What did you think of 'Man of Steel'?

I always try to run home and write up these reviews as soon as possible after seeing a film, because I have this nasty tendency to totally over-think everything. I argue with myself a lot, and I don't really want that to come out here. That being said, I just saw, at long last, Man of Steel. Woo hoo! Last week I knew that I needed to have reasonable expectations going in that this was not going to be like any other Superman movie I've ever seen. Reviews were a little scary (on the low side, particularly given the hype), so I am glad that my mindset was right when I settled into our theater to see this flick in IMAX and 3D. I'm going broke, you know, with all of these blockbusters, but hey sometimes you've just got to go all out. I'll try to avoid too many plot details, in case others haven't seen Man of Steel yet.

I've spent a few minutes breaking down what I liked and disliked about Man of Steel, so let's begin with the good: Henry Cavill is a great Superman. A really great one. I mean looks aside (and really, it's hard to *not* mention the man's otherworldly good looks), he has a commanding presence on screen and I was immediately drawn in to him as Clark Kent/Kal-El/Superman. For so many decades now, my Superman has always been Christopher Reeve. Finally, now, I feel like there's someone else who can take on this role and do it well.

Mad props for casting Henry Cavill in this role. Cavill is Superman now in my mind.

Okay, another thing I actually liked: The storyline. I've heard some grumblings from friends about the fact that they thought Man of Steel dragged too much in the first half, but I disagree. It was setting things up, not just for this film, but for future films. We need to understand that Superman grows up having a hard time figuring out who he is and wrestling with his identity. We need Jonathan Kent to help him understand why his true abilities should be kept under cover for a while. We also need Jonathan (Kevin Costner here, in a nice role) to help Clark handle all the difficulties he has growing up essentially as a god among men.

So yes, a very large part of time in Man of Steel is spent setting things up, helping us understand who Superman really is - physically, mentally and emotionally.

I am a huge Christopher Nolan fan. Huge. I believe that his Batman trilogy is one of the greatest accomplishments in modern blockbuster film making. And despite my saying that I was not going to compare this first Man of Steel/Superman movie installment to Batman Begins, I did it anyway.

I see why some have called Man of Steel "The Dark Knight-ification of Superman," and I'm okay with that being true. I've always believed the greatest superheroes are those who struggle internally with whatever demons they have, and come out on the other side stronger. Batman's a bit more screwed up (with good reason, he's human after all), but Superman has just as many issues growing up.

I like my superheroes conflicted. I want them to occasionally be filled with self-doubt and I need them to wrestle with moral dilemmas (like how to dispose of their enemies). So, in the same way I adored Batman Begins for showing us Bruce Wayne struggling to come to terms with life's tragedies and find his own way, I adored Man of Steel for helping me understand what Clark went through as a child/young man.

Not everyone's going to agree with me on this, I get that. Not everyone will agree with me that the liberties taken to tell this Superman story worked. To some degree, I can understand why longtime fans might not like this unique version. It's a total retelling. For me? It worked.

Oh, one other thing I loved about Man of Steel: The music! Hans Zimmer did not disappoint with his sweeping score. I'll confess something: Despite my great love of music I don't always pay close attention to movie scores while I'm watching. Oh I heard this one. Just wonderful stuff. I'm thinking about getting the Man of Steel soundtrack, I liked it so much.

Yes, there were some things I didn't like about Man of Steel, though I do not believe it deserved such a low rating on Rotten Tomatoes. The fight scenes were truly intense and visually stunning (huge understatement there), but they were entirely too long. I'd heard that the ending was intense, but I didn't realize that I'd be so...bombarded? That's the word I'm looking for, I think. Yes, I felt like I was just visually bombarded towards the end of the film. I cannot for one second question Zack Snyder's remarkable vision, but sometimes less is more.

There is one other huge thing I took issue with, but it involves our hero Superman and his (shocking) actions towards the end of the film. If you've seen it, you probably know exactly what I'm talking about. It didn't fit with the classic vision I have in my mind of Superman, and I can clearly see why this is causing some uproar among fans. More about that sometime later though, once we know you've all seen the movie. I hate spoilers so much, I'm holding off.

Whew. Okay I really need to go process Man of Steel a little more, but that's my take for now. I think you're going to hear mixed reviews from movie goers for sure. If one of those Cinemascore people asked me outside the theater to "grade" the film I'd say B+ (for me that means "Yeah it was kinda fun, interesting, visually awesome and I didn't hate it"). My spouse, interesting enough, who isn't a "Superman guy" (his statement, not mine), said he actually liked this one way more than any of the other Superman movies.

So now it's your turn: Did you see Man of Steel over the weekend and if so, was it a yea or a nay (or somewhere in-between)? What did you like or dislike the most?

Photos courtesy of Rope of Silicon and SheKnows.com