Man of Steel

Warning: This review will contain spoilers, but I'll try my best not to give too much away.

Premise: Zod and his cohorts were sentence to the “Phantom Zone” for their crimes against Krypton and right before the planet explodes, they are sent away. But they weren't the only Kryptonians to vacate the planet before its inevitable doom. Jor-El and his wife managed to send their only son, the last natural birth son of Krypton to Earth so that he may live, and with him goes all the hopes and dreams and the future of Krypton. Of course, Zod and his brood escape the Phantom Zone and find themselves on Earth to raise hell and rebuild Krypton. It's up to one man to make sure that doesn't happen.

(I tried not to give too much away in the premise.)

Okay, for those of you who don't already know this about me, I am a HUGE Superman fan. I have every movie, cartoon, and TV series ever made. I even enjoyed watching the 1980's Superboy TV series and if you've ever seen a clip of that, you know just how much of a fan one would have to be to tune into that show every week. Have I read every comic book? No. But that's only because I'm not a comic book reader, but I know his origins and his story just like every other Superman expert. 

Now, having said that, I must say the "Man of Steel" was THEE Superman I've been waiting for my entire life! I know there's a huge controversy out there regarding the ending of the movie, but that's one of the parts I loved the most. Superman was created in the 30's and let's face it, there was a LOT of injustice going on during that time that was never reflected in the origins of his stories. So a part of me always felt his personality was outdated. Fighting for "Truth, Justice and The American Way" leaves a lot open to questions, such as; What is the "American Way"? How was America founded? That should be the first question you have to ask yourself and the answer isn't necessarily the way Superman should go. One man's truth is another man's lie and One person's Justice is another person's injustice, which is why people are falsely accused and criminals get away with committing crimes. It's a tricky thing that's not always black and white. There are many shades of gray in between.

So let's face it, Superman needed a 21st century reboot and fast! Thank goodness Director Zack Snyder and writer David S. Goyer knew exactly what to do. Superman may be Kryptonian by birth, but all of his ideals are human because that's all he's ever known.  He was raised by humans, loved by them, he's grown up watching them fight and die to protect their family, land, county and those who can't protect themselves. So this is what he should believe in, this is what he should uphold. And in the "Man of Steel", he did. 

This movie pushed Superman to his limits and it was nice to see him use his abilities to the max. He was paired with villains that left absolutely no room for peaceful negotiations and Superman had to open several cans of whoopass on the lot of them. There was tons of action from beginning to end and I think I sat there in the show with a cheesy grin on my face like the Joker the entire time. I really loved how they did the flashbacks because we didn't need yet another movie showing us how Clark Kent grew to be Superman from the moment he was discovered by Johnathan and Martha Kent. We have the Christopher Reeves Superman for that and the awesome TV show "Smallville". So they didn't beat us over the head with his childhood into adulthood, but instead gave us pertinent flashbacks that helped tell his story and the beliefs he had as an adult. 

The plot was solid, the action was packed and it doesn't apologize in the least for getting your blood pressure pumped and your heart racing. I can appreciate that. :D

And Henry Cavill was supersexy as Superman. All I can say is; bring on Man of Steel 2 and then the Justice League!!!

Grade: A +++ I'm inducting you into the Honors Society!