Real Steel: Exploring the realism of "Man of Steel"

A handcuffed Superman being escorted by military personnel.

Alright, even though it's been in theaters for over a month now, I figured I'd share my thoughts about Man of Steel, which as of now I've seen five times.  If that isn't enough of a clue as to what I thought of the film, I'll just come right out and say that yea, I loved the film.  This isn't going be an objective review so much as it is a summary of the aspects of the film I enjoyed as well as my thoughts about why this isn't your daddy's Superman film and therefore might not be for everyone, so be warned, there will be spoilers.  If you haven't seen it yet, (go see it now!) and don't read any further. 
Let me start by saying I've been a Superman junkie my entire life and in fact can't remember a time when the Man of Steel wasn't present in my imagination.  I went from dressing up like him and running around my yard, (seriously who didn't) to finally picking up comics here and there and enjoying his adventures on the printed page.  Batman was always lurking in a dark corner of my mind as a very close runner up to Superman, but the Man of Steel was just always the king of the comic book mountain in my view and any Superman film was like Christmas and my birthday combined.  I grew up watching Chris Reeve take flight and needless to say he was my all time favorite idol, as he was for just about every Superman fan; he'll always hold a sacred place in my heart.  Having said that though, as I grew older I longed for a more contemporary Superman movie with an updated story and special effects.  So much had changed in Superman comics since Reeve first took flight in Superman: The Movie and I wanted a film that reflected some of those updates.  For one his origin had been retold countless times, most notably in John Byrne's seminal Man of Steel mini-series.  Also villain's such as Luthor and General Zod had been updated to reflect more modern concepts of villainy.  Much as I wanted to love Superman Returns, I finally had to admit that it was a letdown, at once relying too much on the original film to the point of remake while also taking too many liberties with the myth.  Also, given how far visual effects had come since 1978, Superman didn't really get to strut his stuff in Superman Returns.
Well, this isn't a problem plaguing Superman at all in Man of Steel.  The film is packed with enough spectacular action to make your eyeballs bleed.  The visual FX are simply stunning and we finally get to see Superman unchained, performing feats at full throttle.  Some naysayers are complaining that there's too much action and destruction in the film, probably the same who griped about the lack of action in Returns.  To these complaints I point out with some passion that the sheer destruction in the film shows realistic repercussions of godlike beings battling each other .  The world of the film is our own, down to the familiar stores like Sears and Seven/Eleven.  For once, the film shows the physics at work when two super powered titans are throwing each other around a city.  If buildings weren't collapsing and debris falling it would be unrealistic.  The stakes in the film are meant to be very high.  General Zod means business and refuses to let anyone stand in his way.  Unlike Terrence Stamp's iconic Zod from Superman II, who simply wants vengeance against Jor-El's son for being imprisoned in the Phantom Zone, this Zod is a Kryptonian warrior on a mission to restore his beloved home-world on earth, albeit at the cost of every human life.  Zod doesn't give a shit about any human life and he fights like it, throwing Kal through building after building in the film. 
Unlike past film versions of Superman, this film gets inside the mind of the generally clean cut Man of Steel in a unique and refreshing way.  Rather than being just a spectator to his remarkable abilities and watching him from afar, the viewer gets to ride alongside him and see the full picture of what it's like to grow up knowing you're different but not knowing why, and therefore having to restrain yourself when you're capable of doing so much.  The film expresses this quite nicely.  Young Clark is shown to be an outcast who is regarded as a freak by his peers because his parents shelter him so much.  We see just how much Martha and Jonathan love this alien orphan as their own and only want to protect him from being rejected by the world.  Kevin Costner does a great job conveying Jonathan's dilemma in wanting to protect his son above all else yet knowing that Clark will one day have to face the world.  One scene that's taking a lot of flak involves a flashback to Clark's teenage years showing how Jonathan is killed by a tornado while rescuing the family dog from their car.  Rather than let Clark reveal his abilities, Jonathan sacrifices his own life and Clark watches helplessly as his father disappears.  To some it might seem silly that Jonathan would even risk his life to save a dog; these people don't know Jonathan Kent.  The way I see it, the Kent's believe all life to be precious.  This is one of the core values that they pass on to Clark.  However, when it comes to his son, Jonathan would gladly give up his own life to protect his secret; that's what makes him such a great father.  Young Clark trusts his father so strongly that as much as he wants to save him, when Jonathan holds up his hand to tell Clark to stay put, he does out of that trust.  It's only years later that Clark begins to wonder if his father was wrong in thinking the world wasn't ready for the knowledge of his abilities and therefore feels a sense of guilt in not having saved his father.  This provides Clark with an internal conflict that is relatable regardless of how powerful he is.
