Man Of Steel

Stroll up for the latest re-booting of a superhero, in this case Zach Snyder’s take on Superman. Well, I say Snyder’s take, but with with Emma Thomas and Christopher Nolan as producers, Hans Zimmer on scoring duties and David S Goyer scripting (with help from Nolan) it’s hardly a surprise that this film has the look and feel of the most recent Batman trilogy. Perhaps Snyder thought it made sense to follow a design that’s produced billions of dollars in revenue, but his film lacks the directorial flourishes that are a feature of his back catalogue, regardless of the overall quality of his films. What we have here is another origin story telling us how Supes (Henry Cavill) was born, how he ended up on earth and why General Zod (Michael Shannon) thinks he is a very naughty boy. The problem is it’s told in such a cold dry manner, as if already assuming that’s the style an audience wants these days. So whilst the film is well structured (if a little rushed), it really isn’t much fun. The first two thirds of the movie are pretty good though, with an impressive middle section including plenty of fisticuffs. Though theses endless fight scenes can’t escape the old problem of the audience knowing that nothing can hurt the protagonist, they are still fast and frantic enough to just about overcome this and the general feeling of repetition. There are also plenty of background references for fan boys to spot throughout the running time. The finale is a huge disappointment though, with yet another smack down in an American city that gets totalled. How many times have we seen that in superhero films recently? Just think how much better one of these films would be if the writers actually came up with something original for the denouement. On top of that, the conclusion to how Supes is received by the world doesn’t actually make much sense in respect of what has previously passed in the film and the way he disguises himself in order to blend in with the normal population is again at odds with what has occurred in previous scenes. On the acting front Cavill isn’t bad, but the film is told in such a way that it could be re-shot tomorrow with a different actor and the end result would be much the same. Amy Adams (looking bizarrely just like Zooey Deschanel at the start of the film) as Lois Lane is nothing more than scenery and though Michael Shannon gives good shouty as Zod he is miscast. These kind of roles aren’t his strength. Overall what this needed was a bit more humour and less conforming to the current superhero style of storytelling. I’m not saying re-booting a much loved character / franchise is an easy task, but Snyder proved with his excellent Dawn Of The Dead remake that such a mission is not above him. It seems there were too many cooks here spoiling the Snyder broth.

The OC Film Sting Final Verdict

Miles better than Bryan Singer's Superman Returns, but there isn’t enough here to justify yet another superhero re-launch. Are there no original ideas left? Rating: 6/10.