But Man of Steel clearly aspires not to Marvel Studios-type entertainment, instead using Batman Begins as the blueprint. The interplanetary nature of this reboot recalls Thor and, to a smaller degree, The Avengers. Instead, antagonism is supplied by General Zod, who most prominently appeared in Superman II, played by Terence Stamp. There must have been some reluctance to reintroduce Superman's chief nemesis, Lex Luthor, so relatively soon after he held his usual villain duties (via a bald-capped Kevin Spacey) in Superman Returns. It's a little strange to see Goyer, the lone credited screenplay writer, and Snyder devote so much time to the unrest of a distant planet. Still, we associate the character with Earth, specifically America. Superman's extraterrestrial origins have been well-documented in seventy-five years of comic books and also feature in the quartet of 1970s and '80s Christopher Reeve films that gave birth to the modern superhero movie. Zod's small but mighty army makes contact with Clark Kent, reawakening a 30-year-old feud, with the U.S. It isn't the power of the press, though, but a distress signal inadvertently sent by Clark that reveals to a still extremely vengeful Zod the planet that the youngest Kryptonian survivor has made his home.
Lois' editor (Laurence Fishburne) won't publish her incredible claims, so she leaks the story to a blogger.
One such life-saving act alerts Pulitzer Prize-winning Metropolis journalist Lois Lane (Amy Adams) to Clark's unworldly origin. In the present day, Clark is grown up (Henry Cavill) and using his superior strength for stealthy, anonymous acts of good. Here, the film opts for nonlinearity, jumping around to different parts in the upbringing of the absolutely anthropomorphic alien who is named Clark Kent. The newborn Kal-El is sent away to safety.Īs you know, he winds up in the aptly-named Smallville, Kansas, where he is raised by the most nurturing and loving adoptive parents (Diane Lane and Kevin Costner) he could hope to find. While the revolutionaries are quickly exiled, Krypton itself is destroyed, but not before Jor-El (Russell Crowe) and Lara Lor-Van (Ayelet Zurer) produce the first natural childbirth the planet has seen in centuries. A faction led by General Zod (Michael Shannon) is ready to overthrow the planet's order. We open, naturally, on the planet Krypton, which finds itself under siege. Man of Steel is an origin film, though it tries to fight that classification in some ways. You should adjust your expectations accordingly. The director's chair is filled by Zack Snyder of 300, Watchmen, and Sucker Punch fame. He merely produces it and shares story credit with his Batman Begins scribe David S. Nolan, however, did not write or direct Man of Steel. Who better to be involved with this than Christopher Nolan, who perfected the reboot with Batman Begins and has done more than enough to become a favorite filmmaker both of Warner Bros. Thus, it isn't a sequel but a reboot we get in Man of Steel. It didn't find an adoring audience on home video and its cast and crew are all less in demand today than they were seven years ago. Moviegoers weren't any more enthusiastic about it.
In the summer of 2006, Superman Returns did okay but not great business at the box office.
Emil Hamilton), Christopher Meloni (Colonel Nathan Hardy), Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent), Ayelet Zurer (Lara Lor-Van), Laurence Fishburne (Perry White), Dylan Sprayberry (Clark Kent - 13 Years), Cooper Timberline (Clark Kent - 9 Years), Richard Cetrone (Tor-An), Julian Richings (Lor-Em), Mary Black (Ro-Zar), Samantha Jo (Car-Vex), Michael Kelly (Steve Lombard), Rebecca Buller (Jenny), Carla Gugino (Voice of Kelor) Goyer (screenplay & story), Christopher Nolan (story) Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster (character)Ĭast: Henry Cavill (Clark Kent/Kal-El), Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Michael Shannon (General Zod), Diane Lane (Martha Kent), Russell Crowe (Jor-El), Antje Traue (Faora-Ul), Harry Lennix (General Swanwick), Richard Schiff (Dr. Theatrical Release: J/ Running Time: 143 Minutes / Rating: PG-13ĭirector: Zack Snyder / Writers: David S.