Impressive summer blockbuster, but poor start to a potentially-incredible saga

Rating: 6/10 (24 June 2013)

Straight and to the point; wasting no time in any kind of development, Man of Steel is the latest Superman reboot that focuses solely on Zod's attempted takeover of our Earth. The special effects and CGI are overblown and bombastic, and there is not a single minute that isn't flaunting its multi-million dollar budget. In the end, it feels more like a Michael Bay film rather than a Christopher Nolan product. Bereft of any semblance of heart or soul that made Nolan's Batman series so.. human.
But don't get me wrong. Man of Steel is the very definition of a perfect summer blockbuster. It is spectacular and visually epic; a lot of fun to watch, and if you're a CGI-action buff, believe me when I say you won't be disappointed. However, there is just so much more to the Superman story that they fail to regard; the story is so focused on Superman's battle against Zod that it has no other layers.
Henry Cavill plays a decent Superman, but in short, this movie did not require much of Cavill's acting prowess - if I'm not mistaken there was only one scene that required him to put on a face that wasn't adamant, confused or superhero-ish. Alas, there was only one scene where we saw a different side to Superman - the human side. This scene of course, was when he watched his human father die in the twister. P.S.: There were some angles in which I swore he looked like an older, wiser Tom Welling. With chest hair, that peeked out of his tights.
Amy Adams was so-so as well. I'm glad to see Lois was not depicted as a helpless damsel in distress (but then again let's face it, was Lois ever depicted as such in any Superman productions?) But let's get something straight. People don't come to see this movie to watch the actors act. Acting was never a deciding factor for the success of a superhero movie. Even with that in mind, the cast in Man of Steel did what the script required them to do. Nothing more, nothing less.
On a side note, I was also pleased to see the littered allusions to the expanded Superman universe - from appearances of high school sweetheart Lana Lang, bully Whitney Fordman and Pete Ross, to a mention of the name "Sullivan" (they were obviously paying homage to Smallville) to a brief blink-it-and-miss-it glance at a vehicle that bore the name Lexcorp.
All in all, despite this lukewarm review, I am excited to see how they will continue this story, there are so many other elements they neglected to talk about in this flick, that I hope they will address in the many sequels (and maybe prequels and spin-offs) to come.