I have a long history with the Superman character.  It was one of my first comic books that I had ever read and spoke most directly to me.  The all-powerful being that chooses to protect, rather than to rule.  It’s how I like to think that I would be, if I had those abilities.  I am such a fan of Superman that I even watched all but one season of ‘Smallville!’  Thankfully, ‘Man of Steel’ succeeds where ‘Smallville’ continuously failed.  I was stuck on the far side of the front row, wearing 3D glasses with my neck craned awkwardly and I still can’t imagine this not being the best movie that I will see this year.

There are a number of things that the movie does well that I can talk about without spoiling anything for you, so I will stick to talking about those subjects.  ‘Man of Steel’ is more sci-fi than a superhero movie.  This was absolutely the right way to go with the origin story film.  There is quite a bit of Krypton and related lore.  It is presented, like Kal-El’s childhood, through time shifts and flashbacks.  Those shifts are never overly-lengthy, but serve to move the story along.  The viewer gets a good sense of who each character is without any heavy-handed dialog.  You get what you need and then the story goes on about it’s business.  The action sequences are well done and are evenly distributed throughout the movie, which is perfect, because the 3D can be a little overwhelming.  That may have been because I was ten feet from the screen, but I imagine that it would be a lot from any angle.  Also, there is no crystal that creates a fancy palace, nor is there any mention of kryptonite.  That made me very happy.  This is the story of an alien to this planet, finding his way on a new world and protecting those he loves.   And it’s good.  Really good.

Ticket price: Free screening

Trailers: Gravity, World War Z