Now Playing: Man of Steel

Full disclosure: I do not like Superman. Sometimes, it borders on hate. It starts with his name: superman? More like GenericKryptonian. And that silly boy scout attitude. And don’t even get me started on his “disguise” – Lois Lane has to be the dumbest reporter alive if she can’t see Clark for who he is. When I watched Smallville, I had the same issue with Lex’s willful blindness. Then there’s the Superman Returns – terrible. Just terrible. Poor Kevin Spacey was lost in a quagmire of horrid scripts, flat acting, and ridiculous plot.

Enter Man of Steel.
Couldn’t help but have low expectations.

WhenI heard that Henry Cavill would be donning the cape, suddenly things didn't seem so bleak. People may be saddened over yet another Brit taking on an American icon, but let’s face it - you have to have some serious gravitas to pull off a cape and tights. And Brandon Routh didn’t have it. In fact, the casting is solid all-around: standouts include Amy Adams, Laurence Fishburne, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, and, surprise surprise, Russell Crowe. The acting level is what I expect from a cast of that calibre. You know who really stole the show? Dylan Sprayberry. He’s the 13-year-old Clark, and his spark with Costner and Lane is just pitch perfect.

So, the stage is set, the costumes are sewn (looking great), the writers are lined up (David S. Goyer? Christopher Nolan? Checkheck!) – now, it was all about delivery.

It delivers.

Some of you may consider what's written below as "spoilers" - I wouldn't, but consider yourself warned. 
Many people are up in arms about the “deviations” from the comic origin story. To them I say: get with it. This is a Nolan world, where he tries to be as realistic as possible. Which is hard to do when you’re dealing with aliens and superpowers. If Man of Steel has to tie in the Dark Knight series and then coalesce into a Justice League franchise, there’s no way you can have the same origin story as from almost a century ago. Just like Catwoman had goggles (not ears) and Joker had a permanent smile (not just makeup), you have to give some leeway for Superman.  So yes, he leaps tall buildings in a single bound.  He also flies.

I liked that the Kents were genuinely afraid for Clark even while instilling a real sense of morality. I really like how they practice what they preach. I liked that the Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van had true motivations for sending their boy into the dark cold reaches of space. The whole “genesis chamber” idea is brilliant and I’m glad that’s the route they took. Lois is no fool and I totally buy Amy Adams as a Pulitzer-prize winning investigative journalist. But enough about the cast, let’s talk about the Boy Scout. Who is, in so many ways, still a Boy Scout – but he also has a temper and he actively fights his impulse to act rashly, even if it would be justly. I can see a maturing in Clark, from six to nine to sixteen to nineteen through his twenties and finally at the (ripe?) age of thirty-three.

I like a lot of things about this movie. Its sharp swerve away from campy villains and condescending superiority really made Clark much more human that superman. 4 out of 5 stars.

PS: I look very much forward to the second installment, when we get away from origins and start sinking our teeth into some villains! Will it be Lex? The tanker says so. Could it be Will Smith, who can charm anyone and would be an excellent President Luthor? Or maybe, they reunite Cavill with Jonathan Rhys Meyers, who I’d buy as a weak-bodied but strong-willed Lex? Or, maybe, it’s Leo, who can be equal parts disarming and ruthless? I have faith in Nolan casting for that.  Never thought I'd be this excited for the man in red underoos.