Man of Steel

Who doesn’t know Superman? Just like any other comic book character, the man donned with the red cape and inverted-worn underwear has been the world’s favourite saviour. When Christopher Reeve flew wearing the big “S” costume, we were in great amazement which led us to love the first film. This was followed by Superman 2 which was surrounded by controversy but nonetheless a good film too. The succeeding films were no match to its predecessors that Warner Bros. eventually let Superman die a natural death. 2007 came when brave director Bryan Singer helmed a semi-reboot of the dead franchise which left us hanging with an uninspired Superman film. This year, Zack Snyder sits in to what they consider to be a “cursed” franchise and give Superman another shot.

Man of Steel goes back to its roots as we are first transported to the events that led to the rebellion of General Zod and the ultimate demise of Planet Krypton. We see Krypton a lot longer than any previous Superman movies. And when Kal-El was transported to Earth, the rest was history. However, screenwriter Christopher Nolan has something in his sleeve that we did not see Kal-El working in the Daily Planet and have Lois Lane swooning over Superman. Instead we see a different arc in the story that makes each character even more engaging and realistic.

The strength of the movie relied mostly on the story. While we are bombarded with back stories, these are only essential for a film that is destined to be a trilogy or even more. Man of Steel provided a very good foundation for any potential sequel. While we see a lot of General Zod, Lex Luthor is completely absent from the film except for a brief frame where a Lexcorp truck was thrown against Superman. This would only mean that we get to see Luthor in a sequel and may bring more chaos than General Zod did in Man of Steel.

The characters have more depth. Due to its storytelling nature of the film, we were able to dig deeper to the personas of Jor-El, Lois Lane, the Kents and Superman himself. I would like to commend on how Lois Lane’s character was treated. While the first 5 films conveyed Lois as dumb, clueless and inconsistent, Lois in Man of Steel is independent, resourceful and intuitive. Henry Cavill as Superman is just right. He is not as overblown as Brandon Routh’s Superman. Cavill’s Superman is not perfect. Having to choose between his own race who can be revived from extinction in the expense of humans is the perfect dilemma for a scarred superhero.

Man of Steel is not the movie made for kids. Bringing your 6 year old will certainly make them restless. However, when the last half approaches, it will make The Avengers’ city brawl scene put into shame. There is a lot to look out for this reboot and it has been successful in all divisions. Thanks to Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder. The “S” insignia is indeed a sign of HOPE and Man of Steel did not only revive Hope for a struggling franchise but an assurance that we will indeed see Superman flying into the silver screen in the years to come.

GRADE: A-

trailer