"Man of Steel" just another CGI superhero movie.

Rating: 6/10 (19 June 2013)

I guess this would be the third iteration of "Superman." It seems that for every increment in CGI advancement, there's some reboot of some tired franchise. For director, Zack Snyder ("300" and "Sucker Punch") whatever storyline or nuanced acting there is, is smothered in a hailstorm of bombastic action sequences. A lot of stuff blows up, and cities completely destroyed. Despite the highly technical aspects of these scenes, there's that "Roland Emmerich fakery" that defies the logic of practical effects. The third act of this film gave me a Krptonite headache. The pacing of this film was nonstop sledgehammer action. Oh sure, there were weepy flashbacks of a young Clark Kent and his human father (Jonathan Kent played by a subdued Kevin Costner).
As Superman movies go, writer David Goyer and Christopher Nolan provide a little more story as far as Kal-El's and Kryton's history. I found Russell Crowe far more interesting than a somewhat silly performance by Marlon Brando trying not to do Don Corleone, and masking his "accent" with a horrible British one in the original Superman motion picture (Christopher Reeve). General Zod (Michael Shannon) is far from the corny performance by Terrance Stamp. Amy Adams is a perky (and cute) Lois Lane. And Henry Cavill is handsomely brooding.
But perhaps that's the problem with this film. The acting is so subdued. So serious. Superman is a comic book. There's little or no humor in Snyder's film. As some publicist pointed out, "This film is a more real depiction of Superman..." Real? It's Superman, there's nothing "real" about this guy. If there was ever an oxymoron ever said by some Hollywood mouthpiece.
By no means is "Man of Steel" a bad film. It simply blends into the blandness that is the current state of superhero movies. Batman, The Avengers, even Iron Man (though that movie was saved ONLY by the performance and charisma of Robert Downey, Jr.). In "Man of Steel" Cavill is just another good looking guy in tights. He's not a bad actor, just bland. Clark Kent seemed to be a more interesting a character. But all of that was overshadowed by mind-numbing explosions, toppling buildings and military weapons being annihilated.
Warner Bros. has already put into production "Man of Steel 2." Perhaps the arrival of Lex Luthor. Though, it's hard to top Gene Hackman. Kevin Spacey tried, but didn't quite measure up.