Superman film that isn't quite "super"

Rating: 5/10 (14 July 2013)

With box-office success and near universal acclaim of the recent Dark Knight reboot trilogy of films featuring Batman, it's not surprising that Warner Bros. would hand the reins of their other major tentpole superhero, Superman, to Christopher Nolan, the co-writer and director of the Dark Knight films. Nolan elected to serve as a producer and story writer, not director, for the film that has emerged, Man of Steel, and it's uncertain how much involvement he had, but one thing is certain, Man of Steel will most likely not have the lasting impact of the Dark Knight films. Directed by Zack Snyder and written by David Goyer, Man of Steel is very much a mixed bag, dealing in some interesting material concerning Superman's place in the modern world and in America today, but a lot of the film's strength is undercut by its later section, where it devolves into a seemingly endless string of overwrought action sequences that sap most of the entertainment out of the proceedings.
The film revisits Superman's origin in it's opening scenes: Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara (Ayelet Zuer) give birth to Kal-El, the first natural birth the planet of Krypton has seen in over a millenia, where the population is engineered, not born through standard procreation. Kal-El's birth comes on the cusp of Krypton being destroyed by it's population over harvesting the planet's natural resources. At the same time, Krypton's military leader, General Zod (Michael Shannon), has decided to engage in a coup to wrestle control of the planet from it's leaders that Zod views as inept. Zod is put down, but not before Jor-El launches his son for Earth to escape Krypton's fate.
On Earth, Kal-El is raised by a Kansas farmer and his wife, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane, respectively). Jonathan tries to convince Kal-El, named Clark Kent, to keep his powers hidden from the world for fear of how the populace of Earth would react to knowing that an alien was in their midst. Clark grows up (portrayed by Henry Cavill as an adult) and begins wandering the world, uncertain of his place, but also managing to occasionally tip his hard regarding his abilities. Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) begins investigating the stories of Clark following an encounter with him at a dig site of an ancient alien ship that had arrived from Krypton many centuries earlier. On board that ship, Clark discovers the truth about his past from a projection of his father, and he dons his familiar blue and red suit. As Lois begins to close in on Clark's identity, an alien object appears in orbit and turns out to be General Zod and his followers who have managed to survive Krypton's destruction and come to Earth with plans to change the planet, plans that Clark has every intention of stopping.
While Man of Steel does find itself in the unenviable position of revisiting the origin of Superman, Goyer and Snyder do a decent job of not repeating the same path as the original 1978 Superman film. Instead, following the prologue on Krypton, much of the material of Superman's formative years is presented in flashback after Clark has already reached maturity. To their credit, this decision makes the narrative a little more unpredictable. The flashbacks actually provide some of Man of Steel's best moments, as the characters of Jonathan and Martha Kent are given some of the strongest emotional material to work with for the film. Several of the scenes in which Clark finally discovers more about his past from the projection of his father are also engaging as we see Clark learn his past and begin to try to embrace who he is.
However, as Man of Steel progresses, it fails to really dive into it's most interesting aspects with any depth. The film introduces the concept that, unlike most previous versions of the Superman story, the revelation of an otherworldly being living amongst us with super powers would not be welcomed with open arms, but distrust and fear. This approach, and Clark's isolation because of it, are ideas pregnant with possibility, but Man of Steel doesn't do a lot with them. Instead, once Zod and his minions are on Earth, Man of Steel transforms into wall to wall carnage, as we witness Clark and Zod face off in a number of environs where cities, trains, small towns, vehicles, you name it are decimated in an unending orgy of action that quickly wears out it's welcome. No one expects a super hero film to be without action, but Man of Steel cranks everything up to 11 and squelches the narrative underneath.
Most of the characters suffer as a result of Man of Steel's transition to full-bore action film. Lois Lane is presented as a modern investigative reporter who begins to develop some affection for Clark as she unravels his past, but her relationship with him is largely stillborn, resulting in little emotional involvement to their growing affection. Michael Shannon's Zod has some interesting elements to his backstory, but he isn't fleshed out enough for us to really work up any significant distaste for him. Henry Cavill gives a good performance as Clark, and if given more opportunity to delve into the character in future films, he may prove a strong presence, but here there are only hints to some of the potential of this version of Superman. Almost all the other supporting characters aren't given enough screen time to be anything more than passing faces for the most part.
It would be inaccurate to describe Man of Steel as a failure, there is good material here, the film simply transforms into too much action and not enough of anything else to truly soar. If Man of Steel is successful enough for a second film, with any luck the filmmakers will learn from their mistakes and create a truly stellar Superman film.