The tone is too dark, but the actions scenes are epic

Rating: Null/10 (11 January 2014)

The thing about this movie is that at its heart it doesn't feel like a Superman movie. Man of Steel has often been accused of trying to emulate The Dark Knight when it doesn't need to, and yeah, there's some truth to that. The mood and the tone are both a lot grittier and more somber, which gives strength to the accusations. And I cannot lie and say that I wouldn't have preferred a more upbeat reboot to the Superman franchise, although that's just my personal preference. For me Batman is the gritty, dark superhero and Superman is the boyscout. When I want to see a nice, positive superhero story I go to Superman and vice versa.
However, many have voiced a reasonable argument that trying to force a character into such a tight mold does them no justice and that we should allow this variety into our beloved superheros. I cannot argue about that, because it's true. The tone of this film is not one I prefer, but it's something I can accept and that does work if you let it.
Furthermore, Henry Cavill is a great Superman. He has the correct build for the role, which is important when you have to spend a significant amount of your screen time in skintight latex. He also has the looks and the quiet confidence needed to make a believable Superman. I wouldn't mind him reprising his role in future installations at all.
I also quite like Russell Crowe as Jor-El, but the rest of the characters felt a bit flat to me. Amy Adams as Lois Lane was an especially weird addition to the film, because her character did nothing of importance. Her character could have been cut out of the film entirely and nothing would have changed. She was there just because it was a Superman film and of course a Superman film needs to have Lois Lane in it. This was a terrible decision and quite honestly lowered the film's quality.
So we have Lois Lane that does nothing, but we also have Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) that does too much, repeating the same speech over and over. Yes, we get it, Clark has a responsibility, he has a destiny to fulfill. We heard you the first time.
Shaky cam is also a big problem. Is it really too much to ask for the camera not to move when two characters are sitting completely still, just having a conversation? It's distracting to constantly be aware of the movement of the camera. Enough, film makers. Enough. It's a neat little gimmick that has its places, but... enough.
Still, I cannot claim that I didn't enjoy large parts of this film. The film as a whole looks great, despite shaky cam. The colours are stark and beautiful, the angles and cinematography are great and the action scenes have real weight behind them. If you wandered in just looking for a summer blockbuster with big, epic action scenes, you got your money's worth.
In the end I'm torn about this film. I didn't like some of the characters at all, I felt that the tone was off and that this would have worked better with a different storyline, but I also quite liked the main lead, the action scenes and some of the dialogues. So I guess I'd call this average. If you're open to seeing a new kind of Superman, you might like this very much. If you're a Superman purist, I'd stay away from this one.