Man of Steel ☆☆☆☆

A self-professed Marvel girl I have only really loved one of DC’s outputs of late, which was Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy. This was because it was dark, removed any hint of silly or goofiness, but really explored the depth and breadth of a character and his world. Which is why I wanted to see Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel so badly, firstly Christopher Nolan co-wrote and secondly it looked to be so much more serious and dark.

I am openly admitting that Henry Cavill’s pectorals had a LOT to do with me wanting to see it, but also I adore Amy Adams and wanted to see her take on Lois Lane and think that Michael Shannon is one of the best actors in his generation. Shannon plays Zod, a Kryptonion who is set on creating a new Krypton on Earth by destroying the humans and beginning the Krypton race once more using their artificial baby growing pods. The Empire reviewer was right when she likened those pods to the Matrix, but then I guess both the Matrix and Kryptonions were powers that had lost their, for lack of a better word, ‘humanity’.

What I really enjoyed about this film was that it explained so much about the world of Kal-El: exactly why he was special enough to be sent to Earth, why Zod had this crazy and unrelenting pursuit of the Earth’s destruction, how the ‘Ice Fortress’ came to be and how his father, Jor-El, could communicate with his son despite being dead. I am positive that previous Superman outings have also explained this but I am not well-versed in this area. I simply appreciated the tale being told in a clear way that didn’t feel like a lecture on the lore of Superman and Krypton.

A lot of reviews have commented on the lack of humour in this film and fine, there is no belly laugh moment, no bad guy being swung around like a rag doll by a green giant. But that wasn’t what this film or this story required. I did laugh at some points and not when I wasn’t supposed to – there is some really good dry humour in this movie. I especially enjoyed seeing the man who was never supposed to lose his temper absolutely go nuts when his mother was threatened – it proved so much about Clark Kent and the importance of family.

As for casting, despite being from Jersey (British Isles Jersey not the short term for NJ) they genuinely could not have found better than Henry Cavill. He looked so much like the comic in build, that poor boy must have worked ridiculously hard and eaten hardly anything fun to get to that odd, triangular shape. He is also a pretty good actor and his chemistry with Amy Adams worked well. That is probably not hard on Adams’ part as she frequently admits that she found any excuse to touch his chest.

I am still unsure what I made of Adams’ Lois Lane. Yes she had feisty reporter down to a T but…I don’t know, maybe its the years of seeing her as a brunette that I am still swayed toward that image. Acting wise and chemistry wise, just brilliant. And as this is the only Superman film I would consider buying perhaps her version will become my ultimate Lois.

Russell Crowe’s Jor-El was pretty damn good. He got to be the most action-y I’ve seen for a while, his fights with Zod were really entertaining and quite brutal. I also really liked seeing Krypton and liked its grand setting and clothing. It provided a modern explanation for Superman’s suit, removing the underwear on the outside (which was a reflection of 1950s strong men) and making the whole suit armour with a fancy cape, as was the fashion on Kyrpton.

Laurence Fishburne as Perry White was brilliant because I wasn’t expecting it, plus even more links to the Matrix. I think the casting of Samuel L Jackson as Nick Fury has sparked a change in comic to film production, realising that just because at the time the comics were written people of a different colour or culture to Caucasian were not in these pivotal roles does not mean the man or woman on the screen cannot be. Its great that it actually comes down to talent, which I hope will spread like a disease among new comic adaptations.

Fishburne’s casting was just one of the many geeky moments of delight I had watching this film. Fans of Dollhouse would recognise Boyd as General Swanwick, Gaeta from Battlestar Galactica/Dr Hamilton from Smallville gets a small role, and Tahmoh Penikett from both Dollhouse and Battlestar Galactica also appears. I internally squealed lots.

What I have seen amid the moans of the lack of comedy are complaints that the final fight meant the destruction of a lot of Metropolis. Yes, a lot of buildings are destroyed and you do wonder at the actual death toll, but to me it was a visual representation of just how strong these Kryptonions are, to not leave you under any kind of impression that the humans might win in a fight. We are puny, the Kryptonions are gods.

I genuinely enjoyed this movie. Zack Snyder brought his visually arresting style and talent for glorious action while Nolan and the other writers made sure the story was solid and engaging. The special effects were incredible and I seriously urge people to see this on the big screen, its worth it.