A Man of Steel with a lot of heart

Rating: 9/10 (7 April 2017)

SPOILER ALERT-
Watching Man of Steel was quite frankly an incredible, moving and compelling experience. The tonal feel was hit perfectly. Going beyond the powers and the suit and simply exploring the "Man" in Man of Steel. The most interesting parts to the film was when it explored Clark Kent's origin, his struggle to fit into the world, the yearning to belong and feeling lost...while not allowing the world to turn him cruel. It did a brilliant job with humanising Superman as a flesh and blood character with vulnerabilities, fears, hopes and dreams in a way that was interesting and draws the audience in. It could've easily been titled "Superman begins".
The realistic and grounded take on the story of Superman was quite frankly the right call. Exploring those themes of isolation, the loneliness of being an orphan and conflict with identity couldn't have been possible with a campy, light-hearted approach. Now many others have attacked the film for being "too serious" or "dark" (which I feel is wrong and many have confused realistic for dark, and probably confusing the colour grading and lighting with the actual narrative tone of the film), but the campy days of Superman was tried and failed miserably Ala Reeves' Superman 3 and on wards to Bryan Singer's Superman Returns and does not hold up to history. Without meaning to disparage other critics, many came out to hate Man of Steel because it was so different to Richard Donnar's Superman; which is completely unfair and almost biased. There has been a cultural bias in terms of what Superman should be influenced by the Donnar/Reeves films and children's cartoons. But it doesn't translate to what a an actual person, and for a lack of a better term; a human being really is. All characters are conflicted with joy and pain, fear and courage and love and hate. A film that has been unfairly judged and not by it's own merits either.
I would suggest keeping an open mind and taking the film for what it is, rather than a comparison to childhood nostalgia and bias.
Man of Steel is more than about a Superman from a different world, it is about an orphan trying to find his way. Imperfect parents trying to protect their children, a talented truth seeker who puts humanity over ambition. Brave men and women fighting insurmountable odds, selfless acts that cause suffering to oneself for the greater good. And moral dilemmas in a world of grey not just black and white. That being a Man of Steel isn't about superpowers, but doing the right thing for the greater good. That we can all be Supermen and Superwomen. And every character in this film is.
It is by no means a perfect film (No film is), but it has tremendous heart, a brilliantly compelling story and in my opinion Zack Synder's best work to date. A brilliant film.