Man of Steel (Blu-ray)

Man of Steel absolutely soars as a bold reimagining of the Superman legend. Henry Cavill embodies everything I wanted in a modern Superman - powerful yet vulnerable, alien yet deeply human. The film strikes a perfect balance between spectacular action sequences and genuine emotional depth.Zack Snyder's direction gives the film a distinct visual style that feels both epic and intimate. The origin story is handled with respect while bringing fresh perspective to a character we've seen many times before. Michael Shannon's General Zod makes for a compelling villain whose motivations feel understandable even if his methods are extreme.The supporting cast is equally brilliant, particularly Amy Adams as Lois Lane and Russell Crowe as Jor-El. Hans Zimmer's score perfectly complements the action and emotional beats throughout.While some may find the tone more serious than previous Superman films, I appreciated this more grounded approach. The destruction in the final battle has real weight and consequences.If you're looking for a superhero film with both heart and spectacular action, Man of Steel delivers on all fronts. This is Superman for a new generation, and I couldn't be more impressed.

**This review covers both the movie and the actual Man of Steel Collector's Edition Bluray Combo Pack. If you are only interested in my review of the actual Man of Steel Collector's Edition Combo Pack and not the movie itself, you can skip to the bottom.**Personally, I can't stand critics. Screw 'em! If you are a fan of movies, you owe it to yourself to see Man of Steel!Granted I am a huge fan of Superman, but Man of Steel may very well be the best movie I have ever seen! Considering movies like Nolan's "The Dark Knight", Peter Jackson's third installment in the Lord of the Rings trilogy, "Return of the King" and Whedon's "The Avengers" top that list, that's saying a ton! As you can likely tell, I'm an enormous fan of the action/sci-fi/fantasy genre, so your mileage may vary (meaning if those movies don't strike your fancy, you may want to look elsewhere).What Zack Snyder has done with this film is "genius"! This is such a grand movie, yet nothing feels forced or exaggerated. Everything is given to you in exactly the right dosage. You aren't force-fed action like in other summer blockbusters. In Man of Steel, the action feels natural as if it is part of a story being told. Imagine that!The origin story is there, but it isn't too much that it bores you to tears and Snyder goes about it all in precisely the right manner - through flashbacks. This way, you get the gist of how Clark came to be the man he is, without the movie needing to be longer than it has to.All the actors/actresses do a fantastic job in their particular roles and help the movie to do what it is supposed to do: tell a story. While I'm still adjusting to a fair-haired Amy Adams in the role of Lois Lane, I can say that I left the theater content with her performance. She really grew on me by the time it was all said and done. However, both Michael Shannon as Zod and Russell Crowe as Jor-El were very much spot on for me. I was extremely happy with both performances in their respective roles.Growing up as a huge Smallville fan, I was convinced that nobody could do the role of Clark justice after Tom Welling. While Brandon Routh fit the role physically in Superman Returns, he was just too stiff and too much of a Christopher Reeves knockoff to leave me satisfied. I'm not saying Reeves was bad in the role (quite the contrary), I just would have preferred it if Routh had brought something he could call his own to the role.That's where Henry Cavill comes in! The best way I can put his performance is this - he owned the role!You know how it goes. Often times you've seen an actor or actress cast in an iconic role, only to be dissatisfied with the choice after seeing the movie (or perhaps before and after). With Henry Cavill, I can say this, "Henry Cavill is Superman!"The whole time while watching the Man of Steel, I felt as if Cavill was truly an outsider from another planet. And, I mean that in the highest regard! Movies are often about the suspension of disbelief and we as moviegoers sometimes need a little push in the right direction. Cavill's performance did that for me. The fact that the guy looks like he trained day and night nonstop, tells you all you need to know about his dedication to the role. Kudos Henry!The special effects didn't hurt either. As far as cutting-edge special effects go, this movie has it in spades! By far the best special effects I've seen in any movie to date...hands down! Better than Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Pirates of the Caribbean, Matrix, Avatar or any of the Marvel movies, including The Avengers! Words cannot describe them, particularly the Metropolis battle scene! Truly epic!Speaking of battles, the fight between Supes and two notorious Kryptonians (formerly seen in another of the Big Blue Boyscout's movies) was in essence, borderline orgasmic!That battle seen alone was worth the price of the movie's admission!...And Man of Steel still had plenty left in reserve.Let's face it; we don't go to movies about comic book heroes to be bored to death by dialogue. We want action and suspense to go along with a good, relatively fast-paced story. In Man of Steel you get that!It currently is and will be by summer's end, the biggest and best movie you will see this summer. Mark my words!Do yourself a favor and don't walk, run faster than a speeding bullet to see this movie! I promise you, you will not leave disappointed! If you do, then you're either dead or worse, a critic! "Gasp!"---As for the actual product itself, the Man of Steel Collector's Edition Combo Pack: I'm going to keep this short and sweet! Unless you are a diehard Superman fan and look to collect all things Superman, do yourself a favor and save your money. This product though somewhat (albeit barely) cool, isn't nearly as wonderful as I had hoped. :(Yes, it has all the film related media including both 3D and 2D versions of the film; however, the metal "S" glyph is actually a tin container identical to those that used to carry your lunch around as a kid and nothing more. I was expecting something a bit more "solid" and not a "lunch box" made to hold the movie discs, etc.Had this not been The Man of Steel or had I not been a huge Superman fan, and had I not purchased this product at its cheapest price point offered here on Amazon (which just so happened to be less than $10 over the cost of the regular combo pack), I would be promptly sending this item back for a refund. There's a snowball's chance in Hell that I'd pay anything above $40 for this and certainly not the $50 plus asking price Amazon originally had this listed for.So in summary, keep in mind when purchasing this product that it's nothing more than a "S"-shaped lunch box containing the Bluray materials inside that sit atop a plastic stand. It is NOT as nice as one might expect by looking at the picture alone, that's advertised here.However, once again, the movie itself is fantastic and highly recommended, but you are probably better off saving your money and simply purchasing the regular Man of Steel Combo Pack.

