Reviewing Superman

After 2004’s Superman Returns, DC Comics presents Man of Steel directed by Zack Snyder finally premiered last June 12, 2013 in Philippines just in time with the Philippines’ celebration of National Independence Day.  I was supposed to watch in IMAX but sadly, I was at the office preparing documents for an upcoming bidding that I was going to attend on the next day. But of course, I am not going to miss it for the world so when Saturday came, will it be IMAX, 3D or 2D, I am going to watch it. I have been waiting for it ever since I saw its trailer in YouTube and the end of Smallville Season 10.

Man of Steel really intrigued many viewers from its trailer and some articles. The trailer appeared to be something darker and dramatic than the earlier Superman films. Not to mention that the new costume in the 2013 movie is literally dark blue and kind of chrome-ish but it is way cooler than the old costumes. One thing that is surprising in this movie is that, compared to all the previous films, viewers will never get to see Superman’s Earth nemesis, the bald villain Lex Luthor and the green Kryptonite to weaken the hero. 

Unlike the old films, Man of Steel focuses on Clark Kent’s(played by Henry Cavill) home planet Krypton, its people, his family and the planet’s destruction in the midst of war against rebels led by General  Zod. Jor-El (played by Russell Crowe) and his wife Lora stole the codex of Krypton(which is the source of all power) to ensure their people’s heir before the planet’s destruction through Kal-El who was only the natural born of Planet Krypton. Jor-El and Lora sent Kal-El to Earth by a ship. General Zod tried to stop them but he was too late and in his anger, he successfully killed Jor-El but Jor-El was wise enough to leave a memory on Kal-El’s ship so in time, he can tell everything to his son. General Zod was captured by the highnesses of Krypton and was sentenced to the phantom zone but was then released when the planet exploded.

In Earth, Kal-El was adopted by the couples Martha and Jonathan Kent and was named Clark Kent. He lived his life a secret and because of keeping his abilities secret, he wasn’t able to save his father Jonathan Kent from dying on a twister. Since then, he lived his life transferring place to place, saving people and keeping his identity a secret.

Man of Steel emphasizes Superman’s love to the people of Earth even when some of the people didn’t trust him. When General Zod and his army tracked him down on Earth and threatened the humanity in order to surrender him, Superman surrendered himself to the people and allowed himself be handcuffed which was the ridiculous part. But his surrender wasn’t enough for General Zod, he wanted to invade the Earth and made it new Krypton which was against Superman and Jor-El’s principle and the humanities advantage since General Zod meant harm to all. Thus the breathtaking action happens. Woaah…even in 2D, the effects really seemed real. Haha.. Maybe it’s because my friend and I were sitting in the fourth row.

And of course, Superman will never be complete without the ever beautiful love interest of our hero, the journalist, Lois Lane(played by Amy Adams). Adams did great in his role. Another different thing about this movie is that unlike the previous films, aside from Martha Kent, Lois Lane in Man of Steel was the only girl to know that Clark Kent is the Superman. It kind of took away the usual thrill but still awesome.

Since I saw the YouTube trailer, I always thought that Brandon Routh of Superman Returns or Tom Welling of Smallville would perfectly fit on the role as Superman in the Man of Steel rather than Henry Cavill but now that I saw the movie, I take it back and I think that he is the most suited actor to take the role. He did great, aside from looking so superman-like…lol.  What makes the film more awesome is the fact that the other casts were also great especially Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner.

Wow… that was quite long but I had fun sharing my Superman experience. I even got a Superman Magnet freebie with my ticket. The movie was certainly a five star for me. It’s actually the top grossing movie as of the moment. I can’t wait for another up, up and away experience. Hope the next Superman movie is not that long.