Half Hearted Reboot...

Rating: 7/10 (24 November 2013)

"Man Of Steel" is definitely a "nice" try of a reboot of perhaps the most famous of ALL superheroes. Director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan tried hard to bring in a new twist to the story of Clark Kent/Kal-El as the caped crusader but ended up with some very anti-climatic story plots and lifeless characters. While viewers over 40 (like myself) will always compare new versions of Superman to the 1st original cinematic endeavor it's fair to say that younger audiences might find this version satisfying, but even with that audience's blessing you have to stand up against the comics purists. This review is filled with spoilers, so if that bothers you stop reading right now. I can sum up "Man of Steel" with a series of "pros" and "cons":
PROS:
1. Updated, state of the art special effects.
2. This version gives a meaning to the "S" log on Superman's chest, something NO other version has ever attempted.
3. General Zod's motives are better explained in this version than in the original Richard Donner film, thus rendering this character with more depth.
4. When we see Clark Kent growing up, we see an alienated kid, coping with his powers and trying to keep them a secret. We see a conflict that we can relate to, thus making this character more believable.
5. Jonathan Kent (played brilliantly by Kevin Costner) an Martha Kent (Diane Lane) play better rounded characters than in "Superman:The Movie". Jonathan's death on this movie adds more meaning and purpose to what makes Superman tick.
6. We get to know Kypton more and how its society came to be and its reasons.
CONS:
1. The music score: we're talking about the greatest superhero EVER. It's hard NOT to think about John Williams rousing "Superman: The Movie" theme when watching a Superman movie or hearing the "superman" name. Hans Zimmer (Inception, Gladiator), known for making some iconic film scores, just couldn't come up with a music score that could stand up to John Williams work. He was simply dwarfed by what was done before. In its stead, the second half of the movie is filled with a barrage of CGI fx. It's as if director Zack Snyder wanted the audience NOT to notice the lack of a memorable score.
2. Clark Kent: "Man Of Steel" literally bypasses the secret identity of Superman! We have Lois Lane actually KNOWING who Clark Kent really is from the very start!
3. Superman: Forget the heroics of "Superman: The Movies", "Man Of Steel" seems hellbent on making Superman as human as possible. The writers seem to have a problem here and so does Christopher Nolan and Zack Snyder. Superman is NOT Batman. Clark Kent is NOT Bruce Wayne. Where Nolan hit the jackpot in history's most acclaimed reboot, it seems the makers of "Man Of Steel" wanted to turn this hero into a second Batman.
4. Lois Lane and Clark Kent: Chemistry between these two is practically non-existent.
5. Superman's arch enemy, Lex Luthor, is nowhere to be found and that was the beauty of "Superman: The Movie": how can a inferior, powerless being be a match strong enough for Superman? In his stead we have basically the climatic battle of general Zod and his sidekicks we witnessed in "Superman II" done with 2013 technology.
6. Reboot? "Man Of Steel" is basically a remake of "Superman: The Movie"(1978) and "Superman II"(1981), crammed into one movie and plot twists altered in their order of appearance.
I could go on endlessly with more pros and cons (more of the latter really).It seems the makers wanted to make a reboot a la "Batman" but failed on many things along the way. It's true that no movie is perfect, and what I may find useless or uninteresting other might think just the opposite. I think many more decades will pass until the memory of Christopher Reeve fades away completely. He is and forever will be, the iconic, cinematic Superman. "Superman Returns", despite being panned by most fans and critics is a much, much more satisfying film than this. At least "Returns" could be seen as a direct continuation of "Superman II" (1981), even to the point of having William's classic theme.
Still, "Man Of Steel" is fun to watch and does manage to keep your attention for over two hours, it's just that it is not the reboot I was expecting.