Man of Steel review

Man of Steel is the most recent effort to create a film based upon a DC Comics character, and is also the second reboot of the Superman film franchise. Much hype has been generated regarding this film, with it being one of the most anticipated movies of the year. Fortunately it delivers, if just barely.

Man of Steel may be the most controversial Superman film to date, surpassing even the 2006 reboot. From my viewing, both sides have a point. Man of Steel is a static film, with very little changing internally for the characters. For a film with such an intense and serious tone, this absolutely destroys the initial scenes after the opening. Until a certain point, the plot doesn't give us much to take an interest in what's happening on the screen. Worse still, when we meet our protagonist we're not given any indication that we are indeed looking at Superman, and we are left without any idea what's going on. The pacing is very poor at this part of the film, with the scene changing to a completely different setting several times, leaving the audience confused. Eventually, when the film stabilizes, the film doesn't have much flavour to its events until a certain turning point in the film, after which the quality begins rapidly increasing. Unfortunately, even then it is held back by the cameramen shaking the camera during many scenes, as well as sharp zooms and blurry pans. I would recommend watching the film in 3D, as the effects rushing at the screen is rather annoying in the 2D version.

After the said point, Man of Steel suddenly begins propelling forward, giving us tender character moments, backstory, and thrilling action sequences alike. The characters, while not exactly three-dimensional, manage to keep the audience invested, although more frequent moviegoers may be bored by their lack of depth. The action manages to thrill enough to keep the film enjoyable throughout its more fast-paced portion. The story and writing increases in quality as the film goes on, and comic book fans will certainly get a kick out of this, as the villain acts very much like he belongs in a comic. It is overall a good movie, but it is heavily flawed, and I am not certain that everyone will like it.