Warner Bros. has rebooted its Superman franchise — again — and, to its credit, has gone in a different direction.  Man of Steel has a visual style and story sensibility all its own, unrelated to either the four Christopher Reeve movies of the 1970s and ’80s or the Brandon Routh movie of 2006.  Zack Snyder’s movie is familiar, yet unfamiliar to anyone who remembers those earlier projects, and his emphasis is on the human reception to Superman as an alien first, protector of the American way second.

I think Snyder’s intent is to invest Man of Steel with an authenticity that the previous films didn’t have; to imagine a “first contact” scenario that is convincing and realistic and yet remain faithful to the Superman legend.  To some degree, he succeeds.  His storytelling sense utilizes flashbacks and big jumps in time instead of the gradual, linear approach preferred by Richard Donner in his seminal Superman: The Movie  (1978).  The flashbacks add exposition and character development, yet are jarring within the context of the narrative.  So is the frequent hand-held, sometimes out-of-focus cinematography.  These touches are done in the name of artistry — which was probably a mistake with a subject as popular as Superman.

Where the film really veers out of control is its heavy insistence during the second half to stage interminable battles between Superman (handsome, hairy Henry Cavill) and General Zod (intense Michael Shannon) and Zod’s minions (especially sexy Antje Traue as Faora-Ul).  First, the town of Smallville is pretty well decimated in one battle, and by the U. S. Army’s insistence in taking part.  Then the scene shifts to Metropolis, which in the climax of the film suffers horrible devastation.  Yet everything seems fine again in the very last scene, when Clark Kent is finally introduced to the fine folks at the Daily Planet — a locale which seemed sure to be destroyed just a few short minutes previously.  Snyder’s staging of the battles between Superman, Zod and Zod’s posse, all of whom have superpowers in Earth’s feeble gravity, is kinetic and frenetic, but garishly phony and dramatically absurd. Possibly small children will be thrilled with all this mayhem but it sure didn’t do anything for me except cause boredom and headaches.

I like Amy Adams as Lois Lane and several of the supporting players in their roles, yet none of them really win me heart and soul.  Snyder’s film is so earnest and unctuous that it ignores its primary responsibility, which is to entertain.  By contrast, I’ve never forgotten Glenn Ford’s turn as Pa Kent in 1978; he was so perfect in the role that I wept when the character died.  Donner’s film is filled with wonder and humor and awe; Snyder’s film is more cerebral but doesn’t deliver any of the visual poetry or emotional lyricism that Donner’s film had in spades.

I must admit that Man of Steel began pretty well; the Krypton scenes are imaginative and contain elements of futuristic brilliance.  On the other hand, the whole “codex” story line is patently absurd, especially if anyone could dive into a pool and retrieve their species’ genetic code, such as Jor-El (Russell Crowe) does.  And what, exactly, drove the Kryptonians into decline after “one hundred thousand years” of galactic conquest and success?  A baby ban?  Really?  What a bunch of malarkey.

Man of Steel is an intriguing take on the Superman legend, but it ultimately fails as entertainment.  Every interesting aspect or good performance is counterbalanced by insipid dialogue about Kal-El’s responsibility to lead and save the humans when he is discovered, or unbelievable special effects involving office buildings exploding, or the inevitable questions that arise regarding why things are presented, or not presented, they way they are.  Where is Jimmy Olson?  How many thousands of people were killed during the Superman – Zod battle in Metropolis?  Will insurance cover all the property damage caused by the aliens?  How did General Zod escape the black hole that he created?  And why would anyone continue to live in Metropolis after the city is pummeled so soundly?  The guy in the suit and cape seems like a magnet for trouble, and sensible citizens would be smart to keep their distance.  Unfortunately, this also applies to discerning moviegoers.  ☆ ☆.  28 June 2013.