Man of Steel

Superman is the original Superhero, created in comic book form in 1932 and brought to life on the big and small screens numerous times. To me and many of my generation, Christopher Reeve will always be Superman, so I have a hard time watching someone else try and fill those shoes. I was pleasantly surprised by Brandon Routh's recreation of Clark Kent/Superman in 2006's Superman Returns and I hoped I would like this one just as much, but I just didn't.

I had a hard time following the characters and with such a different storyline than what we are used to with the previous depictions of the comic book hero, it was much different than what I expected.

I have to give it props for action scenes ~ and there were MANY, but it lacked the romance between Lois and Superman that is present in the previous renditions. I was impressed by the performance of both of Superman's fathers, played by Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner. I wanted to like Henry Cavill as the Krypton-born protector of the Earth, but it just didn't work for me. Perhaps I hold a little prejudice in knowing that he's British. Really? A British guy playing OUR American Superhero??? That would be like making an epic film about the Beatles and having the gang from Jersey Shore playing the Fab Four. It's. Just. Not. Right.

Ok, with the casting flub aside, my boys were glued to the screen. The fact that it kept their attention for 2 hours and 23 minutes at the drive in theatre is saying something. But in the end, they all agreed with me that it was a remake that didn't need to be done. The previous versions were better. Wait for it to come to DVD or Netflix and spend your time and money on a different Summer blockbuster.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give it 4 buckets of popcorn.