The story starts off on Krypton, with the planetary leaders not listening to Jor-el, father of Superman or General Zod warning of the impending destruction of the planet. This leads to Jor-el to infuse the codex of the entire Kryptonian race into his child's DNA and send him into space. General Zod however, didn't see Jor-el's child fit for the codex and the fight ended with Jor-El being murdered. Zod was arrested and sent to the phantom zone along with his followers before Krypton exploded.
Now on earth, Kal-El was found by John and Martha Kent and raised as a farm boy. His father worries that when people know of his powers he will be judged, and a ton of bad things can end up happening to him. Therefore Clark, as he's now called, has been raised hiding his abilities. Although when someone is in trouble, Clark will do what he can to save them, but as he got older he would expose his power under a fake identity and then disappear, as to keep his secret safe. On one of his "odd jobs" he runs into a Kryptonian ship and meets his fathers consciousness. Lois Lane, reporter for the Daily Planet, follows Clark into the shit and is wounded by the robotic security. Clark then saves her. Now, equip with a new suit, Clark decides it's time to try out his abilities. However, General Zod has come, and is threatening the Earth for Clark to surface and face him. Zod tells Clark of his plan to turn Earth into another Krypton and eventually send both Clark and Lois back to Earth. He then releases a "World Engine" to change change the Earth into an inhabitable place for Kryptonians, killing all humans in the process. The military try their best but can't seem to help, so it's up to Superman to save the day.
This film FINALLY portrays the REAL Superman on screen. The Richard Donner films were great for their time, but couldn't really show what Superman can do, therefore felt very grounded and safe. Not here. Superman's back story was important. It really helped viewers understand why he is the way he is. How he was hesitant to be a "hero", why he was hesitant, and how he tried to overcome that hesitance. Clark believed in his father. Even though he is pretty much a God, when his father raised his hand for him to stand down he did. That's an important scene that really shows how Clark viewed his father and his fathers beliefs.
Lois Lane was finally shown to be a great reporter in this film. I liked how she knew Clark was Superman before he was "Superman". It killed the notion that she can be intimate with Superman yet look at Clark and have no idea who he is for all those years. they made a special type of bond, though the scene where they're in the desert staring each other down was pretty weird.
The fight scenes in this movie were jaw dropping. Superman actually LOOKED like Superman. But Zod was still a military general. His followers were also trained. So Superman had the strength but they had the expertise in hand to hand combat and that was shown. Superman got his ass handed to him. He knew this, but that didn't stop him. It showed the lengths Superman was willing to go to in order to save people.
There was a lot of ridiculous backlash about how Superman destroyed Metropolis....*cough* world engine *cough*. Superman initially didn't "attack" Zod as much as push him away from his mother, which landed them in a town behind the cornfield. Then Superman was jumped by Faora, General Zods second in command. She was clearly in control of the fight. Superman couldn't fly away if he wanted to (as shown when he did and they grabbed him and smacked him back into the ground). The final battle happened in Metropolis, which was abandoned by those who were alive and able to escape. The buildings still standing were already ready to crumble due to the effects of the world engine in the heart of the city. Yet again superman had Zod in the sky, not on the ground where people may still be hiding. This fight sequence was awesome as well. Superman actually looked like a god, finally. So to say he destroyed the city or any stupidity like that shows those people didn't really pay attention, because when Superman arrived there was no city left.
Now, the controversial scene of Superman killing Zod. This isn't the family friendly Donner movies. This is a Superman movie, based off the Superman comics. To think him killing Zod destroys his character shows those people have no idea who Superman even is! Hell, he's killed Zod IN THE COMICS with little empathy!
General Zod was an exceptional villain in this movie. His motives weren't just pure evil like the bad guys in the cliche Marvel films by Disney. His actions were understood and his pain made sense. He wasn't a one dimensional character thrown into the film because it's pop corn heroes needed a bad guy.
Some things that bothered me however, was when Superman was on Zod's ship and they invaded his mind. That scene seemed unnecessary and it wasn't until watching the movie twice that I even understood what just happened. I also didn't get Zods interest in Lois Lane. She just proved to be a thorn in their side. However the unrelenting military presence was great. Some movies like to have Armageddon happening but not even a concerned cop shows up. So it was nice to see a film try to show how the world would really react to an event like an alien attack.
Through it's flaws The Man of Steel was what fans deserved and needed. The writing was great and the direction phenomenal. The character development was also stand out and done properly. The changes to certain characters and relationships also created a breath of fresh air. DC really showed they know how to craft great, not just popcorn super hero flicks.
9/10
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