Man of Steel (2013)

To the Summary!
Kal-El is sent to Earth to escape the destruction of his home planet, Krypton.  He grows up under the watchful eyes of the Kents, only to be discovered by his Kryptonian father's nemesis, General Zod.

To the Cast!
Henry Cavill - Clark Kent/Kal-El
Amy Adams - Lois Lane
Michael Shannon - General Zod
Diane Lane - Martha Kent
Kevin Costner - Jonathan Kent
Russell Crowe - Jor-El
Antje Traue - Faora-Ul
Harry Lennix - General Swanwick
Richard Schiff - Dr. Emil Hamilton
Christopher Meloni - Colonel Nathan Hardy
Ayelet Zurer - Lara Lor-Van
Laurence Fishburne - Perry White

To the Deeper Thoughts!
Christopher Reeve who?

Or

This movie makes Superman look like Superman IV.

Bold words, I know.  Perhaps a bit extreme.  But well earned by this film.  Its not even like there are a lot of big changes to the story.  It was fleshed out in parts.  The downfall and destruction of Krypton for example.  I'm not begrudging the originals at all.  I love the first two; they are great movies.  But Man of Steel does something that has always been (in my opinion) missing from Superman.

It makes him interesting.  I've always found Superman to be straight laced, and admittedly, bland.  But the Clark/Kal-El we get here is a bit deeper, a bit darker.

Instead of being exposed to his life in chronological order, we are given a series of flashbacks that show how he was shaped by Jonathan and Martha Kent.  How Martha taught him to control his powers and Jonathan taught him to temper his power and strength.

Clark finally finds a Kryptonian scout ship (becomes the Fortress of Solitude) and activates it.  Well, this brings Earth to the attention of one General Zod.

Zod and his followers were banished to the Phantom Zone for their attempted coup of the Kryptonian government.  But when Krypton was destroyed, their ship was pulled out of the Phantom Zone.  Using some inginuity, they re-wire their ship and head to Earth to capture Kal-El.  What makes Kal so special is that he was born of love.  Not purpose.  All Kryptonian children and programmed to do something particular when born.  Jor-El, scientist.  Zod, military leader.  So Kal-El is an abomination in Zod's eyes.

Once Zod and company get to Clark/Superman, the movie takes off.

See what I did there?

Moving on.

Smallville is leveled, as is most of Metropolis.  This is a battle between supermen.  There's going to be damage.  And there's damage.  Lots and lots of damage.  Needless to say, Superman wins; saving the city.

Our final scene is Clark arriving at The Daily Planet to start his career as a journalist.  Lois already knows who Clark really is, and there's an unspoken agreement between them to keep his secret safe.

I liked this movie.  It really blows all previous Superman films away.  I don't know if its technology finally giving us the visuals to bring some of these things to light. But, damn.  This is a great movie.  I thought Henry Cavill was perfectly cast and I can't wait to see the next installment in this cinematic adventure.