Man Of Steel

DC Comics has been struggling to get their superheroes into big screen franchises like their cousins at Marvel. Hopefully this is the start of something big.
I need to give you some background before I write this review. Superman is my all time favourite superhero. That is because I have a very strong emotional connection to the character. One of my earliest memories of going to the cinema is my grandmother taking me to 'Superman: The Movie' when I was about 5 or 6 years-old. What I remember most about the experience was that I cried almost all the way through the film. All those disasters that befell Lois Lane were quite scary for a young boy. One other time that I had an extremely strong emotional reaction in a film was 'The Iron Giant'. One word spoken by Vin Diesel as an animated metal robot always makes me cry uncontrollably: 'Superman'.
I am probably one the few people that actually liked 'Superman Returns'. I think that is because it was essentially a remake of 'Superman: The Movie' and it evoked a sense of nostalgia which had a strong emotional appeal. So I think what I'm trying to say is that a film maker would have to go to some pretty extra-ordinary lengths to make a Superman movie that I would hate. I can understand many of the criticism people have of 'Man Of Steel', that it is too serious and lacks much of the fun the other films had. But I did not mind that. I quite liked the story and how writers Christopher Nolan and David S. Goyer have created a story which takes a different approach to the Superman character. Most films and TV series have used the very familiar plot so it is good to see it done in a different way. Another criticism has been the level of destruction in the action scenes. While I can understand that problem, you are dealing with characters fighting who are very hard to kill and can fly. So there is bound to be lots of destruction. My only one problem with the film was Superman's final fight with General Zod. That went on for too long and a got a little boring. I don't think the film benefited from being in 3D either.
Henry Cavill is certainly a very good looking guy and fills out the Superman suit nicely. But he is not just a pretty face and brings a great emotional range to the character. There were a few moments when he takes charge of situations that made me very excited. Amy Adams is perfect as Lois Lane. Over the years the character has walked that fine line of being tenacious and forthright but also a damsel in distress that just gets herself into trouble so Superman can come rescue her. Luckily I never got that sense here as Amy brings a great deal of dignity to the role. On the one hand Michael Shannon is a brilliant actor and is brilliant as General Zod. But I think he is playing too many mean characters. I think he might just be one of those guys who is sadly going to be type cast as baddies. Kevin Costner is also brilliant as Clark's adopted father. He has a small part but brings a great deal of emotional depth to it. I also like Diane Lane as his mother. Russell Crowe is excellent as Kal-El's birth father. I liked how they were able to integrate him into the film more so he had more to rather than a quick few scenes at the beginning.
As I said, I may not be the best person to judge this film as I would be willing to go with almost anything they made. There were a couple of small problems, but over all I found this to be a superb addition to the Superman film saga.