Super powers and the instinct to do the right thing are curses to endure, not blessings to enjoy, in this latest version of Superman in the year of his 75th anniversary.
Lantern-jawed Jersey native Cavill furrows his brow as Clark Kent, a bearded drifter who avoids trouble, but trouble always finds him.
Clark flashbacks to the advice of his adopted father (Kevin Costner) who tells him the world is not ready for an extraterrestrial who has the powers of a god.
Clark's cover is well and truly blown when plucky reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams, The Master) traces the lives he saved right back to Smallville and when crazy-eyed Kryptonian General Zod (Shannon) escapes exile and demands the surrender of the son of his old enemy Jor-El (Crowe), or the earth gets it.
Major property damage ensues.
Batman helmer Christopher Nolan successfully drags Man of Steel out of years of development hell and loads this 33-year-old Superman with the emotional Kryptonite of asking who he is, where's he from and what is he supposed to do.
The mankind saving Christ parallels are more explicit than ever here and director Snyder even references his own Watchmen adaptation by having Superman, instead of Dr Manhattan, hover over cowed soldiers.
Genetically engineered to be the launchpad of not only a new Superman franchise, but also DC Comics' answer to Marvel's Avengers series, Man of Steel is compelling once it gets past overly familiar origin plot points.
However, it is telling that the audience laughed only once in the entire screening. Snyder and Cavill have a pair of very large red boots to fill to make their Metropolis marvels as charming, entertaining and memorable as the Christopher Reeve and Gene Hackman movies of 35 years ago.
Man of Steel (M)
Starring: Henry Cavill (The Cold Light of Day), Michael Shannon (Boardwalk Empire), Russell Crowe (Broken City).
Director: Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch).
Screening: Reading Cinemas Queenstown - visit www.readingcinemas.co.nz for times.
