Film review - Man of Steel

From Zack Snyder (300, Watchmen), Man of Steel tells the same story of Superman that we are used to; a young alien is sent from the dying planet of Krypton to Earth where the hero in him must emerge if he is to save the world from annihilation and become the symbol of hope for all mankind.

Right from the opening moments, Man of Steel sets itself apart from any Superman film before it. Hans Zimmer’s thundering score introduces us to Krypton, a planet on the brink of destruction. Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is the leading scientist of the Kryptonian empire and his nemesis is General Zod, the military leader of the same.

Jor-El and his wife have the planet’s first natural birth in centuries, and with Krypton tearing itself to pieces beneath their feet as a result of wastage of natural resources, the two men fight over Jor-El’s  right to send his boy Kal-El (Henry Cavill) to Earth (like Moses down the river) and escape Krypton’s explosive fate. By doing so, he hopes to secure the future of the Kryptonian bloodline.  

Fast forward a few decades, and we are in at home in familiar territory: Clark Kent, raised by a couple of salt-of-the-earth types in Smallville, Kansas is however, an itinerant worker moving from town to town, not quite sure of who he is or where he belongs. This then is when Zod comes to Earth, intent on finding the last son of Krypton.

The heart of the story finds Kal-El/Clark torn between his two dads: the man who raised him, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) and his biological father, Jor-El. The latter sees his son’s potential to be a beacon of hope for the human race. The former, however, recognises the social terror and fear that would come with his only child revealing himself to the world as an alien. Both make the audience look outwardly at our own world and ask the same questions, while the film fuses both ideas to create the Superman we know.

With Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight series) as producer, and given Snyder’s previous films, it comes as no surprise that Man of Steel has a dark and powerful edge to it—and this is where the film falls down. The set pieces are massive, inventive and spectacular, and easily trounce the best The Avengers had to offer (Smallville and Metropolis get hammered) However, like all CGI-driven films with high levels of destruction, it becomes wearisome and almost unbearable.

Snyder just doesn’t quite know when to quit, or how to vary the violence. There are some truly titanic clashes here between super-beings, but the enjoyment starts to numb when it’s stretched this far. Just when you think it’s all over … it isn’t. The last hour will see many people struggling for enjoyment due to the large-scale soulless destruction.

There are some big plus points though. This latest Superman shares many of the Christ-like characteristics of most every Man of Steel: he is sent to Earth as an infant to save mankind and is raised by a hard-working adoptive father and saintly mother. He must hide his supernatural gifts until he reveals himself as an adult and then, at age 33, after performing many great deeds, he hands himself over to the authorities. As Superman states, ‘My father believed, that if the world found out who i really was, it would reject me.’  This Superman even strikes an arms-outstretched crucifixion pose as his otherworldly father urges him to return to Earth and ‘save them all’.

Another redeeming quality is that in just a few minutes of screen time Clark Kent’s Kansas dad, Jonathan Kent, displays the quiet strength and unconditional, self-sacrificial love that the Jesus did.  Superman may be the man of steel. but his earthbound father shows us what it really means to be Christ-like.

Both Costner and Crowe excel in their roles, and nearly all their scenes are the most emotional of the whole film. The opening stanza on Krypton as Kal-El’s  parents say goodbye as they send him to earth to save him, is beautifully tender and touching. In addition, the scene where Jonathan Kent tells Clark not to save him because people would see his abilities is moving and powerful.

Henry Cavill does a pretty good job as Kent/Superman, but lacks a certain something, while Michael Shannon brings an intense menace with clear-cut motivations to the role of General Zod. Amy Adams, Lawrence Fishburne and Diane Lane all add some quality to the proceedings.

The movie's climax still depends on Superman feeling torn between his respective roles, human/alien/messiah, all of them in some way true and all of them impossible to entirely fulfil. But we almost never have a good handle on why Clark does the things that he does—on how his identity motivates his actions. And when we are given reasons, they aren't very believable. This leads to some confusion as to the real message of the film, if any.

While visually and stylistically rich, the film's high levels of noise and violence, together with some unclear storytelling, makes this more of a missed attempt than a solid hit. It’s also definitely not for young children, so parents beware.

Review by Martin Barratt

Man of Steel
Genre: Drama/fantasy
Directors: Zack Snyder  
Rating: M (Violence, mild language)
Run time: 2 hours 23 mins