MOVIE: Man of Steel

Man of Steel: entertaining with a different perspective on a comic book character.  The director is Zack Snyder and the producer is Christopher Nolan.  Together they bring creativity to an old story.  The script is credited to David Goyer of Blade fame.  The combination of Snyder, Nolan and Goyer makes for a complexity not seen in prior Superman films although, at 148 minutes, the story runs a little long.  This is not a remake or a typical superhero production.  Presumably, they decided to send a message by not including the word “superman” is in the title of the movie.  Instead, there is a Dark Knight attitude.  The movie opens with Superman’s Krypton parents.  There is time spent in explaining the consequences of ignoring science and global warming (not really, but there is a political tone to this film).   Russell Crow plays Jor-El, Superman’s biological father.  Kevin Costner plays the Earth father with Diane Lane as Ma Kent.  This is the best Costner performance in years.  Costner and Lane are part of an excellent cast, which also includes Michael Shannon (from last week’s Iceman review) as the master race villain Krypton General Zod.  Henry Cavill is a very credible Superman and in this 21^st century movie, Amy Adams as Lois Lane is given more to do than just being a damsel in distress.  The part of the movie I enjoyed most was Superman as a young kid knowing that he’s an outsider and learning to adapt to his environment.  There is a dialogue between young Clark Kent and his father, which would not have occurred in a pre-21^st century version, about whether young children should have been left to die rather than Clark revealing that he is not an ordinary kid: Clark asks his father, “What was I supposed to do, let them die?”  The father responds, “Maybe”.  The cast also includes Laurence Fishburne as Perry White and Ayelet Zurer as Superman’s biological mother.  The  underlying theme of the movie is whether humankind could really deal with a person from another world – after all, look at our “success” in interacting with each other.  Most of you know the Superman storyline and I’m not going to repeat it.  I will note that  what I liked least about this film was the traditional superhero/villain fight scene between General Zod and Superman; it went on for too long.  How many times do you need to see one of them throwing the other through a building and everything collapsing like a big erector set?  Based upon what had preceded the extended fight scene, I found the ending a disappointment.  Nevertheless, there is a lot to like and entertained you will be.