Man of Steel

I guess the name 'Superman Begins' might have been a little provocative for DC's latest attempt to re-establish the Man of Steel franchise in the ever burgeoning comic book movie world, but that's precisely the feeling this film has. A proper 'back to basics' reboot from arguably the most famous (and original) superhero, does rather beg the question why they've let Marvel have such an easy time of it until now.

Fortunately, the DC bosses can relax. Redeploying Christopher Nolan after his successful reinvention of Batman to oversee proceedings on the production and story front, and Zach Snyder from his directing duties post-Watchmen does rather suggest a pretty serious intent with two of DC's comic book movie heavyweights, but then this film did rather need to pack a rather considerable punch after the somewhat disappointing box-office affairs of 2006's 'Superman Returns'.

I know the Americans are proud of their superheroes... Just don't tell them Henry Cavill is British, OK?

And pack a punch it does. Several hundred in fact, and that would just be a conservative estimate. As beautiful and intense as they are, the action sequences are certainly plentiful, and as a result, generate a smidgen of 'destruction fatigue'. In fact, by the end, I was more concerned with how much it was going to cost to pay for the considerable amount of damage, than with the visual flair of the devastation that was being inflicted.

Fortunately, for anyone of a similar disposition to myself, Russell Crowe is not unbearable, which does come as a welcome surprise. Less fortunate however is Amy Adam's worryingly complacent Lois Lane, who certainly doesn't provide enough of a match for Clark Kent to make it a particularly even pitting of the sexes, or provide any meaningful momentum towards passing the Bechdel test. Elsewhere though, there is plenty to get excited about. As has come to be expected in this nature of origin movie, Man of Steel doesn't disappoint original series aficionados, filling the screens with a cheeky selection of fan-nuggets, including fleeting but pleasing references to Smallville and Lex-Corp.

Don't you just hate it when you stub your toe?

The story itself does feel a little choppy and confusing in patches; possibly indicative of some fairly rigorous cutting which has sacrificed some coherency to the storyline. At 143 minutes, it does feel a little like it needed a bit more fat trimmed, but more because there was too much story to tell in the time available than because there are any particular moments that drag. What does remain however retains a wonderfully welcome lack of 90's cheese and Kryptonite, though those have been replaced by some slightly over-worthy dialogue that doesn't quite gel with the genre. That said, despite the over-the-top action porn, inexcusably poorly written female roles and arse-numbingly long story, Man of Steel is certainly a very worthy basis for an updated series to come. And if recent Comic-Con announcements are anything to go by, it will have added a bit of well-needed vigour to the DC movie line-up, with a potentially juicy pipeline to come...