My quick rating - 7.6/10. Summer blockbuster season rolls on. I am pretty sure most of you know this is the story of Superman (DC Comics). If you have seen previous movies, this movie somewhat combines Superman 1 and 2 together into its own stand-alone movie. In a far-out galaxy, a planet that has been depleting its resources is doomed to implode and the only chance for the race's survival is in one natural-born child, Kal-El (Henry Cavill/Superman) At the brink of the destruction of the planet, Jor-El (Russell Crowe/Supermans father) devises a way to send his son to Earth in hopes to save the human race and keep the legacy of Krypton alive. In a coup, General Zod (Michael Shannon) kills Kal-El in his own hopes of leading the people of Krypton to salvation but instead is imprisoned and sent off into a dark land for all eternity. But not before Kal-El can send Superman off to Earth. Here we follow Cal (Clark as most of you know him by) as he must adjust to life on Earth along with the power and responsibility of possessing it. The movie spends an excessive amount of time showing the trials of being a superhero. That being said, it is done very well in script and acting. Throughout the course of this, Lois Lane's (Amy Adams) character is introduced and is set on finding out who Clark really is. This of course leads to the romantic involvement that was destined to occur. If this sounds like a romantic drama, it pretty much is. But of course, Zod(and his counterparts) comes after Kal (Clark) to retrieve the DNA data from his now destroyed civilization which will lead to the action and summer blockbuster worthiness of this film. At the drop of a hat, the movie shifts the serious undertones the first hour or so had, and turns into a free-for-all all of special effects and explosions that may make Michael Bay take notice (ala Zack Snyder). I do believe the drama and completely contrived romance were a bit long and drawn out. But the way this movie dismissed it completely to obliterate the city was more of a distraction in the storytelling. Sure it looked and sounded great in the theater (twice already this year to a theater? not sure what is going on with me) but overall the balance of drama and action just was not handled very well. I also believe with the sheer amount of material they tried to cram into the 2 hours and 20 minutes, they did the best they could. All the pieces were in place to deliver an epic story, but the presentation fell just a bit short. Overall, I did like the movie, and would recommend it. I would be failing if I did not mention the obvious correlation between Krypton's demise being compared to what we have been doing to our own planet. Sit back and enjoy it for what it is worth, solid acting (heck, Kevin Costner was Clark's dad) and story for one half, complete mayhem in the form of action and destruction in the second half, and with that being known in advance, I believe you will like this movie. Thank you Ali and Jayden for a nice movie night and also a big thanks to the dude who gave us free passes on the way into the theater to make this a nice and cheap night out. (Written 07.02.13 and edited 11.12.23.)
