HENRY Cavill (left) brings the dark, edgy vibe of an outsider to the “Superman” franchise that’s given a reboot by producer Christopher Nolan (center, left) and director Zack Snyder (center, right). Amy Adams’ Lois Lane (right), meanwhile, is certainly no damsel in distress.
From the very start, “Man of Steel” makes you think, “This isn’t ‘Superman.’” At least, not the one you know. The theme by John Williams is missing. The lead character doesn’t rock a spit curl. The human mind reels at how much “Man of Steel” challenges what have come to be accepted about the DC Comics hero.
That is a good thing, because “Man of Steel” is a very hard reboot of Superman on the occasion of his 75th anniversary. In 1938, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster put Superman on the cover of “Action Comics” #1. In 1978, Christopher Reeve amazed the world in “Superman: The Movie.” In 2013, director Zack Snyder (“300”) and producer/writer Christopher Nolan (“The Dark Knight”) reinvent him for a new era.
Reinvention needed
Reinvention is important because of the tepid reception to Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns” in 2006. Ostensibly a sequel to “Superman II,” that film came off as campy and old-fashioned. That won’t be a problem with “Man of Steel,” nicknamed “Superman Begins,” because Nolan uses his superhuman powers of reimagination on Superman the way he did on Batman with “Batman Begins.” Nolan brought his Gotham team along (cowriter David
S. Goyer, composer Hans Zimmer, among others) to supplement the visual hyperkineticism that Snyder is known for.
The result is a “Superman” no one expected. The story’s broad strokes remain the same, but the execution is almost the polar opposite of what we’ve seen. “Man of Steel” opens with a rather painful scene of Superman being born. Never seen that before. Krypton is a dangerous, industrial planet in revolt. Scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and his wife, Lara (Ayelet Zurer), know that Krypton is doomed, so they send their only child, Kal (Son of El), to Earth, where he is found and raised by the kindly Kents, Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha (Diane Lane).
Secret existence
Snyder stages “Man of Steel” in a series of dreamy, moody flashbacks amid jagged scenes from the developing crisis. Kal-El, now known as Clark (hunky Henry Cavill from “Immortals”), tries to keep his existence a secret while still trying to help out. But when a vengeful Kryptonian war criminal known as General Zod (Michael Shannon of “Premium Rush”) arrives in pursuit of Kal-El, the world learns about Superman soon enough. Standard Superman stuff, right? No such thing. “Man of Steel” is a dark, violent and compelling story that completely recalibrates the Superman mythos. Anyone in search of the earlier films’ nostalgia should turn away. There is no trace of Christopher Reeve here and very little whimsy.
Instead of a four-color superhero tale, you get a hard-core science-fiction epic in muted tones minus the fanfare. This super serious Superman’s suit looks like it is made from alien chain mail instead of Spandex. “It’s not an ‘S,’” Kal-El says of the sign on the chest. “In my world, it means ‘hope.’”
Yet this is a Superman ready for war, which Zod brings to Earth. Now Kal must choose between his old planet and his new one. There is a battle among the stars. Meanwhile, Metropolis is devastated by invading Kryptonian forces, with the body count outnumbering the combined total of the four older films. If you feel the film’s trailers have been too parsimonious with footage, “Man of Steel” makes up for that by offering almost two and a half hours of nonstop action across the universe.
“Man of Steel” is also a tale of two fathers. Crowe is more than a lecturing hologram; he is Jor-El, science action hero! Costner makes for an amiable, noble inspiration. The film also features a great ensemble, including Laurence Fishburne, Christopher Meloni and Richard Schiff in solid smaller roles.
But the movie is anchored by the brooding physical presence of Cavill as Superman. Not only is Cavill well-built, he possesses dark, edgy good looks that aid his star-making portrayal of Kal-El as the ultimate outsider. Amy Adams is spunky Lois Lane, anything but a damsel in distress. As Zod, Shannon brings psychotic energy to the fore, playing a ruthless soldier who will commit genocide to accomplish his goals.
Promise fulfilled
“Man of Steel” fulfills its promise of a “Superman” movie forged in the mold of “Batman Begins.” It presents a pragmatic take on what would happen if we discovered that an alien, even if a heroic one, walked among us. “My father believed that if the world found out who I really was, they’d reject me,” Kal-El says. “He was convinced that the world wasn’t ready.”
This world is ready. By the end, it is clear this is a spectacular, modern interpretation of “Superman” that overwrites the previous movies. Instead of looking back, “Man of Steel” looks to the future, taking storytelling risks by going from classic to cutting-edge. “Man of Steel” is the franchise-starting, world-building move that heralds a new beginning for Superman—our Superman, one finally done right.
(Warner Bros.’ “Man of Steel” opens in theaters today.)