Movie Review: ‘Man Of Steel’

By Kyle Osborne

Whiz!   Bang!!   Pow!!!!

THUD.

“Man Of Steel,” the latest take on that most American of Superheroes , is relentlessly noisy and shrill—spaceships assault buildings that crumble like balsa wood Jenga towers. Presumably, thousands of innocent citizens are killed, but there’s not a moment to spare for humanity or character development in this over-the-top actioner. The resulting aesthetic makes this film much closer to a “Transformers” installment than a “Dark Knight” type of reinvention, which was supposedly the point, with Christopher Nolan in as producer.

Talk about an “Origin Story,” you can’t get more “origin” than the actual birth of a baby. On the dying planet of Krypton, baby Kal-El is born, and his father, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) in an attempt to save his race, puts the pup in a space capsule-ish thingie, and launches him with hardly a moment to spare before the flaming planet implodes, presumably killing everyone.

Well, not everyone, as it turns out. General Zod (creepy as ever Michael Shannon) and his crew were previously frozen in an off-planet location as punishment for treasonous crimes—and when they thaw out, none the worse for the wear, their immediate plan is to travel to earth, where baby Kal-El has grown up and goes by the name Clark Kent. The Kyrpton villains mean to use planet earth as their new home, but they don’t want to share with the natives.

What always made Superman such a relatable character is that, despite his rather exotic roots, he was a good Mid-West boy, with caring parents. The things that made him “human” made Clark someone with whom audiences could empathize. Sadly, this version directed by Zack Snyder only visits this important part of the story in the most cursory of ways. As Clark’s Earth-father, Jonathan Kent, Kevin Costner strikes just the right tone.  The brief glimpse at the father-son relationship is quite touching and normally would afford a way into Superman’s life before he’s Superman. The most recent Spider-Man movie handled this part of its origin story with exuberance and humor. Qualities that are lacking here.

Shame, because Henry Cavill is perfectly cast. The dimple on his chin is so prominent it looks like a pair of butt cheeks—his hair is so slick, you could surf on it. He’s just the perfect embodiment of the character. But Snyder’s determination to keep things so crash-bang loud is at the expense of character development. We only get to see the humanity within Clark Kent in small moments. Amy Adams as Lois Lane does a good job, but it’s mostly a toss-off role, presumably it’ll greatly expand in the sequel (which is already a “go” from Warner Bros.) as Clark settles into his job at the Daily Planet newspaper.

If you want a good Superhero movie, see ‘Iron Man III,’ and if you want to see a great blend of Sci-Fi and action, check out “Star Trek: Into Darkness.”

And if you can’t wait for the next ‘Transformers’ movie? Well, ‘Man Of Steel’ is as close as you can get for now.