Man of Steel (2013) (Spoilers)

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Today we're reviewing Man of Steel.

Release Date- June 14, 2013 (USA)
Runtime- 143 mins (2 hours and 23 mins)

Director- Zach Snyder

Producer- Christopher Nolan

Starring- Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner and Diane Lane.

Scale of 1-10 (1: Don't watch it, 10: Drop everything, Go out and see this movie right now!)

Man of Steel = 8.5 out of 10!

Short Synopsis:

Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara send their only son Kal-El to Earth in order to keep him alive from destruction of their home planet called Krypton. On Earth a nice couple, Martha (Diane Lane) and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner), finds and adopts Kal-El as their son. Kal-El, now going by Clark, encounters a general named Zod from Jor-El's past. Zod (Michael Shannon) comes to Earth to destroy everyone on the planet in order to rebuild it for Kryptonians. The only person in the way of Zod's mission is Clark. It's time for Clark to become more than just a man to take on Zod, something... Super.

** Warning, Possible Spoilers!!!! **

The Good:

• Krypton was an amazing planet. The different creatures and technology on this world was great. You get a small lesson in the ways of a Kryptonian without going into a full origin story. 
• The overall pacing for this movie was awesome. This origin story of Superman didn't feel like the classic retelling of the iconic hero. It took a different twist on the franchise. 
• The incorporation of flashbacks added to the movie nicely. The idea of going to a flashback in order to show Clark learning a valuable lesson made the movie enjoyable. It was a good movie to show flashbacks instead of trying to push all of the details in the beginning of the film.
• Michael Shannon as Zod was a great fit. Zod's ideals made you sympathize with him while he's doing destruction. He did everything on Earth to keep the Krypton race going. 
• Awesome supporting characters in Diane Lane, Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner. Each one of their characters placed a pivotal role in Kal-El's upbringing. 
• Russell Crowe- This is a new and kick-ass Jor-El. His action scenes on Krypton makes you cheer with each moment. He was a man of peace but a person not afraid to fight for what he believes in. No one can replace Marlon Brando but Russell Crowe did an amazing job in this remake.
• Diane Lane- Her scenes with the young Clark were powerful. Martha Kent helped control Clark's powers and show him that he's in control of his surroundings. 
• Kevin Costner- He played a great Jonathan Kent. When Jonathan died in the tornado it brought tears to everyone's eyes. He didn't want Clark to reveal his identity. He taught Clark that sometimes you will have to make some unpopular decisions but they are the right decisions.

The Bad: 

The fight scenes felt more like a sequence directly from Dragonball Z. It felt slightly exaggerated with a lot of zipping around. Granted the Kryptonians are advanced creatures and they're very fast but the fighting seemed over the top.

Lois Lane figuring out Kal-El's secret really didn't fit well in this movie. It was a little too easy and would make you think that anyone with a search engine could find out his identity. She linked the pieces of the puzzle by just following stories of miracles which lead directly to Kal-El.

The heavy destruction of Metropolis really makes you think about three questions, "Who's going to rebuild this place?, Why did they blow up so many buildings? and Why didn't Superman take the fight to a desert of some sort?" The people of this city felt the battle between the aliens.

The Hypothetical:

It would be a different movie if Kal-El just flew up with Zod into the sky instead of cracking his neck. Yes, we're aware this scene happens closer to the end of the movie but still it would have changed things for the future. The killing of Zod didn't come off as something Superman wouldn't do; it's just something that could have been avoided.

Just picture this movie with Nicholas Cage as Kal-El. Oh...wait... that almost happened. That would have been interesting to see. We wondered what happened to that film.

To find out more about the documentary from Jon Schnepp on a Superman movie that almost happened, check out The Death Of Superman Lives, WhatHappened?

Questions of the week: What is your favorite scene from Man of Steel?

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