When Zack Snyder signed on to direct the latest reboot of the Superman franchise, there were more than a few sharp intakes of breath. Despite the fact that he arguably did justice to the Watchmen graphic novel adaptation, Snyder is someone that has always needed to be reined in just that little bit.
Sucker Punch, his last feature, was essentially a huge mess. Without clear direction, or indeed the assistance of a pretty good editor, Sucker Punch just literally got away with Snyder, the end product resembling a computer game more than an actual feature.
However, his initial work had been essentially been good viewing; his Dawn of the Dead remake was nothing if not fun with one of the greatest opening credit sequences in the history of cinema and 300, despite its lack of depth, was enjoyable and stylised viewing.
Thankfully, Christopher Nolan signed on as producer for the project, his input must have been priceless but everyone sensed that the Batman director had been sent in by Warner to keep an eye on Snyder after his last box office fail.
Even though Superman has been one of the most popular heroes from the DC Universe, recent adaptations of the comic have bordered on the comical. Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman and Superman Returns, although both hugely enjoyable, seemed to never really take Clark and Superman too seriously.
Man of Steel attempts to address some of the problems of bringing Superman to the big screen and making him entirely believable. Let’s face it, Batman and the universe he has created is probably the most credible of the superheroes, while the notion that a superhero could fly and burn holes through buildings is slightly less believable.
The film is, of course, another origin story but in this case that is not necessarily a bad thing. With a better view of why Clark had been sent away from his home planet and what motivation his parents had for parting with their son, we can also the issues that developed which provide the motivation of Zod.
Clark’s life is told in flashback sequences where we really begin to feel the struggle he underwent to fit in and be a normal human being. The main question that arises is why would Clark would protect a race that have clearly rejected him from day one.
Henry Cavill, although no Christopher Reeve, is a fantastic Superman, suave, sultry and very sophisticated. It is very difficult to ignore how extremely good-looking Cavill actually is, but this only serves to the film’s benefit; Superman has to look that well.
Michael Shannon is, to no-ones surprise, the standout performance from Man of Steel. Restrained, logical while towing the line of being entirely insane, no other actor on the planet could have played Zod better. Amy Adams, on the other hand, is lost in the project, underused for Lois Lane and misused in the scenes in which she is included.
Overall, the action sequences are extremely repetitive, the CGI in some places is awful and the film as a whole is far too long with a running time of just over two hours.
However, Snyder doesn’t drop the ball too much at any stage, there is a clear vision and he sticks to it. Perhaps not all we were hoping for, but worthwhile, Man of Steel is definitely worth checking out.
