Man of Steel Launches Interesting New Superman Franchise

Rating: 9/10 (17 June 2013)

Much like Batman Begins did for Batman, Man of Steel successfully sets the tone for a new 21st-Century Superman.
This film brings us a different Superman than we've seen before in the films, one that is unsure of himself and his powers and yet, by the end, we can see the formation of the character and his identifiable traits that we are all familiar with. When he first tries out his powers, he begins by jumping (much like the original incarnation only being able to "leap tall buildings in a single bound") and then he learns to fly faster and faster, his powers increasing like they have historically in the comics.
The opening sequence on Krypton is one of the better prequel/set-up scenes in recent memory. It's action packed, features great performances from Russell Crowe and Michael Shannon, and sets up the rest of the film in an exciting, fast-paced way.
Henry Cavill is stoic, yet emotional as Clark Kent/Superman, but the best parts of the film in my mind are the flashback sequences, particularly the scene of a young Clark in school as his heightened senses become too much for him to handle and his adoptive mother, played by Diane Lane, comes to calm him down. Any scene featuring a younger Clark with Ma and Pa Kent were the highlights for me as Lane and Kevin Costner were excellent in their roles.
The Superman fight scenes are a joy to watch. I just can't get enough of seeing Superman drag Zod through a corn field while repeatedly punching him in the face!
It's also interesting to note the parallels of this film and Batman Begins, and I am curious to see if the trend will continue with Man of Steel 2 mirroring The Dark Knight and Man of Steel 3 (if there will be one) mirroring The Dark Knight Rises.
I do have a few nit-picky moments but overall, I think Snyder, Goyer, Nolan, and co. nailed it and I can't wait for more!