"I have to believe that you were sent here for a reason, and even if it takes the rest of your life, you owe it to yourself to find out what that reason is," he tells Clark. Early in his childhood in Smallville, Jonathan encourages his son to explore his destiny - but also worries that humans will fear him for his superpowers. The baby is discovered on Kansas farmland and is lovingly raised (and named Clark) by Martha and Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner).
In a desperate act to protect their son, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) encase him in a steel capsule and send him barreling toward Earth. Kal-El is born on Krypton just as the planet faces environmental destruction. Antje Traue, as rebel warrior Faora-Ul, is more threatening than her commander. Ubiquitous product placement takes the viewer out of the movie, and Hans Zimmer's overpowering score further distances us.Īmy Adams is a charming and contemporary Lois Lane, Diane Lane is wonderful as Clark's warmly reassuring adopted mom Martha Kent, and Russell Crowe is effectively noble as Kal-El's biological father, Jor-El.īut Michael Shannon, who has mastered the art of coiled menace like few others (see The Runaways and The Iceman), is strangely bland as the single-minded Kryptonian villain General Zod, who is determined to take down our hero. If only Snyder had seen fit to focus more on Clark's conflicts and let the tale unfold more naturally, with fewer in-your-face pyrotechnics. He just as nimbly rises to the occasion of soaring heroism.
But it often gets drowned out by numbing spectacle and director Zack Snyder's seeming determination to fashion the most super-charged superhero movie ever.īritish actor Henry Cavill is a terrific Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman, subtly playing emotional moments and persuasively conveying pangs of self-doubt. For a movie that's all about saving Earth, there's an unaccountable amount of destruction in Man of Steel.Īmid the plethora of computer-generated demolition, flame-outs and explosions, there's a nuanced origin story (** ½ out of four rated PG-13 opens Thursday in select cities and Friday nationwide).
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