An interesting, realistic, fast-paced and action packed beginning to the 'Man of Steel' series

Rating: 9/10 (20 June 2013)

After Bryan Singer's unsatisfactory movie, 'Superman Returns', Zack Snyder's 'Man of Steel' is much up to the mark. With Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer as the main script writers, a more realistic superhero has been portrayed. The movie revolves around the main story of the comics with minor modifications to give it a modern touch. The movie begins with Zor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) giving natural birth to Kal-El. We see that the Kryptonians have led to their destruction by harvesting their planet's core. Meanwhile, General Zod (Michael Shannon) leads a group of rebels and kills the members of the Kryptonian Council. In the midst of this chaos, Zor-El sacrifices his own life to save his son's, who is sent to Earth. As the movie proceeds the resemblance between Krypton and Earth is more vivid and we have an eerie feeling about the fate of our planet.
After this we see the story of Kal-El's, who is also known as Clark Kent, childhood and the problems faced by him when he was unable to control his powers and how he overcame the problems. When he grows up he learns to control his powers and use them whenever he wants. There is a scene where Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) tries to fly but fails in the first few attempts. These small scenes make the movie more realistic. As for the romantic side of 'Superman', we do not see much of it although a brief instance of Clark-Lois relationship is shown. This does not affect the movie as in this fast paced remake there was hardly any place for romance. Lois Lane (Amy Adams), the 'Pulitzer Prize' winning reporter plays an important role in this movie. There is a spine tickling moment when Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) waves his hand to prevent Clark from protecting him and thus surrendering to death to protect his son's identity.
After this comes the superb action sequences, backed by Hans Zimmer's background music. Even though Ben Affleck had turned down the movie, Zack Snyder has proved again that he is the best in directing action sequences. The use of hand-held cameras to create the jerky movements was very effective. The actions were well developed and were not like mindless blowing of cars as in 'The Transformers'. In the end superman unwillingly kills General Zod, the last surviving Kryptonian to protect the humans. As is said, "The end justifies the means", the same happens in the movie where at the end we are left hungry for more. When we see Clark Kent taking up his profession as a photographer for the 'Daily Planet' we understand that this is merely the beginning to a series of the 'Man of Steel' movies.
Do not think that the movie is over or you will miss Lois Lane's words to Clark, "Welcome to the Planet", where the word planet can mean both the 'Daily Planet' and the Earth. This is a blockbuster superhero fans should not miss although if you are expecting a fourth version of 'The Dark Knight' series you might be disappointed. In reply to Clark Kent's question, "Are we ready yet?" my answer is, "Yes, we are ready for the next movie in the 'Man of Steel' series and would be anxiously waiting for it".
If Iron Man 3 gets a 7.6 on 10, this movie deserves nothing less than an 8.1.