REVIEW OF MAN OF STEEL.

The Man of Steel

Starring Henry Cavill as Clarke Kent, Amy Adams from Enchanted fame as Louis Lane, Russell Crow as Jor-El, Kevin Costner as Jonathan Clarke, Michael Shannon as General Zod, Diane Lane as Martha Kent and the beautiful Ayelet Zurer as Lara, Superman’s natural mother.

Henry Cavill

Directed by Zack Snyder, who found fame from many movies, including Watchmen, and co-written by Christopher Nolan of the Batman Dark Knight series and with the backing of Warner Brother Studios whose recent hits have been Harry Potter and Lord of the Rings, this movie promised much.

Rebooting the brand from the Christopher Reeve’s days, Man of Steel delivered on many fronts and lacked in only a few.

To your die hard Superman fanatic and less be honest, there are many, from Nicholas Cage naming his son, Kal’El for example, to my sister, shaking her head at the end of the film saying ‘Naff’. It’s fair to admit certain aspects of the film would disappoint them.

First off, Krypton is no longer an Ice world, but an exotic place of flying dragons and feudal control: A ‘Big Father’ type dictatorship at the other end of the Galaxy.

Amy Adams

The reinvention of Zod’s part in the destruction of Krypton was well thought out and executed. General Zod is a product of social engineering, genetically modified to be a soldier and leader. His motivation reminds me of Oliver Cromwell, from the English civil war year of 1642, who believed what he was doing was right but turned out to be as bad as what came before.

Jor’El saw this and stood up against Zod. This ignited Zod’s wrath to the extent that Jor’El got a 7” inch spike rammed into heart.

Russell Crowe

It was left to Lara, the grieving widow to condemn Zod and his motley crew to the Phantom Zone, where they would languish until Krypton exploded and set them free.

The Codex of the Kryptonian people is locked within the genetic makeup of Kal’El, the first Kryptonian in generations to be naturally born. Held within his cells is the ancestry and genetic signature of every Kryptonian who had ever lived.

Awesome details which really add to the ever growing mystic of Superman.

Kal’El just makes it out alive, with General Zod hot on his heels, having vowed publicly to hunt him down and get the Krypton Codex back.

Kevin Costner

It was 33 years later before we caught up with Clarke leading a wandering lifestyle of menial work and mighty rescues. From school buses to oil rigs, he’s been saving lives since he was a young kid. But alas there was one life he couldn’t save.

Myth and legend says Jonathan Kent died from a heart attack, and Superman purists may have wanted it left that way, but with the reboot comes a new slant on the story.

Jonathan commits suicide to prove a point!

Diane Lane

He is about to be sucked into the eye of a hurricane and signals to his son to hold his ground and let him die, because if he were to save him, everyone would witness the miracle and his life would never be the same again.

Well, nothing was ever the same again once General Zod signalled onto the Fortress of Solitude, which is rebranded as a space ship rather than a crystal structure. The only homage to the myth is that the space ship is docked in the Antarctic wastes.

The Man of Steel

Getting an alien invasion movie thrown into a hero movie for free is cool. A spectator trail of destruction is slammed into the viewers senses.

The gauntlet is thrown down by General Zod, ‘Give me Kal’El or else’. It soon became apparent that the rebirth of Krypton will be at the expense of the people of Earth.

This is where the romance between Clarke and Louis Lane develops. Superbly done I thought. It was third time luck for Amy Adams to win the Louis Lane role. I guess it’s become a much coveted role in Hollywood, if not for the only reason of getting to feel Henry Cavill’s bulging biceps.

Ayelet Zurer 

The invasion is awesome and explosive. The fighting scenes are smartly shot with super-fast speed and brute force. With skyscrapers collapsing left right and centre, midtown Metropolis is left in dust and rubble.

The unlikely team of the ghost of Jor’El, Louis Lane and the American army, join force with Superman to win the day.

Michael Shannon

With General Zod defeated and held in a head-lock by Superman, he commits a suicidal gesture of burning a path of fire from his eyes towards a cowering family trapped in the corner. Superman is left with no other choice but to snap Zod’s neck to end the impending murders.

With a super cry of anguish at having to kill one to save billions, Louis Lane is there to embrace him in a motherly display of love and affection.

‘This man is not our enemy’ says the military general.

‘Thank you General’ answers Superman before zooming off into the night sky faster than a speeding bullet.

Laurence Fishburne 

Now Louis Lane knows who Clarke Kent really is, unlike the Christopher Reeve’s years of wilful ignorance. This opens up a wealth of creative streams to flow along in the subsequent movies which will come from this franchise. Hollywood has always been good to Superman and the Man of Steel will ensure the legend continues.

The Man of Steel delivers on the hype.

Henry Caville owned the suit. (Did you know he was the finalist with Daniel Craig for the James Bond role?) Amy Adam is perfect as Louis Lane, Superman’s confidant and lover. His mother, Diana Lane as Martha Kent is awesome.

Russell Crowe as Jor’El is awesome. Perry White, expertly played by Laurence Fishburne is awesome too and we have yet to make the acquaintance of Lex Luthor, who I would bet on making his appearance in Man of Steel 2.

Man of Steel is awesome and I recommend anyone to go see it…..

The Man of Steel

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