Review - Man of Steel (2013)

     Hey guys, Chuck here. Well, since I took a look at the most recent DC Extended Universe film, Birds of Prey, back when it was in theaters in February, I think now is the time to take a look at the rest of the DCEU films. And what better one to start with that 2013's Man of Steel? Directed by Zack Snyder and produced by Christopher Nolan, this film came about when, during development on The Dark Knight Rises, writer David S. Goyer came up with the idea to re-invent Superman in a realistic way, and well, let's take a look at the end result of that concept. This is Man of Steel. 

    We open with Jor-El and his wife Lara on the planet Krypton, as Lara gives birth to a son, making that boy Krypton's first natural-born child in centuries since the implementation of artificial population control. Some time later, Jor-El attempts to persuade the Kryptonian council of the impending danger due to the core of Krypton starting to collapse, which will destroy the planet. Jor-E seeks control of a device called "the Codex" from the Registry of Citizens, when a battalion of soldiers, led by General Zod, arrives to overthrow the council, believing that they have led Krypton to ruin. Zod offers Jor-El a place at his side, but Jor-El refuses. Jor-El makes his escape, and retrieves the Codex himself. Returning to his home, Jor-El and Lara prepare a rocket to place their infant son into, and Jor-El breaks down the Codex, infusing it into his son's cells. Zod arrives, and during a fight with Jor-El, is enraged when the rocket launches with both the Codex and Jor-El's son. Zod then kills Jor-El, but is unable to destroy the rocket, which enters hyperspace en route to the planet Earth. Zod and his forces are arrested and sentenced to the Phantom Zone. Zod and his forces are frozen in some phallic-looking pods, and hurled up a ship that takes them into the Phantom Zone. Some time later, Lara looks on as Krypton destroys itself, hoping the best for her son, Kal-El.

    So, it's at this point that the timeline for Kal-El, or as he's known by his Earth name of Clark Kent, jumps all over the place. So, let's break some of it down. Clark, due to the radiation from Earth's sun and atmosphere, had trouble with adjusting to his various powers as a child. Not only that, but he also managed to save a bus full of his classmates, including both Pete Ross and Lana Lang, from drowning in the river.  We also see the many odd jobs that Clark, using various aliases, has taken over the years, including working on a fishing boat, and rescuing workers on an exploding oil rig. Clark later joins an expedition in the Arctic, where a crashed Kryptonian ship was found beneath the ice. Also on the expedition are Dr. Emil Hamilton, a scientist working with the U.S. government on the expedition, and Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane. As Clark investigates the ship, Lois follows him, and is attacked by a Kryptonian drone patrolling the ship. Clark saves her, and returns her to the rest of the expedition team, before departing with the now active ship. It is here that Clark meets a projection of Jor-El, who tells him the story of Krypton, and of how their doom came about. Giving him a suit with the family crest of the House of El, which is a symbol that means "hope," Clark takes his newfound knowledge of his origins and returns to Kansas.

    Back in Metropolis, Lois prepares her story about the expedition, and journeys to many places learning about Clark's past. Unfortunately, her boss at the Daily Planet, Perry White, doesn't approve of publishing the story, leading to Lois confronting Clark directly, asking him to tell his story. After he tells of his adoptive father, Jonathan, sacrificing his own life so that Clark's identity could remain secret, Lois decides to drop the story entirely. One night, the Kryptonian Ship that carried Zod and his forces into the Phantom Zone, arrives in Earth's orbit, carrying with it a recovered World Engine. A message from Zod is sent across the world, and asks Clark to surrender himself. The U.S. military sets up shop, taking Lois with them. Clark arrives soon after, and surrenders himself to the military, speaking with Lois about himself and what he fears Zod can do. The next morning, Zod's lieutenant, Faora, arrives to collect both Clark and Lois, giving Lois a breather, due to the atmospherics on their ship not being compatible with humans. Clark, unfortunately, has to endure the atmospherics, which he never adapted to dur to being raised on Earth. Zod then reveals his plans to use his ship, along with the World Engine, to alter Earth's atmospherics to match with Krypton's, turning Earth into a new Krypton. Clark, after escaping thanks to Jor-El being uploaded into the ship's mainframe by Lois, makes a plan to send Zod's ship back to the Phantom Zone, and his forces along with it, using the rocket he arrived in to do so. Clark destroys the world engine, which lands in the Indian Ocean, and returns to Metropolis to help the military with sending Zod's ship back to the Phantom Zone. Zod, meanwhile, learns that the Codex is in Clark's cells. Clark stops the ship that he found in the Arctic, despite Zod's warning of "If you destroy this ship, you destroy Krypton." Clark responds with "Krypton had its chance!" and brings the ship down, going to save Lois as the aircraft carrying Clark's rocket crashes into Zod's ship, sending it and his forces back to the Phantom Zone. 

    Zod, enraged with this, vows to destroy everyone and everything Clark cares about, leading to the two having a grudge match that levels part of downtown Metropolis, destroys a WayneTech satellite in space, and ends with Clark snapping Zod's neck to save a family nearby that Zod was going to kill. Clark then confronts General Swanwick, who wants to know if he can trust Clark won't turn against America, but Clarks tell the general that he grew up in Kansas, and that he'll protect humanity on his terms only. Clark, after meeting with his adoptive mother, Martha, in Kansas, decides to get a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis, ending the movie. 

    I have to admit, Man of Steel is my absolute favorite Superman movie. I like the casting of both Henry Cavill and Amy Adams as Superman and Lois, as well as Michael Shannon as Zod, Russell Crowe as Jor-El, and both Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as the Kents. The action was really good, and I look at the notion of Superman's first real villain being General Zod to be a smart move. Putting the more inexperienced Superman against a Kryptonian military general to be quite a smart move. I also really liked the casting of Laurence Fishburne as Perry White, as well as Harry Lennix as General Swanwick. Overall, producer Christopher Nolan and director Zack Snyder did a terrific job reinventing the Superman mythos, and I give Man of Steel a rating of 4.5/5. Had this been the end of it, that would have been okay. However, at a San Diego Comic-Con panel, a sequel was announced, with a quote from Frank Miller's "The Dark Knight Returns" giving a hint at who Superman would be facing in his next big screen appearance. Join me next time as I take a look at said sequel: Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice.