Simply Too Much

Rating: 7/10 (18 June 2013)

As a really good steak can be ruined by smothering with too much sauce, the 'Man of Steel' falls victim to too much smothering by special effects. And sadly, it seems just for the sake of special effects. There is actually a great movie hidden among the two hours and twenty minutes of screen time. But like trying to take-in fabulous scenery along the highway by catching glimpses between the trees, the endless special effects in 'Man of Steel' get in the way of taking-in an inventive and promising Superman remake.
This movie is also smothered by its own weight. It's actually two movies in one, as I definitely felt I was watching a movie AND its sequel during the same sitting. The obviousness of this remake's refreshing departure from previous Superman movies was clear, given the portion of the script devoted to the happenings on Krypton and in the way it used innovation to retell other elements of the Superman saga. From the use of flashbacks for his formative years, to the sage warnings offered by his father, and to the revamping of his relationship with Lois Lane, this is a great movie worthy of a 9 or a 10 but only if it would've dared to expand on these qualities and stick to the story of Superman. Alas, It didn't dare.
I cringed when Zod made a promise just before his exile from Krypton. I cringed because I hoped not to see his promise come true THIS movie. Save it for the sequel, I said to myself. Let this movie be about Superman. Don't dilute it. Not yet, anyway. But my hopes were not answered as for the second half of 'Man of Steel' we get to see its sequel instead.
And thusly like so many other recent superhero movies, the story was no longer about the hero, but more about the battle. And this is where 'Man of Steel' departed from being a really, really good remake to just another fill-your-senses-with-special-effects just-because-we-have-the-technology-today-and-it-looks-awesome movie. Again, I repeat - there IS a great Superman movie between the special effects, but is so diluted and numbed by them that its attraction is lost and so is its '9' or '10' rating.