Man of Steel Review

"A movie that succeeds in making Superman 
human...metaphorically." 

Let's face it folks, ever since Superman III 30 years ago, a good film adaptation about the character has been hard to come by. Unless you want to count Hollywoodland which revolves around the story of George Reeves, but I digress...
Man of Steel is the latest shot at slapping a grown man in tights and directing him to leap tall buildings in a single bound and a studio crossing their fingers that it won't flop. The fans meanwhile are holding their breath wondering if Hollywood just wasting the public's time. My answer is...no. 
Here's what you get from Man of Steel: Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) is a man with incredible gifts no human can do and has spent the majority of his life questioning where he comes from and what he's meant to do. In finding his origins as Kal-El, survivor of the lost planet Krypton, Clark discovers his true purpose of using his gifts to become a beacon of hope for the planet Earth. That hope will be needed quite soon when evil rises in the form of General Zod (Michael Shannon) a fellow Kryptonian who intends to trample the human race and Clark as well should he choose to oppose him. Clark must therefore embrace his heritage as an outcast from the stars and his upbringing as a man of morals to become the legendary Superman and defend the human race from Zod's wrath. 
Christopher Nolan of the Batman trilogy comes in to godfather this movie as a producer and help provide a dark atmosphere: in every sense of the word. The tone is darker, the visuals are darker, the violence is darker. Some fans will walk away pleased at this change while others won't be. It takes risks in adapting the Superman mythology when bringing this world and its characters to life. But it also justifies why things play out as they do instead of selling the movie purely as a superhero epic. 
British actor Henry Cavill truly earns the cape as Superman in this part, pulling off a superhuman role while also keeping him (for lack of a better term) down to earth and someone you can relate to. The rest of the cast does have some mellow performances through the majority of the scenes, though Shannon as Zod does go all out in scene-chewing moments that may be channeling a little more of Terence Stamp than he would have hoped for. 
I'm talking bacon crispy ham material. And that's without even a, "Knnnnneeel before Zod!"
If you go into this movie expecting lines like "This seems like a job for Superman!" or iconic visuals like Clark Kent spinning around in a telephone booth, then you're not going to be pleased at the outcome. However, you'll get a Superman tale that has drama, action and tension that works great for the modern audience. From here, the series can only go up, up and away!