Man of Steel has been one of the most eagerly anticipated reboots/remakes in a long time and after the earlier Superman reboot attempt with Superman Returns, a lot of faith has been put in to the movie from director Zack Snyder and the Man of Steel himself played by Henry Cavill.
Man Of Steel: Right From The Start, Again!
One question which always had me asking was “Why was Man Of Steel used for the title instead of Superman?”. It seems that the answer was mentioned in an interview with David S. Goyer.
“We decided not to call it Superman, that was very deliberate. Chris [Nolan] and I [suggested] Man Of Steel, and Warner Bros. said, ‘Why?’ And we started talking about it, and we said, ‘We want a line of demarcation in the sand between the old and the new.’”
“We always knew we would be using the Superman glyph or the shield as we call it. But Man Of Steel was also supposed to represent our take, which was he’s a man, but he’s not made of flesh and blood, metaphorically he’s a man of steel. So that was sort of the whole thing wrapped up in a nutshell.”
So there you have it! But enough of the reason behind the title of Man of Steel, what about the movie that has got so much buzz about it lately, since it was first announced as a reboot.
The principle of the movie is probably what we all know, the story of an orphaned alien sent to Earth to save his life by is his mother and father, the story of a boy growing up with an amazing gift and one of the most popular DC Comics characters that almost everyone loves.
It’s a journey of discovery as young Clark Kent tries to learn about where he came from and what he was sent here to do. But being a hero isn’t an easy road and lessons must be learnt and battles must be won.
Movie Review: Man of Steel
Now I have always loved Superman, I saw Christopher Reeve‘s first outing in 1978 on the big screen and it amazed me, the original film was so popular it spawned 3 sequels, but we won’t talk about Quest For Peace, enough said about that the better!
We also had the TV series Lois and Clark, which wasn’t that bad, but then we got Superman Returns, which for me was a right let down.
So now on to 2013, with a new reboot of the franchise, Man of Steel is certainly a cut above the other films, for starters technology has advanced so much, meaning that we get to have one heck of an action movie which is extremely loud.
With an opening with a 15 minutes on Krypton of Jor-El (Russell Crowe) attempting to save Krypton and his son Kal-El, very much like the extended cut of Superman (1978), the film gives you a feeling of something massive that is hitting your cinema screen and has you waiting in anticipation of the next 2 hours or so.
What is missing is the humour, if you remember the Reeve version you will remember Luthor etc. and some of the silly scenes. But you do see a lot of Christopher Nolan’s influence through the film and you may get the occasional “Dark Knight” feeling, but surely this is no bad thing as we all know how popular his films are.
With General Zod (Michael Shannon) added to the mix, what we get is the first two original films rolled in to one almighty movie, that is not only more intense and action packed than previous Superman outings, but it also adds to the feeling of a film which maybe the earlier Superman Returns should have been.
The action never stops once it begins, although the story may lose its way from time to time, this doesn’t distract you from the fact that Man of Steel is a Comic Book adaptation that has been over-due.
Bringing the story to us in a style of present day and flash-backs all works extremely well, instead of having the you Clark growing up, we go straight to present day Clark and relive his past with the flash-backs, which doesn’t overly distract us from the action.
Talking of Action!
The film runs for 143 mins and with a time like that you have to keep the audience gripped, so what do you do give them action, them give them more and then just as they think it’s all over give them another 15 minutes of Ass-Kicking action, you’ve just got to love it.
The CGI is very well done with seamless flows between live action and their CGI counterparts.
Hans Zimmer has done a superb soundtrack for Man of Steel, it’s haunting feel and emotional touch throughout the movie is a joy to listen to, each scene that need the music to give the effect of the emotions from the characters or even from the battle sequences is all so nicely done.
Overall Thoughts For Man of Steel
Let’s face it, this is going to be a Summer Movie that will have everyone hitting the movie theatres to see, keep in love with the 1978 adaptation, forget Superman Returns and enjoy the reboot. Soak it in, enjoy the action, the drama, the hint of romance and have a great night out.
Look out for a line of DC Comics movies heading our way, as there are a few little bits in the film that drop hits of the DC Universe!
Also keep an eye out for a sequel which could be arriving as early as 2014 with Ben Affleck as The Batman.
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Karen Woodham is the founder and owner of the Blazing Minds. She is also a Cinema reviewer and works with RealD 3D reviewing the latest 3D releases and IMAX, she has also had several articles published in various publications including the first edition of SFW Magazine. In 2015 she became an Award Winning Blogger and also has her website listed as one of the UK’s Top 10 Film Blogs.
