'Man Of Steel' Reviews? Out-steeled By 'Superman Return'?

The progression of the Superman movie is, well, showing a lack of progression. For all its special effects, high profile stars and big budget marketing, Man of Steel has failed at one thing: outdoing its predecessor.

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That’s right, a quick peek at Rotten Tomatoes – the film review aggregator site – shows us that the critics preferred Superman Returns to Man of Steel, with the former standing at 76% and the latter on a mere 70%. Of course, the scores are close enough to argue that an inflation of expectations has acted in the 2006 film’s favour; Man of Steel comes after a flurry of hugely popular super hero movies, and probably was never going to justify the hype. That’s not to say Henry Cavill’s turn as the caped steel man is awful – “'Man of Steel' is punchy, engaging and fun, even if it slips into a final 45 minutes of explosions and fights during which reason starts to vanish and the science gets muddy,” say Time Out. “It's a thumping, gauntlet-clad fist of a movie, making its impact with brute force, then letting shockwaves reverberate through you,” say The Telegraph.

Man of Steel gets its full release this Friday, June 14th, and we’ll get a good idea of how it’s performed on Monday when the box office figures are released. It’s a pretty safe bet that, despite some indecision from the critics – the latest Superman film will prove a success financially, which is what the studios really care about.