This review by Ari Armstrong captures pretty much how I feel about Man of Steel (MoS), which I saw yesterday with my family as part of our Father's Day celebration. I liked MoS primarily because it had a villain truly worthy of Superman. I liked the mythic elements of the original Superman movie but felt it was undermined by the banality of its villain Lex Luthor. MoS plays it straight with no campiness or tongue-in-cheekiness (if there is such a word).
It's been interesting reading the various reviewers who have criticized for MoS not being light hearted like the original. It's almost as though they object to MoS for taking itself so darn seriously. On the other hand I agree that the epic fight scenes at the end were a bit long and repetitive. I mean, how many times can you plow each other through skyscrapers before the combatants conclude that this isn't working?
Bottom line: I loved MoS and it left me hoping there will be more to come as long as the sequels stay true to the mythology reaffirmed by this movie. It was fitting that I saw the movie on Father's Day because the scenes of the young Clark and his adopted father resonated with me.
