A new Superman for a new generation

Rating: 8/10 (25 August 2013)

This is not the Superman you know. And in many ways this isn't a Superman film, this is a Clark Kent film. Man of Steel is a lot more about Clark/Kal-El and his supporting cast of characters than it is about superpowered antics. Not that the film is without action, heroics or fights, it has plenty; but the film is essentially a coming of age film for an outsider asking questions about identity, responsibility, family and acceptance. Some of these questions are raised more directly than others, but all are prevalent themes throughout.
The film is what you would expect in tone from the Nolan-Snyder team-up, especially if you have seen trailers or posters, it is a lot darker than any previous outings and the few attempts at humour feel noticeably out of place and awkward. But for anyone afraid that "going Batman Begins" on the usually cheerful boy scout, do not fear, the tone feels appropriate for the story being told. And despite being an origin story it doesn't feel like retreading old ground, it is true that everyone knows the back-story of Superman, but this film tells it with more attention to his true origin – his home planet, Krypton – and focuses on the struggles that growing up with such extraordinary abilities creates. This is something it does effectively.
The opening section takes place exclusively on Krypton, and it looks beautiful, the whole film is very stylish but the Krypton section really stands out. Using Birthright's explanation that the 'S' symbol is actually a Kryptonian symbol that represents the House of El was a good touch that gives more back-story to his outfit (including the symbol change and loss of red briefs). It is impressive how the film makes each location type feel different, Krypton and its ships are instantly recognisable by their futuristic sci-fi feel, Smallville feels like sleepy small-town America and Metropolis feels like exactly that: a vast generic city with skyscrapers at every turn. The time shifts are also dealt with smoothly, there is never any confusion what point in time we are watching, and their use for his childhood moments spare any lengthy rehash of seeing Clark growing up.
Where the film both excels and falls is in its action scenes. They are some of the most destructive and brutal you will see in any modern blockbuster, but this in itself brings a problem. For a man who dedicates himself to saving the world and the people in it, the action destroys a lot of buildings and presumably the people within them. This could of course be explained away when Zod does it, as he has no regard for human life anyway, but when Superman is willingly destroying buildings instead of trying to defend them it really ignores Supes cause. It is this approach that lands this film very much into blockbuster territory, as opposed to a genre-crossing comic book film like The Dark Knight, Man of Steel seems content to embrace being nothing more than a blockbuster.
Overall, Man of Steel builds a great foundation for the Superman franchise relaunch, bringing a strong Clark Kent in Henry Cavill and a good cast of supporting characters.