Man of Steel

Superman has always been compelling cinema viewing from the earliest TV serials to the present day. Even with modern computer-generated imagery and wire effects, audiences still get excited over the hero’s adventures. Thus the problem for today’s filmmaker is in trying to create a film which does something new with the character whilst keeping the audience entertained.

I’ll be candid in saying that I wasn’t particularly thrilled to hear that Zack Snyder would be the man hemming the latest outing of the last son of Krypton. It’s not that I doubt his ability to create a vivid film, it’s just that I occasionally find his films a little flash and lacking in substance (e.g. 300 or Sucker Punch).  

I was therefore pleasantly surprised to find that the director was going for a more character/plot driven endeavor than some of his other works.  Accordingly, after the obligatory Kryptonian apocalypse, the action  doesn’t kick off immediately.  The film instead shows a Superman who is wandering (metaphorically and literally) and searching for his place in the world; having possession of his powers but unsure of how he should use them. This grants the character time to grow and gives the eventual donning of the costume far more significance and visual power.

 A good part of the credit for this goes to actor Henry Cavil, whose portrayal captures the aimless, lost nature of the character before he finds his calling. Then a change takes place when the outfit is donned, which results in a more firmness of purpose that makes it very clear that his wandering is over. 

The one weak part of the portrayal lies in the alter ego of Clark Kent. The idea of a secret identity is to create a mask of human weakness to deflect people from discerning Superman’s true identity and nature. This simply doesn’t come across, and instead we see a Clark Kent that is just as confident and reassured as his alter ego, which obviously defeats the purpose.  

Another weakness is the nature of the action, in that when it does start, it can at times be a little stock and  trade. Take the fight scenes, for instance: although they gradually build into exiting action scenes, they can begin as super powered shoving matches, suffused with one upmanship: "Bring it on – if you throw a truck, I’ll throw a train!"  The problem with this is that it lacks credibility: everyone knows that the characters are invulnerable and cannot be harmed. So the end result is a fight with both participants unable to hurt one another. Fortunately, before the audience becomes too bored, the stakes are upped and the danger factor escalates when the earth itself is threatened and imperiled.

A movie like this is always going to create controversy; the lengthy history of the character and his continued fixture in culture makes this inevitable. This film takes risks and will no doubt divide opinion on whether they have paid off. I can only say that in my opinion they have.

FINAL RATING: 7/10 – a new approach to the man of tomorrow, which in my opinion has a lot going for it!