Super? or Superboring?

Rating: 5/10 (7 July 2013)

This is one of those movies that's kind of hard to review. One of the main themes seems to be identity crisis issues. In Man of Steel, director Zack Snyder conveys human characteristics of Superman by showing us flashbacks (sort of like I am Legend) of young Clark having identity crisis issues when he is bullied (which is relatable to today's modern society), however, the dialogue between young Clark Kent and his parents (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) are a little sappy and predictable. Not only when the actors are talking are predictable but Superman who is portrayed by Henry Cavill (even though he certainly does look the part of the comic book hero and his emotional acting does create a sense of compassion), there was not a single humorous, lighthearted scene that once was the heart of the original Superman stories and films. What is in place though is the constant high paced action sequences (one right after the other). This also made the character development rather absent and the romance between Superman and Lois (Amy Adams) seem cookie cutter compared to Reeve and Kidder in the original 70's Superman. We finally get to see Henry Cavill dressed up as Clark Kent at the very end of the film with Lois smiling and knowing who he really is. Maybe Man of Steel was produced so that it is setup for the sequels just to make money? Whatever the reason for the lack of character development was, the flashbacks of young Clark Kent with his father and the emotional scene of his father's death (although a little absurd) did indeed made us care. The enormity of the special effects towards the end did live up to it's hype as well, but the climatic battle between Superman and Zod (Michael Shannon) that ended with Zod's death is not only tiresome but seems like the filmmakers ran out of ideas of how to end Superman's villain. Zod's quick death by Superman seems too sudden considering the enormous battle that just seemed to drag on. Also, the soundtrack composed by Hans Zimmer (even though it's produced for emotional pace), it doesn't have that excitement that we are all so familiar with from previous Superman composer John Williams.