Don't believe the anti-hype! (minor spoilers)

Rating: 10/10 (16 June 2013)

Man of Steel is a movie worth seeing and enjoying, despite what critics and naysayers would have you believe. It is simultaneously the Superman movie true fans have always wanted, and it is a fun popcorn flick for folks who just want to be entertained for a couple of hours. All the critics, traditionalists, and red underwear enthusiasts had their moment of negativity with early screenings. In short, they wanted the movie to fail because it isn't a carbon copy of Richard Donner's 35 year-old masterpiece. Not being a copy is exactly why this film succeeds where Superman Returns failed. That film was fun for nostalgia's sake, but did nothing to bring Superman into the modern age and make him relevant again. In fact, it left fans and newcomers alike with too many questions to reasonably be fleshed out in future installments, which we knew would never come. Man of Steel deliberately and rightfully avoids any attachment to previous incarnations to avoid the same confusion. Some will be disappointed by the absence of John Williams' iconic theme, but will soon find themselves not even looking for it as they become engrossed in something they've never seen before. From the opening moments on the planet Krypton it is clear that nothing is recycled or reused for this fresh look at a 75 year-old story. To be sure, this is not your father's, or your grandfather's, Superman. As with any story worth telling, all the essential elements are there. There is the journey; from distant Krypton to Earth, from boy to man, from man to hero. There is conflict. There is the conflict within Kal-El/Clark as he struggles with his alien heritage versus his human upbringing as well as the conflict brought by Zod when he threatens Clark's adopted home. There is romance that is neither forced nor heavy-handed. Gone is Lois Lane's schoolgirl crush from previous movies. Her love for Clark, while not overstated, is rooted in the fact that she knows and understands the man that he is. This understanding has the added effect of highlighting Lois as the world-class, Pulitzer Prize winning journalist that we've always been told that she is. There is plenty of action. One needs only to watch the movie's trailers to know there is no shortage of action. There is also humor, but not in heavy doses. The comedic relief is well- placed and never resorts to making light of an otherwise serious story. There are also a few well-placed Easter eggs that will certainly please eagle-eyed fans. However, they aren't shoved down your throat in a way that alienates the uninitiated or distracts the viewer from the story that's in progress on-screen. They also provide us with the slightest hint that DC Comics has much more to offer within the universe this movie has created. Man of Steel is definitely worth seeing, enjoying and embracing. It has all the action and adventure one expects from a superhero movie. It brings a classic character into the modern world in a way that makes him relevant again, and lays the groundwork for a much larger universe to be shared with other DC Comics heroes.