There’s a lot riding on the success of ‘Man of Steel’. With the end of ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy‘, and a terrible ‘Green Lantern‘ feature, Warner Bros. is hoping this new Superman reboot will be its blockbuster franchise. I was a tad worried about the film since they chose Zack Snyder (‘300’ & ‘Sucker Punch‘) to direct, who hasn’t really made anything good other than ‘Watchmen’. I respected him as a visionary who knew how to make slick, good-looking films, but his films tend to lack well-written stories. However, Snyder’s vision, combined with producer Christopher Nolan (‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’) and David S. Goyer’s story, successfully reimagines Superman in a contemporary fashion.

The film starts off on a dying Krypton, where we see baby Kal-El’s birth, and how and why his father Jor-El (Russell Crowe) sends him off to Earth. There, we also meet General Zod (Michael Shannon), the film’s primary antagonist, who interestingly enough isn’t exactly a moustache-twirling psychopathic villain. His character actually has well-meaning intentions, though they are extreme.

In a smart move, the film avoids re-telling Superman’s origin story. Most people probably already know the basic story of Superman – baby Kal-El crash lands on a farm owned by Jonathan and Martha Kent (Kevin Costner and Diane Lane), who raise him as their own son and re-name him Clark. When the film switches from Krypton to Earth, it focuses on a grown-up Clark Kent (Henry Cavill). Only through several flashbacks scattered throughout the film do we see glimpses of Clark’s childhood and the struggles he’s had to endure.

Another change I appreciated was to Lois Lane (Amy Adams), who still works for The Daily Planet as Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist. She’s a headstrong character this time around who’s less of a damsel in distress. And she discovers Clark Kent/Superman’s identity fairly quickly in the film, which definitely surprised me. But it works.

Ultimately, this is a film about a son and two fathers. Clark’s quest to find his role in the universe is split between the ideals of his biological father and his adoptive one. Jor-El wants him to use his gifts as the Earth’s savior, whereas Jonathan wants him to hide his true identity for the world may not be ready for Clark’s existence. The Kryptonians also have a different set of morals than the humans, to which Clark also has to deal with. At some point, Clark must either make a choice or find the right balance between the two paths.

One of the major points the filmmakers kept emphasizing with this new Superman reboot was how realistic they tried to make this world. In previous adaptations, the existence of Superman was merely accepted. In this version, his existence stirs more problems and questions to the world. The public reacts with fear, the military prepares to fight, and faith, religion, and what it means to be human are questioned.

I appreciate how much thought was put into the creation of this reboot, but at times it feels like the filmmakers had too many creative ideas that were left behind in favor of action set-pieces. I loved the moments when ‘Man of Steel’ focused on character interaction, emotion, and themes. For the first 2/3rd’s of the film that’s what it mostly comprised of. But in the final act, which also lasts way too long, all of these ideas are out on hold so that a big fight can break out between Superman and Zod and his minions. Sure, the action looks fantastic and seeing Superman in action has never looked better, but this sequence lasts forever and loses its punch way before it finally ends. It looks cool, but the action wears you out, especially when there’s a lack of interesting choreography going on. Two men going back and forth punching each other grows stale fast.

Zack Snyder made a decision to shoot the entire film on handheld cameras, which is a plus. It makes the film, especially the smaller moments, feel intimate and realistic. Don’t see it in 3D because it adds absolutely nothing to the experience and basically nulls the whole point of using handheld cameras in the first place.

Other than the lengthy final action sequence, the only other complaint I have with ‘Man of Steel’ is its portrayal of Clark Kent/Superman. Looking back, the character doesn’t seem to have that many lines a leading man should have. For the most part, the guy is lifeless and boring. The flashback sequences of Clark’s childhood are the emotional core of the film, which gives the character depth, but the adult version of the character should also have some personality. The blame probably goes to the script, because Cavill does have some scenes where he shows genuine emotion. But when he dons the cape, all of a sudden the man is serious and dull. This isn’t just a problem with ‘Man of Steel’, I feel like it’s a problem with the previous Superman films as well. The supporting characters always seem to have more personality and attention than the titular character.

Aside from this, the film is a massive success. The cast is first-rate: Amy Adams is a game-changer for the character of Lois Lane, Kevin Costner is wonderful in every emotional scene he’s in, Diane Lane is excellent as Clark’s loving adoptive mother, and Michael Shannon is a great villain, though his performance is not as villainous as I’d hope (he’s done better in other projects I’ve seen him in). Antje Traue plays Faora, Zod’s second in command. She has limited screen time, but owns each one she’s in as the fearsome female warrior. At times, I wished she was the main villain instead of Zod only because of how ruthless the character was.

Hans Zimmer (‘Inception’ & ‘The Dark Knight Trilogy’) composed the score for ‘Man of Steel’, and it’s freaking beautiful. He’s created a franchise-defining score for the film in the same manner he’s done for Nolan’s Batman films. It’s different from the classic John Williams ‘Superman’ score, wisely enough.

‘Man of Steel’ is an enjoyable summer blockbuster and features a Superman we’ve all been waiting for. It’s briskly paced and doesn’t feel too long (other than that final fight), the cast is stellar, and creativity is to the max. It’s not exactly a game changer like ‘The Dark Knight’ was, but it’s a great first start to DC’s future superhero films, which has struggled lately for anything that wasn’t Batman. It could also use more fun (the film is very serious – the Dark Knight films had more humor in it than this, why?), which I hope they add to its sequels.