Man Of Steel Review

I am happy to say that Man of Steel is the first great movie of the summer, and is going to be pretty tough to beat in the movie of the year category, as far as I'm concerned.

Every movie, every comic, every cartoon, every book, every interpretation of the character is its own version, and that's part of what I love about comic characters.  Every artist gets to bring his own version of the character, his own spin on the archetype, and offer it to everyone else.  Every person who creates a Superman story gets to say "This is what Superman means to me."  And I think that's great.

But I think Man of Steel is the closest thing yet to the Superman that I've always wanted.

One of the things I loved about the movie is that it is not a Clark Kent story, at least not in the way that most think about Clark Kent.  It's not the bumbling-but-somehow-charming Kent who is secretly a superhero.

It's a Kal-El story, and I don't think that's been seen yet.  It's about Kal-El's home, about Krypton.  It's about his origins.  It's about the legacy of his two fathers.  It's about a being, still malleable, trying to find who he is.  I think that's where some of the criticism is coming from when people say that Henry Cavill in Man of Steel is flat or dull.  I think it's because he hasn't become who we all know he will become yet.  He's still making that choice, coming to those conclusions, and I think that is the heart of the movie.

Up until this point, at least on screen, I think Superman has been treated as a paragon.  And yes, he is a paragon.  But Man of Steel is the first movie that shows just how incredibly hard it is to do the right thing, paragon or not.  It's not a simple "Aw shucks, stay in school and don't do drugs" kind of Superman.  This is a Clark Kent that is actively dealing with what it means to do the right thing, and you can see the struggle for self-control throughout the movie.

I've seen and heard a lot of criticism for Kal-El's choices at the end of the movie, specifically his choice to kill Zod.  People are saying that that is not what Superman would really do.  And you know what?  They're right.  That's the point that those same people are missing.  He isn't "Superman" as everyone knows him.  Not yet.  He is still in the process of becoming that paragon, and Man of Steel is actually attempting to show how he got there, how he became that symbol of doing the right thing.  In that way, I think his choice to kill Zod is perfectly in line with what we know Superman to be, because in that moment, the audience sees what it costs to do the right thing, or to do the wrong thing.  His decision carries a price.  And I'm willing to bet that in the universe of Man of Steel, that moment when Kal-El chooses to kill Zod will carry lasting impact for the character from now on.  He will not walk away from that the same.  It will be a defining moment.

I love the fact that this movie is able to convey the other-ness of Kal-El.  I like that they acknowledge that he is not just one of us with some cool powers.  He is the first contact.  He is a god-like being that we look up to, and even fear.  Man of Steel does a good job with conveying the awe connected with the character, and they did an excellent job of treating that aspect with the respect it deserves.  

The entire cast was great.  Laurence Fishburne was a surprisingly great Perry White.  I think Amy Adams was a perfect choice for Lois Lane.  The minute I heard that Russell Crowe was going to be Jor-El I was sold.  And two of the supporting female rolls, Antje Traue as Faora and Ayelet Zurer as Lara, were a pleasure to watch.  Faora actually made quite a formidable opponent and was one of my favorite characters in the movie.  And Lara's role was heartbreakingly beautiful.

But man, oh man, Michael Shannon.  His turn as Zod is astounding and impressive.  He brought so much to that role I was blown away.

And I think one of the biggest ways Man of Steel succeeds, and one of the main reasons it stands out in this summer line-up, is this:  It doesn't try to be clever.  It doesn't try to twist back on itself.  It doesn't try to outsmart or outwit the audience.  It just tells a good story.  That's it.  It is refreshing and beautiful in it's simplicity.  And I for once am grateful that the filmmakers realize that they don't have to try to pull one over on me for me to like their movie.  They told the story that needed to be told, and the story that everyone (apparently), including myself, have always wanted to see.