The newest addition to the Superman franchise leaves a lot to be desired, writes Christine Powley.
Director: Zack Snyder
Cast: Henry Cavil, Amy Adams, Russell Crowe, Michael Shannon, Diane Lane, Henry Lennix, Kevin Costner, Laurence Fishburne
Rating: (M)
2 stars (out of 5)
Up until now the name Superman has been proudly displayed in the title of all Superman films.
Calling the latest Superman movie Man of Steel (Rialto) is a sign that this time Superman is going to be different.
Traditionally he was always the most clean cut and un-ambivalent of all the cartoon superheroes.
He stood for ''truth, justice and the American way of life'' three such self-evidently worthwhile goals that the only brooding he ever had to do in his ice cave was over what to do about Lois Lane.
We now, supposedly, prefer our heroes flawed and conflicted, so Superman's nobility has to be scuffed up for a modern audience, but getting all psychological on Superman has done nothing to increase our enjoyment of looking up at the sky and shouting ''Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it's Superman!''.
Not that any of the corny old stuff gets a look in.
In fact, Man of Steel was almost over before I tuned in to the fact that it is not really a superhero movie at all.
Instead we have the makings of some pretty nifty science-fiction, as the planet Krypton and Superman's dad Jor-El (Russell Crowe) grab your attention the way that Clark Kent's cries of ''Who am I?'' do not.
Best thing: Playing Superman is probably the worst gig in Hollywood and Henry Cavil does it without embarrassing himself.
Worst thing: Being bombastic is in these movies' DNA, but boy they set the dial to 11 in this one.
See it with: A first aid kit for the thumping headache and motion sickness that Man of Steel is bound to inflict on more sensitive members of the public.
