The following was written as a college assignment for the “Film Critique course” in 2021.

“Man of Steel” is a superhero film released in 2013. The film is based on characters from DC COMICS.
The film tells the story about one if not the most famous superhero of all times which is Superman and from the title of the film, he is not superman yet. The film is different than all the superman movies that was released before it because that film had a more authentic, emotionally strong, and dramatic sides. The movie was so good at delivering a message which is if there ever was as strong as superman, he will suffer because people are always afraid of which they cannot understand.
The visionary director “Zack Snyder” transmitted to the audience this feeling in a great way in an action, sci-fi, and fantasy movie. Zack used the Auteur theory or approach. Zack Snyder as a director always likes to be the author of the film and has his creative signatures everywhere in the film. Zack can be described as an artist who when directing a film, you watch art. Zack is a very talented director who controls the lightening, colors, angles, editing, and almost everything, so his approach is a mix between formalism and auteur.
The film tells the story of a boy on earth but he is not like any other, he is so strong the he can destroy the planet if he wants to, but he is good. The doesn’t know how he got to earth, who are his real parents, nor why is he very different. He was adopted by Jonathan and Martha Kent and he was named Clark Kent/Kal El on his planet. He finds out that his father was killed by someone called General Zod who was later prisoned (General Zod is the Antagonist in the film) and later his planet (Krypton) was destroyed and his parents sent him to earth before Krypton was destroyed. Clark is the Protagonist. Clark suffers from his childhood as he was bullied as a child and even though he could have smash everyone who bullied him to atoms, he controlled himself and never hurt anyone, his father tells him that his heart was tested and he a force of good. Clark wants to help everyone but he cannot because his father is afraid of the people, his father thinks that the world isn’t ready for him, but when Zod escapes his prison and find Clark/Kal El, he must reveal himself to the world to save it. The developing character in the Film is Lois Lane a journalist who Clark saves using his powers then she becomes obsessed with finding him. Clark must be ready to protect the world from Zod who wants to reshape Earth into Krypton. Clark must summons the litter S on his suit which means Hope to save humanity.

Clark is the protagonist of the film and the developing character, he is superman. The movie starts with him as a baby and then jumps into teen adulthood showing how he is struggling with life and flashbacks to confirm that he has been struggling since his childhood. He is so different and yet he looks the same, he takes time to understand why, when his adoptive parent told him that he found him on a spaceship which means he is an alien, Clark said “can I just keep pretending I am your son? His father answered “you are my son” and hugged him. A scene that portrays how being different is hard, even with a strong being. Clark goes through tough experiences in the movie that makes his life even harder. In one scene he couldn’t save his father from a tornado because his father told him to not save him because people aren’t ready yet for him. So, Clark’s character develops when he finds an Artificial Intelligence form of his real father and tells him who he really is, how he can be a beacon of two worlds, how he can inspire hope to earth and his journey begins.
General Zod is the Antagonist of the Film. He is the military General of the Planet Krypton (home of superman) and he try to make a coup to overthrow the rulers of the planet but he is captured and sent to prison on a spaceship. He was taught from his childhood to only acknowledge what is best for Krypton so when he finds earth he doesn’t care about humans. He just wants to make a new Krypton at any cost, that is his philosophy.
Lois Lane is a developing character. She starts as a journalist and then Clark saves her life and then she becomes obsessed with finding him and succeeds and their relationship develops and helps him save the planet.
Jonathan Kent is his adoptive father. Jonathan and Clark scenes are so beautiful and very meaningful, they are full of advice and emotions. Jor El is his biological father, their scenes together are also meaningful but as not as his adoptive father, that is due to the circumstances of the film. The actors portrayed their roles perfectly. You could feel the emotions from the screen. Henry Cavil (Superman) Michael Shannon (Zod) Amy Adams (Lois Lane) Russel Crowe (Jor EL) and Kevin Costner (Jonathan Kent) are brilliant actors and a lot of them have won the Oscars. Their acting was believable unlike any superhero movie, their acting really stood out. Their costumes were really great, almost nothing was a flaw which is normal for a Zack Snyder Movie. The costumes suited every timeline the movie presented whether its Krypton, Earth when Clark was a teen or when he was a man. The Superman costume got a magnificent upgrade, it was perfect.
The movie was criticized because there was no humor in it, the tone was strict and not favorable for a pg13 movie. But, unlike the Marvel Cinematic Universe, DC Comics films are strict because their events and their stories tell a much deeper meaning, not just powerful super heroes saving the world from bad villains. This criticism is not correct. Another criticism is that the film was bland which is totally untrue because you could easily see the struggle that comes with unbelievable strength, the emotions that must be hidden and being helpless even though you are strongest being on the planet, all that was clearly presented and understood. The music of the film was a masterpiece, it was so intense and enjoyable and suited the film in a great way. The music was orchestrated by the one and only Hans Zimmer who composed a lot of great superhero films like The Dark Knight and other films like Inception, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Interstellar. He composed awesome music for film. The actions scenes had intense music, the dramatic scenes had emotional music, lesson scenes had mysterious music. The music was one of the best things about the film.

