Man Of Steel

Yet another Superhero flick smashed into theaters last week and to no surprise at all Superman gets his second reboot in seven years. Director Zack Snyder (300), using the same gritty style that made the Dark Knight trilogy so great, gives us our third (don't forget about The Green Lantern) DC hero in what appears to be the upstart of a future Justice League movie, take that Marvel!

The story of this Man Of Steel begins with the actual birth of Superman and sets the foundation of Krypton's demise and Clark Kent's arrival to Smallville, Kansas. Through this prologue we are introduced to Kent's father Jor-El (Russel Crowe) and the villainous General Zod (Michael Shannon) both of whom help shape the hero we all know and... love? as well as vividly show the destruction of his home planet. Throughout the film we see Clark drifting from job to job as he works to hide his powers from the world as well as flashbacks to his coming-of-age with his father (Kevin Costner) and mother (Diane Lane). Eventually the love interest Lois Lane (Amy Adams) finds her way to the screen as she is researching a news story about an anomaly found in the arctic. After some life saving and some conversations filled with sexual tension, General Zod arrives at Earth looking to repopulate the planet with Kryptonians through the apocalypse of man kind. Who will stop him?? It's a mystery...

All in all the film was rather dull, the special effects were nothing special and the story itself is one we have all heard. Michael Shannon was a very good casting choice as his talents are so underrated, I expect big things from him in the future the other actors however were a bit too corny, if they are looking to give Superman a new image they need to cut his phony integrity and give him an edge. One new theme used in the film is the ploy of making Superman a Christ-like hero, which is all well and good but what audiences today seem to be drawn to is a character with more of a moral conflict and the all powerful do-gooder isn't someone that we can connect with and doesn't allow for a plot that puts you on the edge of your seat.

I give Man of Steel a 4 out of 10. Superman is one of the oldest superheros and should be put in the hall of fame for children of the future to marvel at (pun intended of course).