A Superman with Soul

Rating: 10/10 (3 July 2013)

So the aliens have arrived and are about to destroy the world. You can pick one superhero to pin all of Earth's hopes upon. Who do you go for? It's a no-brainer, isn't it? When it's all on the line, you want Superman.
The last few years have seen one big-budget comic book adaptation after another, many of them quite good and a few of them truly great. But Superman, the very first superhero, has been strangely absent. Until now.
And it's been worth the wait. Man of Steel is a great tribute to the most iconic comic book character of them all, and superlative summer entertainment besides. The cast—spearheaded by Henry Cavill as Superman, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe as Jor-El and Michael Shannon as General Zod—is outstanding, with Cavill's interpretation of the character rivaling Christopher Reeve's classic performance from the 70s and 80s. Cavill grasps the heroic spirit, instilled in him by his earthly parents the Kents, that separates Superman from almost every other costumed hero, and does a fabulous job of bringing that spirit to life. Cavill's Superman is selfless, sensitive, and willing to sacrifice himself to save others if that's what it takes. The fact that Superman is more powerful than the other superheroes we've seen on the big screen lately isn't really what makes him a greater hero—it's his soul.
And Man of Steel's script goes to great lengths to explore just how Clark Kent becomes Superman. Clark doesn't know where he's from to start out with, but he does know he's very, very different. He's naturally faster, stronger, and more durable than everyone else. His parents (played by Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) don't have all the answers, but strive to raise their adopted son from the stars to be moral and upright in every way. It is Clark's gradual evolution into Superman—aided and abetted by a certain beautiful reporter named Lois Lane whose interest in our hero melts into something rather more personal-- that forms the basis for the Man of Steel's plot.
But there's plenty of action too, action of a caliber perhaps never before captured on film in terms of scale. The climax does indeed pit Superman against alien invaders who happen to be criminals who survived the destruction of Krypton, led by the diabolical General Zod. Zod, played with a brilliant malevolence by Michael Shannon, wants to recreate Earth in the image of Krypton, and he has the means to do it. His ultimate battle with Superman in Metropolis makes similar scenes from the Transformers movies and The Avengers look like low-grade dress rehearsals.
If you're a longtime Superman fan like I am, you'll love this movie. If you're simply a fan of good action movies, you'll still love it. Man of Steel is a tremendous cinematic achievement, one that puts Superman back in his rightful place as the preeminent superhero in the world.
Here come the aliens. Looks like a job for Superman.