It's A Bird, It's A Plane...

I've been a fan of the Superman franchise since forever. I watched the Christopher Reeve ones, the Adventures of Lois and Clark, Smallville, most Superman cartoons and read quite a few comics. I don't know what it is about Superman that makes him an incredible figure. Whether it's all of the good he embodies, or the duality of the Clark Kent and Superman personas, or whether a flying character is just really cool to watch. But Superman has always been my favorite superhero, and Man of Steel certainly delivered.

"I refuse to pose in red underwear."

After many versions of the same characters, I was really looking forward to Man of Steel's take. While some of it has been redone, such as some aspects of Clark Kent's life as a child, the differences were pretty huge. There are more sci-fi/futuristic themes, especially on Krypton. Superman's story is also different, and I noticed the focus is more on Kal-El, the Kryptonian, and less on Clark Kent, the "human". There's always been the question of which was Superman's real identity: the red-and-blue-uniformed superhero, or the glasses-wearing reporter? And this movie certainly seems to indicate the former.

The best part for me is the bad guy, General Zod.

Or his Royal Beardliness.

I've always loved the complexity of this individual. In his own mind, Zod is a superhero. He's not motivated by greed or corruption. He's simply doing what he was born to do - defend Krypton and its people at all cost. It would have been noble if it didn't also make him into a ruthless killer. There's this one part near the end where Zod gives a little speech that sums up the futility of his circumstances. Very telling and moving, and it made him even more memorable.

There's also his right-hand woman, Faora, who is very terrifying.

Terrifyingly awesomesauce.

One thing a lot of people dislike about this movie is the amount of destruction. Skyscrapers exploding, people dying left and right - some as a result of Superman's actions. But I found it realistic. These are super beings with the power to destroy entire cities. Their fights aren't going to be contained; they'll be messy and awful and even tragic.

In all, a great movie, one I look forward to seeing about 10 more times when it's out on DVD.