MAN OF STEEL - MOVIE REVIEW

 

Man of Steel is a comic book adaptation of the famous "Superman" superhero starring Henry Carvil as Superman {although referenced as Kal-El in this film}, Amy Adams as Lois Lane, Russell Crowe, Diane Lane, Kevin Costner and Michael Shannon. For those who may not have seen any of the Superman films { I myself have only seen the very first film with Christopher Reeve} this is essentially the origin story of Superman. The film opens on the planet Krypton, a planet on the brink of destruction after running out of its natural resources the planet is doomed. Scientist Jor-El and his wife Lara have conceived Krypton's first natural baby in years and in order to save their son from natural disaster, they place him in a spacecraft with specific co-ordinates to send him to Earth, whilst infusing his cells with a genetic codex, that will preserve the Krypton race. However, Jor-El stole the codex from Krypton's evil leader General Zod and upon finding out of the theft and indeed the new-born's journey to Earth, Zod murders Jor-El. Zod and his followers are soon captured by the planets council and in order to suffer for their actions, are transported to The Phantom Zone, a sort of Black Hole out of reach of Krypton, however soon after the demise of Krypton, Zod and his followers escape and set out to find the baby with the future of Krypton in his hands {or cells}. Upon his descent onto planet earth, Kal -El is found on a farm in Kansas by middle aged couple Jonathon & Martha Kent, and raise the child as their own, giving him the name Clark. From a young age, the Kents are aware that their son isn't a normal child and although they don't know his exact whereabouts, they must protect his true identity from the rest of the world. Clark's struggle throughout his early life is seen through various flashbacks depicting various amounts of bullying from his fellow school children, however he never fights back as he knows how strong he really is and following advice from his father, decides to only use his powers for the greater good. Once General Zod escapes from the Phantom Zone however, that's when the film really kicks into gear, and this is where I stop revealing anymore of the films plot as I don't want to give anymore away. I will say though, that I thoroughly enjoyed this film!

 

Henry Cavil's portrayal of Superman was very interesting and very well acted. As many Superman fans will agree, the late great Christopher Reeve was a brilliant Superman and whilst many think nobody could come close to being as good as he was, Cavil in my opinion, is a very worthy Superman. I particularly enjoyed Russell Crowe's brilliant performance as Jor-El his dialogue with General Zod was brilliant and exciting to watch. I also liked Clark Kents' parents too {Costner & Lane} there was very good chemistry between them and Cavil especially from his mother. General Zod was played by Michael Shannon and whilst I thought he was a good villain and played a decent role, I felt anyone could have played his role and the film would be no different, he was an okay villain though don't get me wrong.

 

The special effects and CGI in Man of Steel are fantastic, and seeing this film in 3D is well worth it in my opinion, a lot of very elaborate action scenes and good versus evil clashes that were hard not to enjoy. The musical score in the film was well done too, setting the tone for every scene whether sombre or action orientated.

 

The only very slight drawbacks for this film to me, were that it maybe could have been a half an hour shorter, but that's just my view. The film is very well acted in most parts, a solid if not cheesy villain, good action and CGI usage, and solid performances specifically from Crowe, Cavil and Costner as well as Amy Adams who was a good Lois Lane and her chemistry with Cavil looked very genuine.

 

Would I recommend this film? Definitely! Some critics have panned the film some saying it was too bland and nothing special, and while I don't think its the best superhero film I've ever seen, it is a very solid film and very entertaining.

 

My Rating 9/10

 

Positives - Great action scenes, Cavil, Costner, Crowe, Adams all very good, good backstory for first time Superman viewers, some good humour in some scenes.

 

Negatives - Not a strong enough and memorable villain, sometimes too much CGI.

 

Id also like to add that Christopher Nolan Directed this film {He also played a huge role in the Dark Knight Trilogy} and I know some critics of those films weren't happy that not enough focus was on Batman and too much was about Bruce Wayne, I feel those same people may complain about this film too as we don't see that much of Superman until the last 30 minutes or so to be honest. However, this is the first entry in the Superman reboot so this is establishing the origin of the character.

 

Thanks a lot for reading this review guys it means a lot to me that you support my reviews! If you like this review please comment below let me know what you thought of the film, also What was your view on General Zod? Was he a good enough villain for you? Do you think Henry Cavil is a good Superman? Let me know anything you want about this film!

 

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Take care guys and sorry it was late uploading I didn't get chance to see the film until today so my apologies :}