Man of Steel (12A)

The reboot of the Superman story, ‘Man of Steel’ takes the whole Clark Kent saga that cinema audiences have known since the 1940s, and turned it upside down, and back again.  The story is basically the same, although it is told in different time stages.

Henry Carvill is probably the best actor to have played Superman, certainly the best since the late Christopher Reeve left the role after shooting four movies in 1987.  Here, Clark Kent is portrayed in the main as a tortured soul who can’t understand or control his superhuman powers.

His spiritual foster father is played by Kevin Costner, and his understanding mother is played by Diane Lane.  This Superman story has biblical similarities, with Clark being 33 years old before major happenings in his life and in the world come about, just like Jesus Christ.

The movie is available in 3D, but I’d say it wouldn’t be a big deal to just see it in the 2D version.  A lot of action is thrown in here, but more than in past versions, the story of Superman is paramount.

The influence of Batman producer, Christopher Nolan in the production of ‘Man of Steel’ is evident, with the darkness on the theme of the story in the script. 

Lois Lane is played by prolific actress, Amy Adams, and throughout the movie the whole father/son bond and controlling evil and anger is used to great effect. 

The new Superman movie is all about action, special effects, and the familiar story, with a modern storyline influenced by the plot of the first two Christopher Reeve movies from 1978 and 1980 thrown in.  It uses biblical events in a modern fashion, and the internet and social media also have their place here.

There is just a hint of the Superman name coming into the movie, but it is stopped in its tracks before Amy Adams’ Lois Lane attempts to say the name.

Henry Carvill portrays a dark and problematic Superman, but he could have been given a better storyline to work with, although he did his best with the script on hand.

Kevin Costner as his foster father, Jonathan Kent, brought his best to the role of the earthly spiritual advisor, as did Russell Crowe, who had a much bigger part as the birth father.  Both actors are improving with age, although Costner had the edge. 

‘Man of Steel’ is a worthy successor to the successful series of movies of Superman, and is the best one since 1980, but not as good as Christopher Nolan’s Batman series.