Superman has gotten quite a few films over the years. I have enjoyed all of them (Excluding Superman Returns) but none of them had the explosive fight scenes that today’s films contain. This film was a good opportunity to show that Superman can have a dynamic action sequence. Plus after the big disappointment that was Superman Returns, we needed a real Superman film!

Before we get into the action segments, let’s go over the plot. Right off the bat you know that it won’t be your average Superman origin story. Krypton looks like something out of Star Wars and it’s definitely a good way to start off the film. General Zod and his minions come into play almost immediately and take on the Council. Jor El takes them on while Superman heads to earth. It was a solid beginning and I liked Jor El’s robot assistants. I could have done without Superman being born into the world scene (It definitely dragged on) but it’s a little thing that won’t hurt the experience. After that we get to see Superman as a fisherman and save people from drowning, but it’s only once Kal El dons the legendary costume that the film picks up again. (On a side note, the new Superman costume is definitely pretty cool. I wouldn’t say that it beats the traditional one, but I have no problems with it. It beats the costumes that most superheroes have)

Now, you won’t want to go into this film comparing everyone to how their DCAU counterparts would act. The characters are definitely different and while they aren’t awful…they aren’t that great either. Lois Lane wasn’t quite the brave reporter that she usually is and her (very brief) romance with Superman comes out of left field. Their scene together definitely wasn’t necessary and I could have done without it. Perry White seemed off during the whole film and the rest of the Daily Planet staff never got to do anything important. Jor El was a pretty good character and he was a good fighter. (Although he let his guard down at a critical time) Jonathon Kent was one of the worst characters in the film. Not only does he tell Superman that he should have let a bus full of innocent kids die so that he could hide his super abilities, but also risks his dog’s life for the “greater good”. Almost every line that Pa Kent said made me cringe a little deep inside. This definitely wasn’t the character that I grew up with and unlike Superman, it wasn’t a good new version. While I wouldn’t say that Superman’s new attitude is better than the classic personality, it’s not a negative change. Jonathon Kent is no longer a character that can be looked up too or admired. Superman’s a good character as always and I didn’t mind his new personality. He doesn’t tend to mock his opponents or brag as much as he used too, but he gets the job done.

Let’s check in with the villains. General Zod made for a good opponent, but was a pretty two dimensional character. I wouldn’t call it a negative thing and I’d still take him over (Sorry folks) the Joker and Loki. General Zod talked a big game, but he could back it up and trade blows with one of the strongest superheroes on the planet. His two main minions, Faora and the power hitter of the group (No idea what his name was though) were also pretty interesting characters. Faora stole the show in hand to hand combat and definitely put up an excellent fight against Superman. (Faora taking on Wonder Woman would make for a great fight) Faora got more screen time than the 3rd minion and even rivals General Zod. Zod may have gotten the final fight scene against Superman, but Faora fought Superman as well as terminated many of the army grunts. The 3rd minion didn’t get much of a role, but had a pretty good fight with Superman and I thought that he was a pretty good fighter.

Now, would the villains have been as cool without the epic fight scenes? I highly doubt it! The fight scenes in Man of Steel are definitely top notch and definitely the best fight scenes in any live action film. There is no film that can even compare with Man of Steel’s action scenes. Avengers, Godzilla, even Spiderman, none of them had the speed and power that the Man of Steel’s battle scenes brought to the table. The soundtrack also gave the battle scenes an extra boost as the music complemented the scenes perfectly. They definitely reminded the audience that these fight scenes had high stakes. As for General Zod’s ending…I can definitely see how it would be controversial. I don’t think that it absolutely needed to happen and I’m maybe a bit skeptical that such a thing would be done to Zod, but hey…it happened in the comics (Albeit in a similar way) didn’t it? So, it wasn’t an extremely shocking thing to me.

The one problem about being a great film is that it puts more pressure on the sequel. We’re going to need more than Lex Luthor if the next film is to match up against this one. Doomsday or Darkseid would make for a pretty great villain, but there aren’t many other Superman villains who could help the sequel surpass this one. General Zod and his men were the perfect adversaries for Superman since they could (almost) match him blow for blow. Still, I will hold out hope for the sequel, after all I hadn’t thought that this film had much potential after seeing the first trailer.

Overall, the Man of Steel is a film that you’ll definitely want to check out. It’s easily the greatest film in a looooong time. Definitely top 5 material and excluding a certain Kaiju series…it is the greatest (live action) film of all time. I highly recommend checking out this film while it’s still in theaters. You won’t regret it!

Overall 9/10