By Sorraya Brashear-Evans
As an avid comic book reader, nothing bothers me more than when screenwriters don’t stick to the origin comic book (e.g. The Mandarin’s character depiction in “Iron Man 3”). But in Zach Synder’s “Man of Steel,” retelling the original story of a beloved superhero without adding much cinematic appeal proved to be the film’s biggest downfall.
I was quite disappointed with screenwriter David Goyer’s failure to formulate a more cohesive plotline for younger viewers who might not have been as familiar with Superman as an older audience. Despite the first hour being the better half of the film, it still jumped between Superman’s past and present, which yielded a very confused audience.
What I did like about the film was how strong of a cast it possessed. Russell Crowe was a natural authoritative figure in his role as Jor-El, while Kevin Costner and Diane Lane were also very good at conveying a strong nurturing aspect of Superman’s adoptive parents. Michael Shannon makes a sinister villain in his role as Zod, and last but not least, Henry Cavill as Superman was an ultimate fit. Cavill’s overall look screamed Superman and despite what critics say, he embodied the role very well considering he was working with such a bleakly written script.
Although a daring first attempt at an origin story for Superman, this story is too big and should never be rushed.
