Man of Steel

Starring: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon

Directed by: Zack Snyder

Rating: I Loved It

While there was little doubt in anyone's mind that this newest installment in the Superman film experience almost had to be better than it's most recent predecessor, I personally wasn't expecting to enjoy Man of Steel as much as I did, and I did enjoy it immensely.

The Good:

• As always, casting is a big part of what makes a movie great for me.  
• Cavill and Adams were both great choices for Superman and Lois Lane, respectively.  
• I thought Kevin Costner was a great choice for a Jonathan Kent that has to deliver the news to young Clark that maybe he should have let the kids on the bust die, and Diane Lane portrayed Martha Kent awesomely, too, quiet but strong, and even though I don't usually care much for Russell Crowe, he was a good Jor-El.  
• While it's hard to top Terrance Stamp's original performance of General Zod, Shannon did an OK job, and I don't think Stamp could have stood up to playing a Zod that when through the action this one did.  
• All the minor roles were a lot of fun, too.  Laurence Fishburne did a great job as Perry White, Christopher Meloni was a very likable character (I've been a fan of his since his "Law & Order SVU" days), and I was partricularly excited to see Michael Kelly, who I know from TV's "Person of Interest", in a role.  
• I really enjoyed the jumps back and fort from Clark's present experiences to memories of growing up.  It was a great way to tell a back story like this that most people are already going to know.  
• SPOILER ALERT if you're unfamiliar with Clark's back story - The way in which we see Jonathan die in this movie really did more for Clark's development than almost any other interpretation I've seen.  
• A lot of people forget that the original Superman character didn't fly.  He could "leap tall buildings in a single bound", but flying wasn't one of his abilities.  So, when we have to see him learn how to control that power, or his other abilities for that matter, I think we get to see a very special part of his story.  It was one of my favorite parts of the TV series "Smallville", and I was excited to see that aspect here.  
• The very best aspect of the overall film and story telling in this take on Superman for me was the sci-fi element.  Superman has always been from the planet Krypton, which makes him an alien.  It's always been a big part of his story, I mean, it's the reason he has powers.  The thing that made this different in that aspect is that Snyder and his team made this a "alien" movie.  The remaining Kryptonians invade...an alien invasion.  It was a cool way to see Superman that we really hadn't focused on in that way before.
• Also, lots and lots of Easter eggs that point toward other elements of the DC Universe were scattered throughout the film.  That makes me excited for possibilities.  

The Bad:

• !!HUGE SPOILER ALERT!!  I'm honestly not sure how I feel about this point to be honest, but I'm putting it here due to the fact that I even have to question it.  At the end of the film, Superman is put in a situation where it appears his only two options are, one, kill Zod, or two, allow Zod to kill a family that's caught in the fight.  First, don't argue about how many people have died in the battle already; this is different.  It's right here in front of Clark, and he can stop it.  My argument is more about making it appear he only had the two choices.  Couldn't he have just kept Zod in the headlock and flown off with him?  I don't like that it was made so do or die when I don't feel like it was.  

The Ugly: 

• The only thing here that's ugly is if you haven't seen the movie already.  Now, go!