Man Of Steel!

This past Sunday we fought the crowds along with hordes of other people and gave-in and saw the new Superman Man Of Steel in a packed theater.

The movie was good. Better than I was expecting. My son and enjoyed it but my husband who is much harder to please was disappointed that too much of Kanas got blow to bits and Metropolis was relentlessly pummeled in an alien battle for the Earth’s magnetic core that simply would not end.

I’ll admit I did get numb to the wanton destruction of rural and urban America BUT I was distracted by those minor flaws by Henry Cavil’s hotness and enjoyed the show.

Saying Henry Cavil is hot is a shallow thing to do. Henry seems to have a real sweetness to him at least there’s a very sweet quality that comes through in this movie. Going into this I wasn’t sure I could accept him as Superman. First Henry is British and Superman is as American as apple pie from a Kanas farm. Second, I’m a pretty big Superman fan. How big? I always loved the comics and loved sketching Superman as art practice. I used to be a physical trainer and many of the people I worked with or saw in physical therapy at the gym were in wheelchairs and had injuries or disabilities they were working with.

The most common tattoo I saw in those days on men and women, young and old alike was the iconic Superman shield. I love the fact that in this movie we are told the “S” stands for “Hope” because that’s exactly what it means to so many people.

I wanted to name our son after a real life hero who inspired people so my husband and I both agreed that we admired Christopher Reeves. Because of Christopher Reeves’ courage and determination he and Superman will always be one in my mind.

The look of this Superman is stunning. Planet Krypton was beautifully realized. The machinery has an organic quality. Superman’s father Jor-El  played by a slightly scruffy Russell Crowe, swoops through the skies on a dragon (who knew?) Krypton is exposed here for what it was—a troubled and doomed place populated by beings no better or worse than us.

I thought the best moments in The Man Of Steel were the quiet ones. The subtle interaction between young Clark and his Earthly parents played beautifully by Kevin Costner and Diana Lane, are a treat. Honestly I loved Clark on a fishing boat, or Clark the drifter better than Superman because the scenes were quieter (Nothing was blowing up) and Henry was acting and he is a very good actor. Overall I think the Superman franchise has been successfully rebooted and now we can move onto the other thing I love—Superman as Clark Kent struggling to fit in. I’m a total sucker for Clark Kent…

Also Hans Zimmer has written an Oscar worthy score for this movie. I loved it.