The Man of Steel fans both deserved and needed

Rating: 9/10 (16 June 2013)

This iteration of Superman and the people around him is a modernized retelling of his origins and his transformation from being the Last Son of Krypton to the Earth's greatest hero.
It contains most of the elements required of such a story - a strong character story, pathos and the ability to rise up to the challenge. For those wanting something more light-hearted and campy, I recommend Superman III.
This is the story of Kal-el becoming Superman and not a Superman-Clark Kent-Lois Lane story, first and foremost. Lois is introduced a good deal into the story but she is built up as a potential love interest.
This is a tale light on humor and romance, but full of acceptance and pain - emotions Kal-El aka Clark have to deal with all his life.
SPOILERS FOLLOW.............
It helps that his two father figures are played by brilliant actors in the form of Costner and Crowe. Pa Kent knows the way the world works and goes to enormous lengths to protect Clark from it. And when his moment of crisis comes, he refuses to be a hypocrite and dies on the basis of his beliefs. To see Clark refusing to give in to his emotions and keep his father's word is a sight to be seen. You can almost feel his heart breaking apart.
Crowe, especially in the early Krypton scenes, and as a hologram that connects Clark to his planet reinforces the division - On one hand, his adoptive father told him to stay in the darkness, and the other tells him to step into the light.
Even when finally puts on the cape and family crest, he is still a man torn between two homes - one about to feel the loss of another.
Cavill is great in all his scenes, and a slight glimpse of humor is soon in the last scene of the film when he arrives as Clark Kent the reporter.
But the one who really hits the ball out of the park is Micheal Shannon as Zod. His portrayal is leagues ahead of Terence Stamp's Zod and seems to be based on his New Krypton persona. You get the feeling that he is desperate to help his people and is ready to go to any lengths to ensure their survival. Just like Clark, he is a man without a home, but unlike him, he is not ready to become a refugee on another world.
And when his people are lost and his dreams lie shattered, you can also feel the hopelessness he is exuding in every action he takes.
That brings us to the controversial ending of the film, which has polarized fans worldwide. SUPERMAN DOESN'T KILL. The people who take this stance are very bigoted in this approach. They don't seem to understand that first of all, this is a raw Superman who wants to protect the people of the planet he calls home. He doesn't know his abilities all that well. And Zod is a man whose sanity is on the brink and he is capable to not only decimating the humans before him, but many more. You can feel the helplessness Kal-El is in when he's saying"Stop.Please Stop." Even in a position of power, he is being forced to choose. The past or the present. The lives of many balanced against something he would give anything not to do. And in the end, it is whether it was the right thing to do, but the only choice of action left.
And when he screams out in pain and anger, having realized he has killed the only man left who may have known what it was like to be him, we do feel for him.
And we hope that he grows wiser and stronger with this decision.
Forward to Man of Steel 2