The question on everyone's mind is....

Rating: 7/10 (16 July 2013)

Zack Snyder's long awaited reboot of the "Superman" franchise has finally hit the big screen and already grossed over a hundred million dollars in the United States. I was lucky enough to get a ticket to an early screening of the film and thankfully did not have to wait another week to see it. The film stars Henry Cavill as the man of steel, Kal-El, also known as "Superman". In the case of this film we have an all star cast, the supporting cast is built up by such actors as Amy Adams, Micheal Shannon, Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner so there is plenty of talent involved here. "Man of Steel" is basically the origin story of "Superman". In the first scenes of the film we see the planet of Krypton a somewhat desolate, but seemingly advanced planet that is soon to be completely destroyed due to the planet's unstable core. The Kryptonian high council is helpless and faces the threat of being overthrown by the planet's chief of military, General Zod, played by Michael Shannon. Zod has staged a coup and plans to restore the Kryptonian race on new land. Meanwhile, the wife of scientist Jor-El (Russel Crowe), Lara- El gives birth to the first natural born child of Krypton for centuries. They both realize that Krypton faces complete annihilation and decide to launch their new born son into space en- route for Earth. Before launching him, Jor-El steals the "genetic codex" and merges it's cells with those of the Kal-El to keep the Kryptonian race intact. General Zod soon finds out and storms into their home with his followers, but it is too late as the shuttle begins to launch. Zod murders Jor-El and is arrested, then he is sent to the "Phantom Zone" together with his followers. It is not long until Krypton meets it's imminent end and explodes. The explosion let's Zod and his followers out of the "Phantom Zone". Their goal now is to find Kal-El and bring him back to his homeland using brute force if necessary.
This is a film that should be seen in a cinema, the stylish camera-work and outstanding special effects can only be truly experienced on the big screen. As with many modern re-imaginings of super hero stories, "Man of Steel" seems to be going for a darker, more mature tone. We've seen this before in Nolan's "Dark Knight" trilogy which worked very well. In the case of "Man of Steel" it works nearly just as well. The only issue is that the bleak tone sometimes feels overbearing and like Zack Snyder is trying too hard to make "Superman" be as serious as can be. The performances are solid, but the standout must be Micheal Shannon who did a great job with his character. Whenever he was on screen, I got chills. The films major downside is that it tends to become generic and predictable. You can just tell that whenever someone is in danger, "Superman" will swoop in at the last minute to save the day. Yes, it's a staple for "Superman", but it becomes so predictable. Speaking of predictable, the action sequences are so repetitive that it hurts. It becomes a certainty that someone is going to get thrown through buildings or fly down close to the ground. I will say that the score by Hans Zimmer is astounding.
All problems aside, "Man of Steel" is a faithful adaptation to the classic "Superman" comics as well as being it's own film. It gives the "Superman" franchise a darker tone. Packed with great performances, beautiful special effects and a chilling score by Hans Zimmer, Zack Snyder's "Man of Steel" is a well thought out, energetic and much needed reboot to the "Superman" film series.