The Superman Film We Deserved!!!

Rating: 10/10 (15 June 2013)

Words fail to describe how great this film is. Yes they have been countless re-tellings of the origin of Superman, from movies to cartoons to TV shows. However here we have what I feel is the definitive origin story of Superman, rather than being tacked on at the beginning for 5 Min's there is around a half an hour sequence on the gorgeous planet of Krypton which is beautifully made depicting the final hours of the planet and the choices Jor-el has to make. It also shows Superman growing learning that he is different from all the other children, one particular scene in a classroom is a standout moment. We get a real feeling of this is how it would really be for someone from a different world to ours.
The acting in Man of Steel is top notch for the most part with special credit going to Russell Crowe & Kevin Costner, both of them play the fathers of Superman very well indeed. You can see the struggle they both go through with Kal, Russell to send his son to earth and Kevin protecting his son from revealing his powers to earthlings. Henry Cavill plays a very interesting Superman, rather than being a carbon copy of Christopher Reeve, he plays Superman with his own charisma and charm as well as being serious at times. A beautiful moment in the film which I shall not spoil is just after the first time Superman puts on his new and much better looking suit which is one of the greatest moments in the Movie. Michael Shannon plays a very good and very menacing villain to the piece as General Zod where he is genuinely terrifying at times and yet you can still almost see it from his point of view, although I still slightly prefer Terrence Stamps version. Amy Adams as Lois Lane I honestly felt started the movie very strong as a feisty journalist but in the end she became the usual damsel in distress which I suppose is expected.
Now the final hour or so in this movie is absolutely ridiculous, I have never seen action like this in my film, it literally makes The Avengers look like a walk in the park. There is so much action it's almost hard to concentrate on what is going on at any one time but Zach Snyder does a wonderful job of making it look otherworldly maybe even a little bit OTT. The Special effects are amazing and make it feel like this could actually be happening in the world instead of just being done in green screen. For DC nerds like myself watch out for many little easter eggs in this final hour that will bring a little smile to your faces if your quick enough to catch them. The Final moment of the battle is so shocking that everyone in the cinema I was watching it with took an audible gasp, it is probably the most jaw-dropping moment from any superhero film made as none of you will see it coming.
Of course the soundtrack has to be mentioned as it is an original score done by the legendary Hans Zimmer. While not as iconic as the original it is a fantastic score which can fill you with emotion during the sombre parts of the film and still get your blood rushing during the action.
There is no other word for it, this is the perfect Superman film. People will have their complaints about it being too dark or there not being enough humor. But as someone who grew up reading the Superman comics, watching the movies and TV shows and understanding how he should be portrayed as an alien with incredible powers instead of a clown looking to get a one-liner in here or there, this is as good as it gets. Zach Snyder, David Goyer and Christopher Nolan (whose influence you can see dotted around this whole film) knock it out of the park. I truly recommend you go out and watch this film, not only because it is truly amazing but also for the fact that this could be the jump start to a possible Justice League Movie in the near future.