Man of Steel Is The Man of Action!

Rating: 8/10 (22 September 2014)

The latest installment in the long-running Superman franchise continues with the newest reboot, Man of Steel. This new origin story tells of the tale of two movies. The first half is a character story which is effectively told with the use of flashbacks, while the final half is just explosion after explosion after explosion. Not to say it was bad, but the long-running action sequences (and rather impressive ones), were really loud and the non-stop action will be bound to give you headaches, especially in a movie theater setting.
Zach Snyder's Superman film talks about how Superman came to Earth after Krypton was destroyed, how he struggled as a boy to control his powers and keep them as a secret, and to present time where he faces the nefarious General Zod who wants to turn Earth into a new Krypton.
The acting is actually really good. Henry Cavill did impress me as Superman/Clark Kent and is leagues better than Brandon Routh. Michael Shannon was mean and great as Zod, despite the fact you can understand the reasons for wanting to destroy Earth. Amy Adams was good as Lois Lane, but I don't know if I can truly connect with her character in this movie. Kevin Costner probably had the best role as Jonathan Kent and as the man who gives Clark advice on how to grow up. We also get some good performances by Russell Crowe, Laurence Fishburne, and Diane Lane.
Overall, Man of Steel is ultimately a visually-spectacular, CGI-loaded reboot of one of the most iconic superheroes of all time. It could have used some more substance, but then again people complained that 2006's Superman Returns had no action sequences, hence this film having many. I will admit that they are well-done and often breath-taking. But is having too much of this action a good thing? Perhaps, though it did grow a little old and loud after awhile. But nothing wrong with that. I rate this film 8/10.