Man of Steel, but not stainless

Rating: 7/10 (25 June 2013)

With the black cowl and cape being put in the wardrobe for the time being, our intentions are now turned to the red cape with one of if not the most iconic and notable superhero of all time the man of steel himself Superman.
With a gap of 7 years between Superman Returns and Man of Steel, Man of Steel is a complete reboot of the franchise with a new cast, story and composer. With Hans Zimmer replacing the iconic sounds from john Williams and if you were still not convinced that this is a complete reboot then the title alone should settle the argument.
David S. Goyer states:
"We decided not to call it Superman that was very deliberate. Chris Nolan and I suggested Man of Steel, and Warner Bros. said, 'why?' And we started talking about it, and we said, 'We want a line of demarcation in the sand between the old and the new.'"
The story is one from the beginning. From the opening scenes of the planet Krypton to Superman discovering his purpose there is very little rest bite. This is mainly down to the clever structure of the film with flashbacks of a younger Clark Kent understanding who he is when put to the test. These flashbacks are frequent for the first part and are intelligently placed and edited in a way that they never take you away from the story and help build what Superman is to become. It is an enjoyable way to move through a lot of information and ultimately provides a far better impact on the film than to structure it all together to make up the first hour of the film. This way it feels like a treat each time a flashback scene begins.
With that all said how does it stand amongst the original films? The answer is simple, worlds apart. While the original films do look dated and have a sense of comedy about them. Nothing could be further from the truth with Man of Steel. It has that Goyer/Nolan touch as with the Batman franchise that just pulls everything from the comic books into the 21st Century. Adding as much realism and removing as much fantasy as possible.
So what does that gives you with Man of Steel, the best film in the series that's what. Every member of the cast plays their part well and adds to the story being told. The two fathers (Kevin Costner and Russell Crowe) deserve a mentionable nod but none more so than the hero and villain of the film. Henry Cavill as the first ever non-American to play as Superman, does a fantastic job achieving a believable outsider who desperately wants to understand and be accepted.
Michael Shannon succeeds greatly as the villain General Zod. He commands the scenes and makes a worthy opponent for Superman, showing real emotions of hate and a sense of determination.
Sadly with all that said it's the action scenes that didn't quite do it for me. While there were many, there is only so many smashing through buildings you can take. As the film progressed it felt like they had run out of ideas and just decided to settle for a toe to toe slugging match through buildings until something or more interest catches their eye. Which is a shame as the film is so strong in all other areas.
Overall Man of Steel is an enjoyable film and for me the best in the series. The story is strong, the characters are believable and there's ever a dull moment. But at the same time there has been other superhero movies released of late and before that, which achieve their goals a little better than what Man of Steel has done. Still none the less Man of Steel is a good foundation to build upon but will need Superman and CO to be at their best if they are to take on their biggest foe, the Marvel universe.