Man of Steel

Superman was never my hero. Too strong, too upright, too exemplary, too American. And what’s more, even as a child I wasn’t keen on wearing underpants over my trousers. In 2006 Bryan Singer set out to dust off the Man of Steel, but the attempt was no great success by the standards of exorbitantly expensive blockbusters. Zack Snyder has now taken up the challenge. A director with a fondness for bombast and excess (see 300 and Watchmen), he was able to call on the services of Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer, the director and screenwriter of the last three Batman films. Which may explain the seriousness of this reboot of the franchise and the considerable attention paid to the superhero’s anxieties. As a young man, especially, Clark Kent seems to have been pretty screwed up. What good are superpowers if they make you a freak and you still don’t know that you come from another planet? Not that Superman fetches up on a psychiatrist’s couch or pours his heart out in a self-help group. For the most part, Snyder relies on stunts, action, and special effects – in which he is reasonably proficient, but no more than that. The opening sequence (the last hours of the planet Krypton) is like recent Star Wars films and the finale is reminiscent of Transformers flicks, while the world record for reducing skyscrapers to smithereens bites the dust. None of which statements are great compliments.

Quantity takes precedence over quality. And that goes for the minor characters too. Amy Adams, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Russell Crowe, and Michael Shannon each get some time on-screen as, respectively, reporter and girlfriend Lois Lane, the adoptive parents, father Jor-El, and the nasty General Zod. It is not the actors’ fault that their characters lack any depth. The Brit Henry Cavill doesn’t do a bad job at all as Superman. Thanks to his impressive chest, an eyebrow that is ready, when called on, to frown a thousand times, and the fact that he doesn’t have to wear red underpants over his trousers. Yep, Superman has accepted some style advice. Times change.

Man of Steel ●●
US, 2013, dir.: Zack Snyder, act.: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, 143 min.