Let's get this out of the way first of all. I am not a Superman fan. In fact, apart from the Dark Knight, I'm barely a DC fan, focusing my graphic novel efforts on the more relate-able Marvel series, or Scott Pilgrim and Kick Ass etc. (this is a post on it's own). So why did I even bother with this film?
Firstly the names. I am a sucker for a Chris Nolan film, even if the Dark Knight Rises only just made my top 5 films of 2012 (but that's another post), and Zack Snyder does decent adaptations, I didn't even care too much about the Squid thing in Watchmen.
So this film is a reboot, akin to the Amazing Spider-man of last year, or Nolan's previous take on a superhero franchise with the Dark Knight trilogy. It charts the story of Kal-El, one of a dying species of Kryptonians, sent by his father to earth before the planet lays dying. Henry Cavill plays the titular character, with Russell Crowe playing his dad Jor-El, and Michael Keaton (Burton's Bruce Wayne) playing adopted dad Jonathan Kent. He is pursued by militant General Zod (Michael Shannon) who wishes to turn earth into a new Krypton, using a codex that Jor put on the same shuttle as Kal.
Almost an all-star cast, with Amy Adams playing love interest Lois Lane, and supporting roles for the likes of Lawrence Fishburne, who takes the J Jonah Jameson style role. It plays on the 'human' side to Superman, who is only referred to by that name once. There is no Kryptonite, the magical rock that is the only thing to weaken Superman, but there is no need, as while no earth bound weaponry can harm him, Zod and crew can certainly do some damage, which is nice, and one of the reasons I try not to bother with Superman in comic or previous film form, he is too powerful.
This is him discovering his powers, with plenty of flashbacks. Clarke (his earth name), is wrestling with his conscience. Should he use his powers, and risk being an outcast, or just let people suffer. The tornado scene, is very powerful in showing Clarke's loss when his Jonathan essentially sacrifices himself to save his son's identity, although I'm not sure if it is as influential as the relationship between say, Peter Parker and uncle Ben.
The human aspects are great, as are the performances, and it would have been easy for Shannon to become a screaming pantomime villain, but his motives are clear. In fact, they are literally in his nature. In fact, if anything I felt he was too tame, and after Benedict Cumberbatch's performance in Star Trek Into Darkness could have been more brutal. As such, as a character he is between the Mandarin and Cumberbatch, cold and calculating, but wanting to do what he feels he needs to.
The last act could have been shortened however. While the action sequences were well choreographed, I felt they went on for too long. The same could be said for the port fight in Iron Man 3, but with that there was just more fun.
The humour was something I felt lacking as well. Superheroes should be fun as well as exciting, or maybe this is just my Marvel background talking, and while the Dark Knight trilogy was meant to be serious and realistic, there were a few witty one liners, mainly from Alfred and Lucius. In this film, they tended to be awkward or seen in the trailer (the whole this is an S sequence), and from watching the Superman in Justice League etc, he is more of a fun guy than Batman, which I didn't feel in this.
A sequel has already been green-lit, and going by some Lex Corp. branded items I think it's a safe bet that Luthor will be the next villain, in the same subtle way as the Joker and Catwoman were teased in Batman Begins and the Dark Knight respectively.
Overall, while I enjoyed the majority of the film, despite not being a big Superman fan, I felt it wasn't the best superhero film so far this year (Iron Man 3) nor the best Sci-Fi film (Star Trek Into Darkness). That said, it is worth watching on the big screen, although the 3D was barely noticeable, and a hopefully the quality will be kept up for future instalments.
7/10
This film was viewed in normal 3D, rather than IMAX
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