Worth seeing

Rating: 7/10 (19 June 2013)

I've been fascinated by Superman since I was a small child, so it's been 63 years since I first watched George Reeves portray the man of steel on television back in the 1950s. Reeves was very fatherly, a very wise, dependable superhero; even as Clark Kent, he seemed very dependable.
Christopher Reeve is still my favorite Superman, but Henry Cavill looks like a Greek god on screen. He has a faraway look in his eye as if he truly was not-of-this-earth, but he seems essentially gentle, kind and, above all, helpful. When this Superman has to face people who possess all of his powers, he acts, quite realistically, I thought, shocked and stunned. Many scenes strongly sense that this Superman could be defeated by creatures who possess his super powers.
Having seen "Watchman" and "300," I knew that Zach Snyder's interpretation of the Superman story was going to be very realistic, edgy, dark. The violence in this movie is like watching real violence, man-made or natural; since it is created by creatures who are more-than-man, it seems like a little of both.
Amy Adams just can't seem to go wrong. Even in a very uneven story like "Trouble with the Curve," she adds perky, happy, spirited feminine animation; here, too, she is more alive than any other character. Her Lois Lane comes across as a vivacious rainbow alongside the very laid-back, mellow, gentlemanly Superman that Cavill presents.
In many scenes, I caught myself wondering whether Cavill had truly studied Christopher Reeve. Under his clothing, Cavill displays much more of a massive body builder physique, layer upon layer of hard, thick, tough muscle. He looks more like Hercules with his shirt off.
I was very impressed with Russell Crowe as Jor-el, Superman's Kryptonian father; and the technical creation of Kryptonian civilization, spacecraft and so forth is fresh, at times scary. The destruction is frightening at times -connoting in my mind images of Sandyhook, and other sudden, brutal events the world has suffered or witnessed this past year.
Laurence Fishburne's Perry White did not seem special to me. He spoke his lines; he is an African American. I sensed no special or unique angle on his dramatization of the character. I still cherish my salient childhood image of the actor with the white hair and the decisive manner who performed along with George Reeves back in the 50s.
Despite the cutting back and forth across time, showing Superman as a small child, then as an adult, I was not the least bit confused.
I thought that Kevin Costner and Diane Lane held up creditably as Jonathan and Martha Kent.
Michael Shannon reveals far more of General Zod's personality, motivation, and mind set. He is on screen and speaking to us in a very direct manner in far more scenes, and we have a chance to see him as more of a multi-faceted character. In previous cinematic interpretations, actors portraying Zod came across very one-dimensionally, very flat: mean, cruel, heartless and ruthless. Shannon suggests that he had hoped that Superman would help him in his mission here on earth.
The movie cleverly leaves itself open for a possible sequel, and I sincerely hope that this crew gets that chance. I will be eager to see how they produce a sequel, knowing what worked and what could work better the second time.
Several characters need to be more finely and deeply tuned. Cavill's Superman needs to be more assertive next time. Amy Adams has set the bar perfectly for Lois Lane: sure of herself, well-grounded, very capable, dignified, proud and assertive.
"Man of Steel" is a great action thriller, an excellent epic, a could-be-great-saga with great writing. In one scene where Clark Kent is a child and saves lives, he and his adoptive father, Jonathan Kent, have a heart-to-heart discussion about Jonathan's strong suggestion that he keep his super powers strictly secret. The boy asks plaintively whether he should have simply allowed people to die, and his dad replies, "Maybe." I thought that line fell totally flat.
Not only was there no Jimmy Olson, Mike Kelly obviously portrayed some important Daily Planet employee who was never identified, and he never really did much other than look important.
There is much to build on in a sequel or prequel or both. Strengths to augment and weaknesses to renovate. I'm hopeful that Zach Snyder will receive the opportunity to create a follow up opus, and that he will use and listen to test audiences galore.
I'd like to see the characters of Superman, Lois, Perry White and others deepened, sharpened, and more clearly defined.
I want more humor and more heart in the next one. The many obligatory scenes, characters, conflicts and themes from previous ventures were addressed in this film. The sequel to "Man of Steel" needs to seek to accomplish what J.J. Abrams has done recently for "Star Trek," i.e. use the talented newcomers to create a great movie that can stand alone as a work of art.