Man of Steel- 5 Category Review

Rating: Null/10 (15 June 2013)

It is my firm belief that the overall quality of a film can be determined by its effectiveness in 5 categories: Screenplay/Plot, Directing, Acting, Cinematography/Visual/Sound Effects, and Score/Soundtrack. Too often do we ignore the greatness a film has in one aspect because of the poorness it may have in another.
I try to be as vague as I can with my reviews, to avoid spoilers of any kind, while still being informative as to what I found good and poor within a film. Here's my take on Man of Steel.
Screenplay/Plot 7/10 It was clear from the get-go whose movie this was, this is not a Christopher Nolan film and clearly a Zack Snyder film. Action, Action, Action. The action is almost mind-numbing at points but yet it was well done and very entertaining. Nothing about the script was thought provoking or surprising, but its fluidity was superb and still a great upbringing film for the Superman. My favorite aspect of the screenplay was how General Zod was handled. You could almost sympathize with him, or at least understand why he was doing what he was doing. That's a testament to reality in a sense because pure evil does not virtually exist, if you researched some of the seemingly most sinister people in the world they almost all have relatively logical reasons to why they were doing what they were doing, I loved it.
Directing 6/10 Like I said, this a Zack Snyder film. I have yet to be blown away by this guy's directing chops, yet I have yet to be completely disappointing. There are some great shots in this film, like when Superman first appears in his suit, and some of the ending action sequences. Nothing was really special about it though. Often, because of the angles used, it was hard to see exactly what was happening. Zack also made a habit out of doing multiple zoom in shots on one thing, I found that annoying, but for the most part he did a good job.
Acting 6/10 The acting was solid. Everyone was cast well and did good for what they were given. Amy Adams often felt wooden, but I think that was more a testament to her script rather than her ability because she's usually marvelous. Same with Russell Crowe, he felt wooden and lifeless rather than strong and endearing. The stand out here was clearly Michael Shannon. He was bloody fantastic and made the movie better on his own.
Cinematography/Visual Effects/ Sound Effects 9/10 This film was stunning. It was absolutely beautiful and the effects were amazing. Judging from the budget, this really shouldn't surprise people.
Score/Soundtrack 8/10 Great score that just had Superman written all over it. Really powerful and uplifting stuff, though the main theme was slightly overused.
Overall, don't go into this film expecting vintage Nolan because you are not going to get it. Don't go into this assuming it will be just as good if not better than the Dark Knight trilogy. It just isn't, it has potential to get there considering how much better the 2nd and 3rd film of The Dark Knight trilogy was compared to the first. Go into this film expecting a solidly entertaining Superman action fest and you'll get your money's worth, regardless of what the critics may say, it was still a great movie.