What makes Man of Steel different from 1978’s still-classic (and yet to be bettered) Superman is the movie’s tone and esthetic, which are dictated by David S. Goyer’s screenplay and the presence of producer Christopher Nolan (who also worked on the story with Goyer). Of course, these are the two men primarily responsible for the “dark, gritty and realistic” nature of Nolan’s Dark Knight trilogy, and they’ve imprinted that same worldview on Superman, with varying degrees of success. Henry Cavill fills the suit well but only intermittently projects the charisma and good-naturedness achieved so effortlessly by Reeve. Cavill’s Kal-El is another variation on the reluctant hero, in a mythos where reluctance has never really been part of the character before. Shannon is a formidable and more complex Zod than the cartoony Terence Stamp version of the earlier films, while Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner bring wisdom and compassion respectively to Kal’s two fathers, Jor-El and Jonathan Kent. Meanwhile, Amy Adams is confident and attractive, but neither conveys the pluckiness of Lois Lane nor generates real romantic heat with Cavill. Snyder knows how to deliver on spectacle and imagery – and does well enough on character moments – and provides plenty of both in Man of Steel. A common complaint about Singer’s film was a lack of action; no such worries here. The final third of Man of Steel, if not more, is devoted to an almost non-stop battle between Kal (who is only called Superman once in the movie) and Zod’s refugees, all while Zod’s massive World Engine begins pulverizing Metropolis as part of the general’s plan to remake Earth in the image of Krypton. Fans who wanted for years to see Superman and an equally powerful foe punching each other across the sky and through buildings won’t be disappointed here, even though the battle eventually becomes exhausting. As for the sound, better buy yourself a piece of property far away from anyone else before even thinking about cranking up this baby. The DTS-HD 7.1 mix will knock you out of your shoes and chair as if you’ve been punched by Kal yourself, especially during that last act full of destruction and battle. The surround separation is excellent, and even the quieter moments in the film are distinguished by a constant stream of sonic activity, right down to the peaceful sounds of breeze and birds in the scenes set at the Kent farmhouse. The bonus features fall somewhere in the middle when it comes to being impressive and comprehensive. Included on disc one with the film itself are five features. The 26-minute “Strong Characters, Legendary Roles,” while purporting to be about the history of the Superman mythology, focuses mainly on the actors playing the characters this time around, with a few nods to the past. “All-Out Action” (also 26 minutes) examines the intense training of the actors as well as the work of the stunt team and the execution of several major action sequences. In “Krypton Decoded,” actor Dylan Sprayberry, who plays Clark as a teenager, hosts a seven-minute look at the sequence in which Krypton is destroyed. Also present is a two-minute animated short created by Snyder and Bruce Timm that celebrates Superman’s 75th anniversary with the kind of soaring excitement we’d like to see more of in the film itself. Disc two contains “Planet Krypton,” a somewhat amusing History Channel-style documentary on the history of Krypton as if it was a real place. But the centerpiece of the second disc is “Journey of Discovery: Creating Man of Steel,” which is literally a second presentation of the film, only this time interspersed with cast and crew interviews, production featurettes and behind-the-scenes footage that appear in panels next to, above and below the film image. Running nearly three hours, this amounts to essentially a visual commentary track as well as an ongoing documentary that you watch alongside the film. It’s not our preferred way to view a movie, but there is a lot of fascinating and thorough information about the movie’s creation and plenty of surprising tidbits – like the fact that General Zod’s uniform is largely a CG creation – something we still find somewhat astonishing given how realistic it looks. In the end, Man of Steel is not the amazing new Superman movie we’ve wanted to see for decades, but that film occasionally peeks through. If you enjoyed it on the big screen, and certainly if you are a Superman enthusiast and completist, it deserves its place on your shelf next to the rest of Kal-El’s cinematic adventures. Like us on Facebook and follow us on Twitter for all news updates related to the world of geek. And Google+, if that’s your thing!
