Review Man of Steel: The word superman is kept at arm's length

Cast: Henry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon, Russell Crowe, Kevin Costner, Diane Lane, Laurence Fishburne

Director: Zack Snyder

The Indian Express rating: * 1/2

There is a reason this film is called Man of Steel, and it's got more to do with the "steel" part. There is so much of the periodic table in this confused blockbuster, despite its desperate attempts at contemplation in the tradition of the Dark Knight trilogy, that you have to scour for the man. But then when he does come on, Cavill fails to inspire or to evoke sympathy for his dilemmas.

A man who has come to help others from a distant land, who may be misunderstood by those who he is selflessly trying to help, is a theory that may hold resonance for American audiences. And that is what Snyder, of 300 fame, is going for here, at great effort. In fact, the word "superman" itself is kept at arm's length, with even the 'S' on his costume explained as a symbol of 'The House of El', meaning hope, from his home planet Krypton.

Krypton itself is a cold, dark, cavernous place with anorexic royals who could have been lifted straight out of 300. Clark Kent is born here as Kal, the first "natural birth" on the planet in thousands of years. For, Kryptonites have taken to artificially propagating bloodlines that are considered superior, to be incubated in genesis hubs. Before Krypton explodes, Kal's father played by Crowe manages to send him away on a capsule.

Crowe, however, continues to play a long and crucial role in the film as the ghost with the power to not just surface inside capsules he designed as Krypton's chief scientist but also to manipulate them. Back on Earth, it's he who explains Kal's destiny to him, when he is pondering over those strange powers he has always lived with.

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