Snyder and Nolan have made me a Superman fan

Rating: 10/10 (20 August 2013)

I first heard about Man of Steel when I went to see The Dark Knight Rises in theaters last year. When I saw the huge, Nolan-ized "S" Superman logo, I became incredibly excited. However, I had never been much of a Superman fan - in fact, I genuinely disliked the character. But the more I saw, the more I trusted Nolan (I've seen almost all of his movies and loved every one of them), Snyder (I loved his work on 300), and Goyer to give Superman the same great treatment that Nolan, his brother, and Goyer gave the Dark Knight. As it turned out, my expectations for the movie weren't high enough - it really was that good.
The movies opening sequence on Krypton blew me away. I felt like a planet like this could be out there somewhere - and of course Snyder does a terrific job with the war between Zod and the Kryptonian government. But the real stars of the opening act were Jor-El, played brilliantly by Russell Crowe, and Lara. I almost cried when they sent Kal away, and that was when I knew this movie wasn't one of your typical summer blockbusters.
My favorite part about the movie was the theme of fathers and sons. I could really see Nolan's hand here. Russell Crowe actually recommended this as a great movie to go see on Father's Day, and he was completely right. It's really interesting seeing how different Clark's relationship with Jor is compared to the one he has with Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner did a great job here). Also great is Michael Shannon as General Zod – I never though an actor would make me feel sorry for someone like Zod, but Zod, and Foara to a lesser extent, genuinely seemed like they though what they were doing was the right thing.
Of course, this movie has Snyder's fingerprints all over it – phenomenal action scenes. As for people's complaints about Superman not caring about the destruction, I would like to point out that this is a rookie Supes, as well as the 1st movie of the DC Cinematic Universe. I am sure he will focus on this in the sequel. And of course, there is the controversial ending – Superman kills Zod. I was shocked when I first saw it, but then I realized he had killed Zod in the comics, and it was for similar reasons too – he wanted to save everyone he could, and Zod himself had said he would not stop, that he wanted to make the world suffer because of what Kal-El had done. The remorse shown by Cavill after the scene was really sold me though – he did not want to do it, but he felt that he had to. I also think this will be a really great explanation as to why Clark doesn't kill in the future – he is haunted by what he had to do to Zod, who was also one of the only surviving members of his race. That couldn't have been easy.
All in all, Zach Snyder, Christopher Nolan, and David Goyer have delivered a masterpiece. This is without a doubt the best Superman movie I have ever seen (and yes, I have seen the originals). Henry Cavill was an awesome Superman, who meshed really well with Amy Adams's Lois. But it was the supporting characters, Michael Shannon's Zod, Russel Crowe's Jor-El, and Kevin Costner's Jonathan Kent that really made this film.
I know a lot of people may not have liked this movie, and we all have the right to our own opinion, but personally I just cannot see how anyone could dislike this movie, seeing as how reminiscent it was of the Dark Knight trilogy, which garnered universal acclaim. Because of this movie, I am now a Superman fan, and I thank you, Snyder, Nolan, and Goyer, for giving us this tremendous and exciting piece of entertainment. I cannot wait for Batman Vs Superman!