Man of Steel Gets the Most Important Thing Right: Superman. Mostly.

I, obviously, saw Man of Steel recently and the thing of it is I am filled with feelings and contradictions. This is a film that I both liked a lot and that didn’t work for me in big places. Now, to me, that’s fascinating, and I want to use this space to discuss the good and the bad and the in-between, so, you know: MASSIVE SPOILERS AHEAD.The Good:The script manages to take its time showing you who Superman is, as a person. Who Clark is. By intercutting flashbacks to life teens/growing years, along with him in the present day we get a fuller picture of the man. He can’t help it. He has to help. It’s a driving force in him and won’t go away. But then, so is his insistence to hold back and not engage. Importantly, it didn’t come off as grim or broody, to me.