An enjoyable but ultimately underwhelming movie.

Rating: 6/10 (12 January 2014)

Contains spoilers. Superman was the perfect super hero movie and has yet to be equalled, unfortunately this has created a currently impossible standard to meet. Every Superman movie and reboot has suffered in comparison and Man of Steel is no exception. Taking a fresh approach to the character, rewriting the mythology and altering some key aspects gives Man of Steel some great advantages but like the first X-Men movie it sets up the world but fails to inspire. Russell Crowe stands out as Jor-El and Henry Cavill handles the role superbly, keeping his Superman recognisable but not falling into Brandon Routhes trap of mimicking Christopher Reeves iconic performance. Most of the supporting characters are given little to do and despite chewing scenery and levelling half the planet Zod and his army don't feel threatening enough. The latter half of the movie is too special effects laden to be effective and loses the essential humanity of Superman. An enjoyable if lackluster revision that shows great potential for future movies.