Man of Steel – Movie Review

By: Too many to list—IMDB it.

The Story: The shocking secret behind Superman’s beard.

The Review: This is a very precarious point in DC’s quest for broad appeal.  Marvel has established a very specific style for all its movies, one that audiences can easily love: a combination of spectacular action and credible character work.  DC’s recent film projects have been anything but consistent.  On the high end of the spectrum you have Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, with so much thematic value as to nearly be considered important.  On the low end, you have Green Lantern, which attempts and fails to emulate the Marvel style of superhero movie, confusing sex and angst for wit and drama.

Man of Steel clearly follows in the Nolan tradition and thus signals the kind of DC movies to come: striving for sophistication without losing any of that superhero action.  In the latter respect, it succeeds extremely well.  Whether it’s evoking fantastic settings, like the liquid-metallic world of Krypton, or simply bombarding you with one thrilling, CGI-laden scene after another, the special effects on this film are worth every expensive penny of its budget.  Even in 2D, they are worthy of gasps and the occasional “Woah!”