Fans of the Man of Steel had to wait 19 years after 1987's cautionary tale (not so much in terms of its plotline but, rather, its makeshift filmmaking, and its poor production values and money management) Superman IV: The Quest for Peace whimpered in and out of theaters for 2006's reboot, Superman Returns, which, despite its relative critical and box-office success, seemed to have left a bad taste in everyone's mouth. Seven years would seem too short a time to reboot a superhero franchise if we hadn't just weathered The Amazing Spider-Man, which hit theaters five years after Spider-Man 3 and felt far too familiar to make much of an impression, and the five years between Hulk and The Incredible Hulk, neither of which really resonated with film audiences. But Man of Steel has a freshness to it, retelling a story we've all heard before but not in a way that makes as much sense as it does here.
Like most superhero origin-story fare, the portion of the film before the central character becomes an icon offers the most interesting and dramatic moments (see the first Iron Man film). Man of Steel is no exception, and, despite their relatively short appearances and (for the most part) relegation to the film's setup, both Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner cast a large shadow over the film's entirety, providing gravitas and the emotional heft needed to re-energize a well-worn story in the brooding way the filmmakers intended. There isn't a lot of joy to be found in Man of Steel, but there is discovery: Superman's (or Kal-El's) appearance—both his coming to Earth and, physically, how he looks in his suit—makes sense here in a way that has never seemed as feasible before.
And like most superhero origin-story fare, the parts after the central character becomes an icon are the most bombastic and tiresome (see the first Iron Man film). The film culminates in an absolutely ridiculous (in both a good and bad way) battle royal between Superman and General Zod (played by Michael Shannon, who is excellent and almost manages to turn Zod into a sympathetic character) where miles of concrete are pulverized into dust as the two clumsily pummel each other, with each landed hit sending them both flying for several city blocks. It gets a bit tiresome; a friend of mine recently wisely noted that "watching CG guys fighting is like watching hotdogs boil in a pot." Director Zack Snyder goes all in here, but about halfway through, you feel like you're being bullied into validating the filmmakers' decision to mount the greatest fist fight of all time, and I found myself withdrawing from it altogether.
The cast is uniformly good, though Henry Cavilll—despite his best efforts and through no fault of his own—as the titular Man of Steel can be distracting at times; he's too ripped and aggressively squat, and his hairstyle is only slightly less distracting than that donned by Nicholas Cage as in Tim Burton's proposed Superman treatment.
Man of Steel is mercifully short on jokes; those few that are attempted fall with a thud. And not all of it works: most egregiously, the film's last five or so minutes—when the smoke clears and the film's story has come to an end—are lazily mounted and wholly unsatisfying. Still, I found myself having a good time watching Man of Steel, despite the filmmakers' attempts to ensure I wouldn't, which makes me think that maybe it's time to stop taking these types of films so seriously.
