wiping out of Earth. The score from Hans Zimmer is as reliable as ever, though it does lack that signature tune that became the hallmark of the original movie.
As is becoming alas the norm, the 3D aspect of the film was again a woeful waste of time. I was still happy to pay for the IMAX experience, but the use of the 3D glasses was unnecessary as it proved such a huge disappointment.
All in all a great film, just needs some tweaks here and there......8 out of 10.
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