This is the path for DC movies to follow.

Rating: 10/10 (14 June 2013)

The big day is here folks. DC's adaptation of their arguably 2nd most popular character has finally landed and rest assured; they've nailed it this time around.
Man of Steel begins with a dying planet Krypton and a three-way struggle between Jor-El (Russell Crowe), General Zod (Michael Shannon) and the Kryptonian government on how to act to their impending apocalypse. The action packed introduction ends with Zor-El sending his newborn son on a one-way trip to Earth with the hope of him becoming the best of both the kryptonians and humans. The disagreeing Zod vows to find him just before being imprisoned for treason and the story is set in motion.
Director Zack Snyder -an authority on comic-book adaptations- knows exactly where Superman's previous forays into film have succeeded and where not. As a fan he knows the franchise's most notable absence is action and he addresses it by giving us an absolutely relentless (but never mind-numbing) thrill ride. The action never fails to excite because for every punch, bang and explosion there is an emotion attached, be it from the villains, the people of Earth, or the Man of Steel himself.
Henry Cavill reinvents an iconic character without recurring to Brandon Routh's almost excellent mimicry of Reeves classic portrayal. He's not a boy scout, instead a conflicted individual who was raised to hide his powers until he was ready and confident to release them unto an unprepared world. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) rather than being an annoyance or a damsel in distress is absolutely brilliant as strong pillar of support for Clark to finally realize his full potential. Michael Shannon is an outright perfect villain, his devotion to his cause is admirable and his means to attain them are terrifying. He's as equally electrifying acting against both Cavill and Crowe. The rest of the supporting cast is equally brilliant in their smaller roles with a special mention to Kevin Costner who in a few minutes of screen time embodies the father Clark never had in any previous film, and also Christopher Meloni who could have quite easily fallen into the military coronel stereotype and instead manages to craft a real person out of the role.
We've come to know Synder as one of the strongest visual directors working today, but instead of staying within his comfort zone of long shots and stylized slow-motion he completely reinvents himself with a fast-paced, vertigo-inducing film that only slows down for his beautiful shots of Clark's flashback-narrated origin or his epic landscape shots. But Synder's most noteworthy achievement in Man of Steel is crafting a world where Superman's extraterrestrial character really manages to create a sense of awe in Earth's people, something that was lacking in other superpowered-hero attempts. If Nolan's Batman trilogy succeeded in showing us how a world would react to vigilantism, Synder's Man of Steel epic shows us how it would react to alien life.
The movie is a big step forwards for DC; not only have they managed to successfully reintroduce one their most popular characters with what will certainly be a box-office hit and one of the most talked about movies of the year, but they've also managed to find their comfort zone in a style forged by Nolan and unexplored by Marvel. Realism (not to be confused with darkness) seems to be the path DC has laid with The Dark Knight trilogy and Man of Steel, and the one they should follow with future adaptations if they ever intend to journey all the way into a Justice League adaptation.