Superman flies again

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2013)

I'm a real fan of superhero films, so I loved "Superman" (1978) and "Superman II" (1980) and tolerated "Superman III" (1983) and "Superman IV" (1987). After an interval of 19 years, it was good to have him back and I enjoyed "Superman Returns" (2006). Roll on another seven years and what's that? Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's "Man Of Steel" which could be known as "Superman 6" or "Superman Reboot 2". I was fortunate enough to see the movie at its European premiere at the Empire cinema in London's Leicester Square where the director and all the stars appeared and the audience included television personality Jonathan Ross.
After two Americans in the titular role, this time a Brit dons the cape and Henry Cavill does a splendid job, having really buffed up for the part. His costume has been given a new, darker appearance, befitting these austere times, and we are even told that the 'S' on his chest is really the symbol for hope on his home planet of Krypton and the appellation Superman is mentioned only once n this effort to strike in new directions for such an iconic figure. Another (inevitable) difference from the earlier films is that now we have a version in 3D, although I did not feel that the extra dimension added that much. A third difference is that the movie takes itself very seriously and there is none of the humour in the earlier Superman films or (much more recently) the "Iron Man" franchise.
The new version comes with some heavyweight talent behind the camera: the director is Zack Snyder ("300" & "Watchmen") and co-producer and co-writer is Christopher Nolan (three Batman movies). These two have ensured that what we have here is less a traditional super-hero movie and more a piece of science fiction with significant action on Krypton or involving characters from this planet. Plotwise it's a combination of the first two Superman movies - although it is not a straight-line narrative - but stylistically this is typical Snyder with a crashing opening, stunning visuals and a relentless pace that barely pauses for breath. Better pacing would have helped and some 15-20 minutes should have been cut from the last third of the film (just too many buildings being smashed up in the final fight between Superman and General Zod), but the work is immensely entertaining and great fun.
In front of camera, there is a galaxy of stars: Michael Shannon is suitably chilling as the mighty Zod; Russell Crowe is around as the hero's father more than you might expect, thanks to the wonders of sci-fi; Clark Kent's earth parents are played by Kevin Costner and Diane Lane; and Laurence Fishburne is the editor of the "Daily Planet" with Amy Adams as his star reporter. Heck, for "The West Wing" fans like me, there's even Richard Schiff. German newcomer Antje Traue is a beautiful, if cruel, side-kick to Zod. And, once again, Hans Zimmer provides an effective soundtrack.