Pass the Popcorn review

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2013)

To be honest, I'm not very keen on Superman as a character, nor am I keen on his movies. I didn't particularly enjoy Richard Donner's classic 1978 Superman nor the 1980 sequel (however, I did immensely enjoy General Zod as the villain in the sequel) – I didn't like how they wanted to be "funny" and "witty", and just ended up being juvenile. And don't get me started on the awful movie that is Superman Returns. So yes, my experience with the Superman movies wasn't a very pleasurable one. But, when I heard the franchise was getting a reboot, and that this time the movie will feel more serious and darker, I was intrigued. Unfortunately, bad reviews started pouring in eventually and, as a result, Man of Steel received a pretty bad rating on Rotten Tomatoes. I feared that Man of Steel would be another big superhero movie let down. I was wrong.
The story of this movie is very familiar, but in case you don't know: Jor-El (Russell Crowe), in the midst of the destruction of his planet Krypton, sends his newborn son Kal-El to Earth. There Kal-El gets adopted by Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), and they name him Clark. When he grows up, Clark (Henry Cavill), since he has super powers, chooses to help humanity. Soon after he puts on the Superman suit and cape, a threat to humanity rises in the form of General Zod (Micahel Shannon) – a genocidal maniac from Krypton. Some other important characters that appear in the movie are Lois Lane (Amy Adams) and her boss Perry (Laurence Fishburne). As you may notice, this is a great cast. Actually, I've never seen such combined star power in a superhero movie. And all of them are good. Especially Henry Cavill, who shines as the title character.
Bottom line, Man of Steel isn't a bad movie, it has amazing visuals and good action scenes. Most of the origin story is told in the form of flashbacks, which is always an interesting narrative device. The movie features a ton of interesting and creative Kryptonian technology so the movie's Sci-Fi aspect is also satisfying. As I said, the actors really do a good job. Michael Shannon is effective as the menacing General Zod, even though Terence Stamp's portrayal in Superman 2 is somewhat better. Henry Cavill is amazing as Superman, although we will have to wait until the sequel to see him portray Clark Kent as an inept Daily Planet journalist. Kevin Costner is another decent actor, but he has very little screen time – which is slightly disappointing since the relationship between his character and Henry Cavill's character had a lot of potential. Because of its strong actors, nice visual effects and action scenes, Man of Steel is one summer blockbuster that is worth your money.
Of course, that doesn't mean the movie is without problems. The directing of the movie bothered me mostly – unnecessary shaky cam, quick cuts and strange zoom-ins are what Zack Snyder decided to use in his vision of Superman. And, of course, Man of Steel is yet another Superman movie with its runtime of over 2 hours. That wouldn't be such a problem if it weren't for the tedious second half which is made of one action scene after another. I mean, they do look amazing but after some time you kind of get sick of them. However, that doesn't excuse the awful rating this movie got on Rotten Tomatoes. So ignore the critics, go watch this movie and enjoy yourself. Man of Steel is the best Superman movie so far – although, unfortunately, this isn't saying much.
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