For some of you, I realize that there are only two statements you will need to read to sell you a ticket for Man of Steel. I’ll get those out of the way.

If you disliked 2006’s Superman Returns - don’t worry, Superman actually punches things in this one.

If you are a fervent fan of the original 1978 Richard Donner film - no, Man of Steel does not supplant it as the best Superman film ever. That said, it has a lot going for it, so lets get into it.

With years of anticipation and the future of an entire line of films laying upon it, Director Zack Snyder’s reboot of the Superman franchise has a lot of weight laid upon it.  It’s been seven years since the last time Superman was on theater screens, and unlike that film, Man of Steel is not a continuation of the 1970’s franchise.  This is a new Superman for our current era, and in turn, we start directly at the beginning, on Krypton.

Krypton, which feels in this movie as if it’s equal parts Pandora and Coruscant, is in a time of upheaval. After 100,000 years of society, Krypton is literally and figuratively falling apart. The Kryptionians have stripped their planet of all of its natural resources, and is cracking apart at its core - an issue pushed to its leaders by scientist Jor-El (Russel Crowe).  On the other side is warrior leader General Zod (Michael Shannon), who feels as if the people of Krypton need to continue to use their planet until every drop is devoured and then take their society to new planets throughout the cosmos.  What complicates this even further is Jor-El and his wife Lara (Ayelet Zurer) have naturally conceived a son, in a stark disregard for current Kryptonian population control, which allows only the chemical conception of children, each specifically bred to fulfill a role in the world, whether warrior, leader or worker.  Interestingly enough, it’s not the gestation of this child which leads to the conflict between Zod and Jor-El, but instead the disagreement with Krypton’s leaders on the course of the planet. The fallout of this which causes Zod and his army to kill those leaders and become a sentenced prisoner of the Phantom Zone, just as the planet begins to crack.  In a final moment of hope and desperation, Jor-El and Lara place their son in a spaceship set for a planet called Earth…a child named Kal-El.

We then jump ahead roughly 30 years, as Kal-El (Henry Cavill) is a human on Earth, working on a fishing vessel.  Kal-El, or Clark Kent as he is known now, has spent his life in a sort of self imposed exile.  Clark’s human father, Jonathan Kent (Kevin Costner) has pushed to him the idea of keeping Clark’s non-human origins secret, a concept made all the more difficult given how the yellow sun of Earth has made his strength and abilities greater than the average human. In turn, Clark has spent his life moving from job to job, trying to keep his profile low, but constantly rising to the call of action - whether its standing in to assist a waitress at a small-town bar, saving a school bus of children in his middle school years, or in a very impressive sequence, rescuing people caught on a burning oil rig.  Each time, he walks away from the praise and the glory, never wanting to reveal his secret.  But after three decades of self-imposed quiet, he wants to know his past - which appears to be contained in a Kryptonian ship recently discovered under layers upon layers of ice in the Arctic by the US government.  This discovery is also being covered by hardnosed reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams), and you can start to see how the plot comes together.

In short, Clark discovers his destiny (and a pretty sweet suit - in case you’re wondering, that’s not an S, it’s the Kryptonian symbol for hope), and at the same time, Clark’s entrance into this ship sends a beacon discovered by General Zod and his army - who not only intend to find the last son of Krypton, but use Earth as a new beginning for Krypton - humans be damned.

And that’s really just the first act of the film.  As you can see, it’s quite a bit to take in, and honestly, that’s the biggest flaw of the film. Man of Steel is pulled down in its first act by the weight of what came before it.  The film’s flashbacks, inspirational speeches from both Jonathan Kent and Jor-El and look at Krypton are all riveting, but over time, become a bit too much.  I just wish that someone could have looked at the film and given us only two flashbacks, instead of four, or one key Jonathan Kent speech instead of three.  Considering Grant Morrison was able to so beautifully encapsulate the origin in exactly eight words, this felt a bit over thought.

That being said, once Clark accepts his destiny and dons the suit and cape, the movie is an absolute joy.  Zack Snyder is a director designed to bring superhero action on an epic scale to the big screen and he delivers.  Once Zod’s plan goes into effect and the film turns into a battle between Superman and the remaining Kryptonians, the action is gritty, enthralling, hard-nosed and intense.  If the end sequence of The Avengers was a joyous celebration of large scale superhero destruction, this is the rough and tumble brother, with every punch sending bodies literally flying through buildings or across cities.  In turn, acts 2 and 3 do far more for the film than the first. It’s no longer about whether he should be Superman, he simply is.

And that’s really what allows this movie to excel.  While we have yet to see what Henry Cavill can do as Clark Kent (he doesn’t become the reporter we all know and love until the end of the film), he is Superman. He looks the part, he feels the part.  Once he dons the cape, the confidence, the joy, it’s all there, and it is wonderful.  Just seeing him walk across a room is perfect. The man absolutely embodies the role. Amy Adams does a fantastic job as Lois Lane. Sure, she has a damsel in distress moment or two, but they’re because of her own will, her own strength and her own ability to find herself into (and at times get herself out of) trouble.  The supporting cast is universally strong, with Diane Lane making a great Martha Kent (I still think she’s too young for the role) and Russel Crowe and Kevin Costner adding appropriate gravitas to their fatherly roles, both Earth-bound and beyond the stars.  Heck, Lawrence Fishburne is even perfect as Perry White.  The only gripe with the cast for me is Michael Shannon as General Zod.  For being such a presence in Boardwalk Empire, it’s a shame how limited his role is here, limited to smoldering anger or yelling.  Once the action kicks up, he’s a physically imposing presence, but I was hoping for something with a bit more nuance. I felt he was actually outdone as a villian by Antje Traue’s Faora, Zod’s right-hand-lady, who was both devastating and imposing.

At the end of the day, Man of Steel will sit alongside Batman Begins and The Amazing Spider-Man in the list of superhero films.  Each film was hindered by the weight of expectation and the need to re-establish a world we knew, but set a fresh and necessary course for each character. I have little doubt that Man of Steel 2 will be an absolute joy, and I look forward to seeing what Snyder and Goyer have cooked up next for the Last Son of Krypton.   Despite its flaws, the film is a must see - if just for the incredible action and embodiment of character from Henry Cavill.  See it this weekend.