The film represents a lot of the human nature and its culture. When Clark found a hologram of his father in the film, his father (JOR EL) tells him (You are Krypton first natural born in centuries) here the film clearly discusses the totalitarian political ideology. People should be free, nowadays everyone is controlled and our privacy is not private anymore. The film also addressed on the simplest things in life, during the film, we can see that Clark’s father was his shelter, although Clark is stronger than his father, but he felt safe with him, his advices and lessons made him feel safe. Also, his mother made him feel love and took care of his emotions. That point really angered the critics as they think it is not fare for the “gay” people.
The film also resembles hope. The film is full of religious symbolism of hope, especially Christian symbolism. There are two scenes where superman’s body is stretched like a cross as the symbol of Jesus, as general Zod (the antagonist) also his body was dazzling from the camera flare and the luminescence of his suit especially when he met with earth leaders. When again he said something (you are afraid of me because you cannot control me) he mentions CONTROL again. His biological father that the S on his chest represent the house of EL his house and it means HOPE. It is not just a symbol. His father tells him (he will bring humanity to strive towards an ideal; to believe that they can be better, to lead them to achieve wonders) he is not just a strong superhero who saves people, he can be like an ambassador of Krypton. He doesn’t just save American people, but he is a symbol of hope for the world, he finds out his origins in a Kryptonian spaceship that has been in the Arctic for 20000 years and he learns how to fly there and save the world across the Indian ocean, he is hope for all humanity. He resembles Hope, truth, and justice, the three standards all humans should represent.

The film also resembles the cruelty of humans, before he is superman, he didn’t want to reveal his secret, because his father told him that people are afraid of what they cannot understand. Lois lane supervisor told her to not publish his story because people aren’t ready for this, he told her (can you imagine how people would react if they find out someone like this exists?) when he visits a church and tells the priest that he simply cannot have faith and hope in humans, the priest tells him “Sometimes, you have to take a leap of faith first. The trust part comes later.” There was another symbolism here when Clark was in the church a close shot was on his face and a drawing of Jesus behind him on the window. And humanity stands with him at the end. Humans aren’t angels but at the right time, they do the right thing. This film was brilliant, it addressed issues that hasn’t been discussed in any superhero films before and raised the idea of superhero films, they shouldn’t just be about a good guy defeats the villain, they can also discuss issues of the society.

The film had some positive and negative aspects. The positive aspects were that this film totally changed the definition of superhero movies. the film transmitted if there were superheroes their lives will not be easy, they wont just fly and save us, they will go through tough times and situations and their choices will define who they really are, are they angels or demons. The negative aspect is that the film was criticized because it was (too dark) which is not bad, it gave more depth and meaning, but the director should have this in his mind before making the film, he should have made the film for everyone, not just DC fans.
There were many master scenes in this film but four scenes stood out. The first scene when Clark/Superman found out that he is an alien form his father and told him (can I just keep pretending I am your son?) that elaborates that even heroes however strong they are, they need to feel safe and loved, they need their parent’s safety. The second scene is when Superman first meeting as Superman with US generals at a military base and he was just standing in the air above them. That scene elaborates how ever strong we get, we are not gods. The third scene is when young Clark was bullied by kids and dropped him to the ground, he was holding an iron siege and when his father came and the kids ran away, and he got up, the iron bended, that shows that however strong you are your choices will affect you, he chooses to be good and not harm them, the last scene, when Clark was at school, the bus tire exploded and the bus fell into a lake and Clark pushed the bus out of the lake and the kids in the bus saw him. Later, some kid parent went to his parents and was freaking out and said (it was an act of god) his father told him he shouldn’t use his abilities because people will freak out because they aren’t ready.
My opinion of the film is that it was very successful in changing people’s perspective on superhero films and really transmitted the feelings and point of view the director wanted the audience to get. Although the film was not very successful on Rotten Tomatoes and got heavy criticism because it was too dark and superhero films shouldn’t be like that, but it doesn’t matter as long as the quality, story, acting, and execution of the idea is done perfectly. The feelings of desperation, safety, hope, fear, and love were transmitted to the audience. The relation between the film and society was too good, how society would go crazy if someone like this exists was portrayed amazingly. The scenes were Clark chooses hope over anger was portrayed perfectly, the emotions on Henry Cavill (Superman Actor) face tells how Henry is a wonderful actor and Zack Snyder is a wonderful director.