Turning my least favorite hero into one that I can't get enough of.

Rating: 9/10 (26 August 2013)

I'll be honest, I used to hate Superman. Despite being possibly the most influential fictional character in American history, his ever-growing and nearly god-like abilities, crappy past movies, and his awful secret identity just didn't strike a chord with me as much as someone like Batman, Spider-Man or Iron Man. And also to be honest, the main reason why I was getting excited for this movie was because I saw Christopher Nolan's (director of my favorite trilogy ever created)name pop up in the trailers. I work at my local movie theater, so after seeing this movie twice (2D and 3D), I'm happy to say that my perspective on the Man of Steel has changed dramatically.
*WARNING THERE ARE FEW,BUT MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD*
In any movie, it has to spark your interest almost immediately. Right from the start, Man of Steel immerses you in a plethora of some of the greatest CG effects I've ever seen in a movie. The world of Krypton needed to feel real and alive in order to provide a sense of loss and hope, and the special effects created a beautiful and jaw-dropping fictional world. I was very pleased on how the movie spent a good deal of time on Krypton, giving the movie a much needed solid back story for the title character and his home world.
Following the beginning scenes on Krypton, the movie spends a great deal of time providing us with Clark Kent's current endeavors as well as his childhood memories via flashbacks. I enjoyed going back and seeing how Clark struggled with his humanity, what with basically being a god, and how his struggles affect him in the current time. Clark Kent/Superman, played by Henry Cavill, is a deeply developed character and fits the role of Superman very well, something that was desperately needed.
As the movie progresses, we eventually meet Lois Lane, Superman's iconic love interest. Played by the lovely Amy Adams, Lois is at first a reporter looking for a good story, but becomes much more important. The more romantic scenes in the movie are needed to develop a strong relationship between Clark and Lois, and thankfully don't ever bring the film to a screeching halt.
Like with all of my reviews, I love talking about the villain because I love a good villain, and the villain makes the hero who he/she really is, and in this movie's case more than most. General Zod, portrayed by Michael Shannon, is an absolutely stellar antagonist, providing the viewers with a deadly and desperate villain who's power matches that of Superman, something you don't see every day. He will do anything to save his people and will go through anyone to get through Superman, creating a truly epic villain.
As the final battle scenes arrive, I was treated to some of the most action-packed and thrilling action sequences I've seen in a superhero movie to date. General Zod and his henchmen proved to be capable of massive destruction and make even Superman look like he is helpless. Once again, the CGI was in full swing during these fight scenes to amplify the action even more. Eventually, we get to our final showdown between Superman and Zod. This final battle is a spectacular one, showing off how powerful these characters really are. (SPOILERS NOW) Superman eventually gets Zod into a head lock and Zod unleashes his heat vision on an innocent family scrambling for their lives, nowhere to go. Zod gives Superman a choice: let the innocent people die to prevent killing Zod, or end him in order to save the family and stop Zod from causing any more damage. He chooses to kill Zod, by breaking his neck. Now at this point of the film, hardcore Superman fans are in a monsoon of rage that their perfect hero actually killed someone. For me I viewed it in two ways, one good one bad. The good reason is that as a not so hardcore Superman fan, the scene was extremely intense and pulled an enormous emotional weight behind it. After Zod is killed, Superman lets loose a tremendous scream of emotion to signify his actions. It was that choice that he had to make, and as a viewer, it was a powerful moment. Now the bad. What made The Dark Knight trilogy so phenomenal was that Batman would not kill, no matter what. Even the Joker could't get him to kill. And that defined Batman, solidifying it throughout the series. With Superman, his no killing rule could have defined him as it did for Batman, but instead they gave him a new identity. All in all however, I was a big fan of the scene and liked it more than not.
So, how to conclude. Man of Steel is amazing. Director Zack Snyder decided to take the hero-humanizing, Dark Knight approach that worked for Nolan and Batman, and it fits very well here. The special effects are stunning to say the least, the action was epic, the acting was spot on throughout the entire cast, the story (which I didn't even really get into) was a great one for an origin story, and it was overall just a very well put together 143 minutes of superhero entertainment. Man of Steel puts Superman back on the movie map, and if the upcoming Batman vs Superman and Justice League movies are anything like this, The Avengers might not be the only heroes dominating anymore. Bravo DC and Warner Bros.
9/10