Superman is an ideal of hope. An Ideal of Hope is the the name of the Man of Steel theme track by Hans Zimmer, (you can hear it here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fr78tn873UQ). Hans Zimmer, who in the words of Man of Steel director Zack Snyder, "crushed it!" meaning he knocked the Man of Steel music score outta the park. He smartly went in a completely different direction from the John Williams fanfare, and that was a good move because that is quite possibly the greatest movie theme ever composed. The music was deep.
From the get go I was captivated by the sheer vastness of the CGI artists' imagination and the design of Krypton. Brilliant. The costume design and technology conceptions were fantastic. The flying was something else. Pretty Cool. I do think that there should be some flying scenes that would more allow us to take in the majesty of being able to fly. When Supes is flying over what looks to be a herd of Zebras in Africa I would have liked to take it in better. Having said that, I get it he is flying very fast.
The Christ imagery (its fun Easter Egg hunting to spot it) was clear. Supes is indeed the super metaphor for Christ the Savior.
The Lessons in human arrogance and environmentalism were something we can all learn from the fabled Krypton. The moral lessons from the Kents to their Kryptonian son were solid, as usual. The story was very well thought out and I am glad that Chris Nolan and David Goyer were in on the story and writing. I am certain that this movie has resurrected a Superman franchise. We can thank the previous Dark Knight trilogy and Nolan's fresh take on superheroes for that. Zack Snyder is clearly an artistic visionary and he was able to pull the pictures out of his head and get the CGI guys to put those pictures on the big screen.
The action was bone-crunching and, to my 45 year old sensibilities, a little too elongated. Having said that, the action did make up for the all-too-mellow 2006 Superman Returns. By the end of it you feel bad for Metropolis and Smallville. They get fairly leveled. There were poignant moments that gripped your heart as you see Superman make tough choices.
The cast was terrific. Henry Cavill deserves to wear the cape. He is a great actor. Amy Adam's Lois Lane was clever and full of life and discernment. Russell Crowe's work as Jor-El made me wish we had a two hour prequel about Krypton to Man of Steel. Jor-El was one kick butt and noble dad. I can see where Supes gets it. Kevin Costner was a great choice for Jonathan Kent and gave Clark a good man to look up to. Diane Lane played a tough farm-girl Martha Kent, who wasn't gonna get pushed around. I found myself wanting more of the Daily Planet Staff because Perry White, played by Laurence Fishburne, was great. Jenny Olsen, Jimmy Olsen's female replacement had a next-to-nothin' role as an intern until she got to act in a crisis situation and did very well. Michael Shannon was brilliant as General Zod--whadda bad guy! Shannon can act.
All in all I am looking forward to seeing it again. Which means I liked it. I give it a 9.2 outta 10.
'Nuff Said.
