Superman is a welcome addition to the list of recently rebooted superheroes. It's worth catching this flight once.

Rating: Null/10 (19 June 2013)

Superman is a welcome addition to the list of recently rebooted superheroes that includes Spiderman (where Andrew Garfield replaced Tobey Maguire to don the new Spidey suit in The Amazing Spiderman). Henry Cavill is the young man in blue suit and red cape (without the red trunks, thankfully) who's our Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El this time, and the actor has everything that makes him the perfect choice for Superman - a square-jaw, an extremely ripped body and a dashing appearance.
The character he plays is the strongest of all superheroes, but he is a superhero with a big heart and Henry Cavill has the face of a charming guy, a loving son, a doting lover and a responsible citizen, everything which makes us instantly empathise with him.
The character he plays is the strongest of all superheroes, but he is a superhero with a big heart and Henry Cavill has the face of a charming guy, a loving son, a doting lover and a responsible citizen, everything which makes us instantly empathise with him.
It takes Zack Snyder an entire film to establish Cavill as the harmless, bespectacled office employee Clark Kent, yet we already get to see our Superman saving the whole world from total destruction in Snyder's Man of Steel. My concern here is that when Snyder keeps the stakes so high in the first film itself, how will this franchise (everybody knows there are two more films to come in the near future, and then a similar reboot) move to a whole new level in the sequels?
That is what troubles when I see the recent 'saving the whole wide world' trend in superhero movies. There was a time when common people ( i.e. Everyone excluding the Superhero and his nemesis) had some powers of their own but now it seems everyone has little job except to be attacked until their Superhero finally rescues them. Man of Steel had me wondering that when human beings on earth could use their technology and knowledge to create televisions, skyscrapers etc, why do they fall completely helpless a race from Krypton, whose world looks quite barren compared to Earth, invades them?
Apart from this, I've observed that CGI has upscaled the level of calamity to a 11 out of 10 and nobody really bothers about property destruction worth billions of dollars in Superhero movies; in Man of Steel, it seems as though the CGI team invaded the sets of the film as the second half was being shot, drove out Snyder from his chair and took over until the very end. Half the city is blown to pieces with skyscrapers tumbling like a house of cards, and still everything turns fine just like before the moment good wins over evil. Wouldn't it take months or maybe years for redevelopment of a city, but no one pays attention to that!
In spite of these grumblings, I found myself liking Man of Steel more than the other Superhero blockbusters released this year like The Ironman 3. While director Snyder falters during the action sequences (he similarly botched up the nearly unbearable Sucker Punch), he is able to film the flashback sequences well, which form the core emotional content in the film.
While the first half of Man of Steel is entirely taken up in building the plot, going back and forth in time to give much insight on Clark's childhood and boyhood, the second half is taken over by a non-stop chain of action sequences. Something's going on everywhere and you feel quite disoriented because the first half did a commendable job of holding you in.
There is little to write about the second half except 'Noise! Blasts! Destruction! Noise! Noise!!' and the sequences are not as smart as those in Tobey Maguire's Spiderman; Spiderman could use his web to ingeniously trap his enemies, while all Superman can do is 'Pow! Pow! X-Ray Vision!'. And while I do commend Lois' tenacity, I thought her character seemed a little too over-zealous; take the scene where Zod asks the army to hand over Lois and she says 'I'll go' like she's going shopping. I would've wet my pants had I been in such a position.
Still, still, still I do believe this movie works. It's sequels should scale down the scope and scale action and restrict to the destruction of New York or whichever place they're shooting in, instead of 'World destruction'. Maybe Superman should think twice before destroying property, and the sequels could have more sequences that show him saving a specific group of people (like Spiderman saving passengers on a runaway train in the brilliant Spiderman 2). This film has its moments, like the part where Superman finds out his true identity and soars across land and seas in his newly obtained suit. The first half soars in the same way; the second half spirals unsteadily but lands safely in the end. It's worth catching this flight once.
Read the whole review on http://sashankkini.wordpress.com/.