It's the Superman we need right now, but is it the one we deserve?

Rating: 7/10 (17 June 2013)

Zack Snyder and co have brought the famous American hero back to the big screen in one last throw of the dice in an attempt to rescue a derailing franchise; its bigger, louder and more introspective than ever, but is it better?
The first thing to note about this film is that it has a great sense of morality behind it and it takes itself very seriously in that respect, whether or not this adds or detracts from the film is another matter. As well as this, Snyder has managed to give Superman (Henry Cavill) a real sense of duty and purpose behind his actions and it's a key part of making him seem more relatable to the audience. Most of the actors fit into their roles perfectly, most notably Kevin Costner, who plays Superman's earth father, and the special effects are visually appealing for the most part. However for everything right about this film, there also seems to be something wrong about it at the same time.
This film has one big problem throughout; and that's the script. The idea for this film was born out of David S. Goyer and Christopher Nolan experiencing writers block when working on the script for 'The Dark Knight Rises' and it shows. For most of the film the story feels incredibly disjointed, the attempt to emulate the mould that was applied to 'Batman Begins' seems rushed as random flashbacks provoked by merely anything seem to pop up every now and then breaking up any continuity the film has leaving you very frustrated. Within these flashbacks we get see Clark Kent discover his powers and grow into the person he will become. I happened to thoroughly enjoy these scenes, but it left me craving more of them. Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) who seems to be playing a part-time philosopher as well as a farmer in this film preaches to his son about protecting the human race, and due to this constant talk of destiny being rammed down the viewer's throat it becomes near impossible to enjoy it.
The visual effects are incredible in the first ten minutes where we witness the destruction of Krypton, and it's one of the few moments in the movie where I was actually on the edge of my seat. However, as the movie drags on the visual effects become less and less effective, and the last half an hour seems to be just one big blur of CGI where Superman jumps from one action scene to the next with no real sense of direction or break in-between. General Zod (Michael Shannon) isn't as sinister as he should have been and I was far more impressed with his fellow Kryptonian warrior Faora (Antje Traue) who gave a very stellar performance.
Man of Steels intentions are in the correct places and Snyder has set the film up well for a sequel but I can't help feeling how different this film would have turned out if warner brothers had given the project to Christopher Nolan or James Cameron. For me this film is slightly better than the original and it is certainly the Superman we need right now, but this film isn't the one we deserved.