 The decision to have Lois Lane, played wonderfully by Amy Adams, discover Clark's secret early on in the film is probably another sore spot for purists.  While I was surprised at first, I came to see that it made perfect sense and admired the guts it took to take such an unexpected route.  I went in expecting the usual, timid Clark Kent alter ego that Lois simply dismisses as she swoons for Superman.  Truth is, as much as I've always accepted this as part of the story, even I had to admit that it's not that realistic and always made Lois Lane seem really oblivious and thick which doesn't suit a Pulitze Prize winning journalist.  In most Superhero films these days, the female lead almost always discovers the hero's identity, or in Iron Man's case, the hero reveals it himself.  In today's world it would be nearly impossible to maintain a secret identity for long.   I could never believe Lois was a Pulitzer Prize winning journalist and investigator when she couldn't figure out that Clark and Supes were the same  after spending so much time around both.  Harder still was it to believe that Clark would be into her when she could be so curt and dismissive of him at the Planet.  In Man of Steel, Lois feels like a real match for Superman, someone in which he can find compatibility and trust.  Adams conveyed Lois's toughness and determination to get at the truth along with her compassion very well.  Instead of being only a damsel in distress, falling off buildings and needing Superman to catch her, Lois pulls her own weight in the film and even saves Superman a few times.  He still catches her in the film, but for the first time they seem on more even ground and you get a sense of what they see in each other.
As mentioned earlier, the Visual FX in the film are often breathtaking, especially the scenes of Krypton.  No longer is the planet a Hoth-like ice world based on crystal technology.  Instead it has unique animal and plant life and a distinct topography ravaged by years of abusive strip mining.  The Kryptonians have simply exhausted their resources and made the planet's core unstable.  The movie spends a good deal of time on Krypton, showing it to be a unique place with a real sense of history, which creates a feeling of sadness at it's demise.  Because of the extra time on Krypton, the movie skips over the all to familiar landing of his ship and discovery by the Kents.  Instead the film uses flashbacks to show important moments in young Clark's troubled childhood.  This non-linearity is a refreshing take on what is arguably the most well known Superhero origin story.
Without a doubt, the most controversial moment of the film occurs towards the end, when Superman ends the battle with Zod, which has already ravaged a huge chunk of Metropolis, by breaking his neck to save a family from the wrath of Zod's heat vision.  Most people are familiar with Superman's "no-kill" policy in the comics and therefore this scene would be shocking to many longtime Superman fans.  However, what those fans are overlooking is the fact that Superman has in fact killed in the comics.  He was forced to execute an alternate Zod and his two followers with Kryptonite for decimating all life on a parallel earth.  Even in Superman II, he kills a suddenly powerless Zod by picking him up, rather happily I might add, and throwing him into what seems to be an endless hole in the Fortress.  In Man of Steel, Superman pleads with Zod not to hurt the family but Zod, who's lost everything, is determined to destroy every last human and then kill Kal.  Superman has no other choice but to kill him quickly, after which he yells out in despair.  Clearly, he never wants to have to do that again. 
The film is surprising and even radical at times for Superman purists, but I don't think this is a bad thing at all.  At his core, Henry Cavill's Superman embodies the essential elements of the character that have always been there.  Much as it might pain people to hear, Superman is not just an American hero; he's a universal icon loved the world over.  He's still dedicated to helping people whenever he can.  Rather than being a flawless, clean cut defender of truth, justice and the American Way, Man of Steel's Superman fights to defend his adopted world and help good people wherever they may be.  He does what he has to do in the film to stop his own people from wiping out an entire planet that may very well fear and hate him.  There's almost an X-men feel to that.  He also tries to inspire people to do good things for each other and provide an ideal of hope, which is what his chest symbol means.  The Superman in Man of Steel is one who can be embraced by all people who crave an inspiring example of the potential for human goodness and decency.