Man of Steel / Alien, Yet Familiar

Alien, Yet Familiar

‘Man of Steel,’ Directed by Zack Snyder

Clay Enos/Warner Brothers Pictures

Henry Cavill stars as Superman in the new Warner Brothers movie, which will be released on June 14. 

By Dave Utzkoff

May 22, 2013

BURBANK, Calif. — In a dimly lighted editing suite here on the Warner Brothers lot, blinds drawn for maximum secrecy and walls decorated with signs and posters celebrating “Star Wars,” Indiana Jones and “Game of Thrones,” Zack Snyder was discussing his philosophy on the totemic character who arguably gave rise to every fantasy series of the last 75 years: Superman.

Superman / How super is Man of Steel

Close up: How super is Man of Steel?

Catch up with the last seven days in the world of film

• The Guardian, Thursday 13 June 2013 17.31 BST

Henry Cavill as Superman in Man of Steel. Photograph: Allstar/Warner Brothers/Sportsphoto Ltd/Allstar

The big story

It's big. Very big. It could be the biggest ever. Man of Steel is here, the latest Superman film, directed by Zack Snyder and with Christopher Nolan's sticky fingerprints all over it. The film itself burst fully formed into the media at 4am on Tuesday morning, when the worldwide media embargo was lifted. Our first look review handed it three big stars, an assessment repeated when the capo, Peter Bradshaw, gave his verdict.

Critics across the planet weighed in, with the word being on the positive side of mixed. That of course cut no ice with the big cheeses at Warner Bros, who have already commissioned a sequel; nor with our man in the stalls, Joe Queenan, who took the exact opposite view to WB. Give the superheroes a rest, was his basic message.

THE GUARDIAN