There's a Reason the "S" Means Hope

Rating: 7/10 (16 June 2013)

They said it couldn't be done, then again they also said man couldn't fly. DC has achieved a goal that when first announced, made audiences cringe at the habitualness of it all: they managed to reintroduce Superman as a new movie franchise. Man of Steel, directed by Zach Snyder and produced by the Dark Knight's director Christopher Nolan, retells the forever popular tale of Clark Kent, the last son of Krypton, and his journey of discovering who he is and who he will become: the red caped Superman.
What this movie does, which 2006's Superman Returns failed to do, is establish a modern version of the famed hero. While the first film attempted to be a somewhat fifth sequel to the first four from the late seventies and eighties, Warner Brothers dared to start from the very beginning, with Kal-El's origin. This was a major risk for the company to do, especially after many complaints from fans about ANOTHER origin story, and it being about the hero of all heroes. However, just like there was an outcry then acceptance over The Amazing Spider-Man, Man of Steel has gained the general approval rapidly within its opening weekend.
The success of this movie lies in many aspects; you can't just choose anyone to be a part of something as massive as the United States' most popular myth. Choosing a new face to don the cape (Henry Cavill) was a wise choice, and mixing him in with movie pros (Russell Crowe, Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Diane Lane . . . just to name a few) was an even better choice; combining the old with the new. This strategy, likewise, works miraculously with the story almost everyone in the world knows. While the expectation of the average Man of Steel attendee is to fall asleep during the first thirty or so minutes of the movie where they explain how Clark came to Earth, that said attendee will be very surprised as they're proved completely wrong. From details about Krypton (in this film it is more of a dessert landscape than a white tundra as shown in the '78 movie) to new facts about Clark's early work (who knew he was a fisherman?), these new bits of information that though seem minuscule, add up to give more of an explanation as to why Superman is the way he is.
Even though Christopher Nolan was not the director, his presence was very evident in the Man of Steel. The use of a non-linear timeline, much like what is seen in Batman Begins, causes the feeling of being on a roller coaster, one which you do not recover from until the first hour of the movie is done. After this confusing backward and forward motion, drawn-out scenes of extreme destruction (ten times worse than all three Transformers movies combined) to Smallville and Metropolis becomes tedious and wearisome. The time that was used to show this could have been used in a more beneficial way, for example, establishing the adult Clark Kent better.
Even with the changes to the story and the unnecessary excess of violence, the traditional tale stays true to what we all are so familiar with while also answering a few questions that have plagued fans for years. This healthy balance makes the film enjoyable, while also bringing a fresh take to the Superman mythos.