Growing up, I was the Marvel Comic fan and my brother was into DC. We always challenged each others favorite superhero against each others. Eventually, we just agreed to disagree. To my appeal, in the past decade or so, there were many more Marvel movie adaptations created than DC. Sure, I loved the Dark Knight trilogy, but The Avengers and all the separate related movies for each superhero kept my Blu-Ray player busy.Until Man of Steel came out! Initially, I knew this picture would be something special and quite unique under Zack Snyder's direction. I have enjoyed his visionary work for years. Along with Christopher Nolan, Man of Steel was a relished break from my Marveldom. Having watched all previous Superman movies and re-runs of the George Reeve TV series, I couldn't resist. How happy I was!As I try to avoid the usual trash talk on the internet, my son was telling me these terrible things that people were saying about Man of Steel. To put his (and my own) reservations to rest, we saw this fabulous movie on opening day. 3D I-Max. Got my $17 ticket worth! While he saw it from a 12 year olds eyes, I saw so much more! Unlike Val Kilmer's Batman or George Clooney as the more goofy version, I will venture to say that EVERY cast member in Man of Steel was fully fleshed out. 3 dimensional characters who made you feel what they felt.From the beginning scenes on Krypton, WE were on Krypton like never before. How the Kryptonian's lived for as long as they lived it. A fully immersive environment that was more biological than ecological. Hence their impending destruction. Before now, we only had glimpses or notions of Krypton in prior movies, comics or cartoons. Each member of Krypton society has (or had) a specific function, and lived to that end. Of those we do meet, no matter how diabolical, one gets their full depth of meaning to said function. There are no "cardboard" actors here! General Zod/Michael Shannon truly believes that killing Jor-El/Russell Crowe was out of fury. We can feel this out of the passion of pain. As he watched the only future he had rocket away. The 2 were friends and this death on Zod's hands scars him to the end.On Earth, Kevin Costner/Jonathan Kent takes in baby Kal-El/Clark Kent. Along with Martha/Diane Lane, as adopted parents, I believe they do the best any parent would. Unconditional love, teach wrong from right and seek spiritual guidance. As seen several times, the "human condition" prevails. As Clark grows from a young boy, he naturally questions these powers he finds he has. Yet Jonathan continues to allow Clark to make the choice. At one point, Clark even asks Jonathan, "Why did God do this to me?" Purely in a hypothetical way as he knows there is no answer. THIS is the spirituality essence of this film. At another critical juncture, and more likely the most important, Clark walks into a church to further seek spiritual guidance as to how and what to do when he knows the fate of all life on Earth depends on his "coming out" as Kal-El. Ultimately, a Man of the Cloth gives him the support needed. While Superman may be seen as "god-like", he too needs a "Higher Power" to look to for the unknown. I thought this was not only relevant but highly un-noticed by all the nay-sayers!These vignettes that occur throughout Clark's life is, inevitably, what makes him the man he becomes. Well before he is the Man of Steel. In his life, in life itself, we must learn morals, values and principals. This goes for anybody. To know the difference from right and wrong and WHY? Jonathan continually tells Clark that "the world isn't ready to find out about him." He makes the ultimate sacrifice to keep the "secret." As that tornado is about to suck him away, he waves Clark off. Had Clark ran or flew to save Jonathan, those under the underpass would surely have found out! Spread the word about the "guy who can fly!" But the time wasn't right because CLARK wasn't ready.In turn, now fully Kal-El, Superman makes his own ultimate sacrifice. Just before Zod was able to depress the fire button and blow up the plane ahead, as it was preparing to destroy the Dark Zero, Kal crashes through Zod's ship. Kal's eyes are lit wit his heat vision and ready to take out Zod, Zod yells out and stops him. "Wait, if you destroy this ship, you destroy Krypton!" Kal thinks for a second and retorts, "Krypton had its chance!" Then relights his eyes and proceeds to take out Zod's ship. THAT was Clark's/Kal-El's/Superman's ultimate sacrifice.Was Man of Steel too violent as some (many) have claimed? Actually, no? When the fighting scenes happen, the special effects are some of the best I have seen in many years! But they are NOT RAMPANT throughout the movie. The destruction of Krypton was no more graphic than "Vulcan's" destruction in "Star Trek." The fight scenes are limited to either Smallville or Metropolis. I mean, there are aliens fighting that are god-like status. This is Superman! Who doesn't know the Superman mythos? The city of Metropolis being crushed, well, let's see... Godzilla has done worse. Clover in "Cloverfield or "The Avengers" battling the "Tretarri" took out a bigger chunk of Manhattan. There are many others...Look, this is a Superman for THIS generation. I had no problem having my 12 year old son watch this with me. And Blu-Ray too now. Man of Steel is by NO MEANS OVER THE TOP. I fear more from what both of my kids can view on the internet. And as far as what the "internet talking heads" say, well, I have a few choice words I shan't post here for them!I absolutely suggest, highly recommend getting Man of Steel on Blu-Ray! DVD doesn't do this justice. The special effects are outstanding! If you do get this package, this comes with a bonus 3rd disc full of extras. I was floored when I saw just how much was special effects! You will not be disappointed!Final thought here... to those who wrote the 1 or 2 Star reviews... I think that there are just some people out here who will not be happy with anything. Maybe they secretly watched Man of Steel and loved it, but were bummed out because their "date" stood them up & popcorn was cold!