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I’ll have to admit, I’ve never really cared much for Superman. Sure, I liked the 1978 and its follow-up. But a superhero that’s infallible, alien, and an all-round good guy really seemed too good to be true, and subsequently, boring.

Bryan Singer’s 2006 Superman Returns just sort of brought that home and drove the final nail in the coffin. Plus Lex Luthor was terribly boringly played by Kevin Spacey.

So when I first heard they were going to reboot Superman, my reaction was “meh”. Things got a little more interesting with Zack Snyder directing. Christopher Nolan and David S Goyer then joined the fold, and things became wildly interesting, if not unpredictable.

See, Zack directed 300, the insanely macho film that no doubt blasted sales of Abs Trim through the roof. But he was also responsible for Sucker Punch. David S Goyer was the writer behind the Dark Knight Trilogy, but he also penned Ghost Rider. The tipping point ultimately came down to Christopher Nolan. Once his name was down, I was sold.

I think the very first order of business, even prior to getting the film greenlit, was to ensure Superman was right and ready for a 2013 audience, and that must be retiring his red underwear, which they thankfully did. I mean, no respectful superhero would ever wear their underwear on the outside, right?

Feeling more snug after the underwear location switch.

Warning: Spoilers from here on out.

Man of Steel is a reboot of the tale of Superman. As such, the action starts in the heart of Superman’s real home; Krypton.

Krypton as a planet is dying. Natural resources have been milked, and the planet is on the verge of imploding.  Jor El (Russell Crowe), a badass scientist, warned the council (they looked like one anyway) as much, but were soundly unheeded. At the same time, technology has evolved to the point that babies were now being bred, and their DNA infused with their destinies long before they take in their first breath of air.

Aside from the very immediate threat of planetary destruction, they also have to deal with a coup from General Zod, the Kryptonian military leader. It is against this backdrop of calamity that we see the birth of Kal El, the first natural born boy in more than a thousand years. (So he is as much alien on his home planet as he is on Earth!)

I am your father

I think this is the most we have seen of Krypton in terms of world-building in films, and it’s really a beauty to behold. And this is just the beginning of the film!

Once we see the space pod with baby Kal El shot out to space, we zoom back to earth, and witness an adult Clark Kent trying to fit in with the humans, while hiding his abilities, trying to discreetly save people he encounters in distress, AND find himself.

No wonder he’s too bummed out to shave.

From this point on, we zig zag back and forth in time, as we’re shown snippets of Clark’s childhood years as and when its needed so we know his motivations for his actions. Sort of like the LOST flashbacks.

Meanwhile, an anomalous object is discovered buried in 20,000 years of ice, which leads both Lois Lane to cover, and Clark to investigate in a bid to find out more about his origins. It turns out to be an old scoutship, that when turned on, acted as a beacon for ol Zod to hone in to Earth for revenge.

The third act consists on one big brawl between Kryptonians, and an army of humans trying desperately to make any sort of dent on the fight. While many have commented that the fight went on for too long, that there was too much destruction and Superman’s apparent nonchalance for the violent deaths of what must be tens of thousands of peole on Metropolis. I say well, he’s a little busy right now, trying to save the other 6 billion people or so.

He can’t possibly save every cat on the planet!

The action sequences, for the first time, made Superman’s extreme speed and strength very apparent. And I think Zack Snyder really did a great job with this.

Overall, I think the film made Superman relevant, and therefore, cool, again. In other words, all superheroes need to have daddy issues. Or at least a drinking problem.

Rating: 9/10

Also, a Lois Lane that my wife doesn’t hate? That must be a good thing!

Eastereggs: Look out for the LexCorp tower among a blaze of asteroids, and a Wayne Enterprises logo on a satellite that Zod destroys.

It’s almost too easy to join in the bandwagon and slam M. Night Shyamalan’s latest directorial effort, After Earth. Afterall, its not really that good.

But then again, I don’t think it deserves the 11% it’s currently ranking on Rotten Tomatoes.

Sure, there’s a lot that could have been done better, but at the end of the day, After Earth was actually… decent. Will Smith as Cypher Raige literally has a sit-down role, as he guides his son Jaden Smith / Kitai Raige through a 100km series of obstacles to earn his badge as an action star.

When I grow up, I wanna be just like my dad!

A lot of criticism was levelled on Jaden Smith for not having the screen charisma his father has, but I thought he did a good job, plus, he’s only fifteen.

The plot of the film is painfully simple. A spaceship crash lands on Earth (1000 years after humans evacuated it). Everyone dies except Will and Jaden. A rescue beacon sits 100km away, in the tail section that broke off in the crash. Will is injured, and Jaden has to make the perilous journey alone to retrieve the beacon.

However, if you’re interested, there’s a huge backstory to be unearthed.

Ultimately, the Shyamalayan twist in this film, is that it did not suck. Too badly.

Rating: 5/10

I must confess, I’ve only ever been exposed to JJ Abrams’s version of Star Trek, so this review would be coming from a non trekkie. That said, disclaimer #2 would be that I’m a huge fan of JJ.

Following the 2009 reboot of  Star Trek, JJ and gang maneuvered themselves into a situation whereby an alternate universe situation freed themselves from canon, and they were free to pursue new adventures, or in this case, repackage an old adversary. This time round, with all the introductions and backstory out of the way, they were free to jump straight into the action.

Surrounded by Red Shirts… I think I’ll be fine.

And the action starts on planet Nibiru, where Kirk immediately violates Prime Directive by exposing themselves to a primitive civilization in a bid to rescue Spock, who himself is knee deep in an active volcano trying to rescue the civilization. Meanwhile, back on Earth in London, a terrorist bombing by Starfleet commander John Harrison (Benedict Cumberbatch) calls for a meeting in which all the starfleet commanders gather in a small room with floor-to-ceiling glass windows (Yeap, they didn’t really think this through).

John Harrison turns out to be a cover identity, whose real name is actually.. KHAN! A genetically engineered superhuman who has superior mental and physical strength over ordinary humans. He was woken from suspended animation by Admiral Marcus and had his 72 crew members held hostage, to develop advanced weaponry for him, so he could wage war against the Klingons.

Its up the motley crew of Kirk, Spock, Scotty, Bones and Chekov to stop him. Stop him they will, and have fun watching them you will too.

Oh, and the best part of this movie experience was watching it while on holiday in San Francisco in Imax 3D, and watching mayhem unfold IN San Francisco onscreen, as that’s where the Starfleet Academy is located. Beyond cool!

Rating: 8/10

Aside from watching out for homages and references to the original Trek series, there’re also signature JJ trademarks such as lens flares, and the appearance of Slusho, the fictional slurpee type drink he’d created since Alias. Slusho has since found its way into Heroes, Fringe, Super8, Cloverfield, and of course, both Star Treks.

He’s also apparently placed R2D2 in all of his movies. Coincidentally, he’s been tapped to direct Star Wars 7, so hopefully R2 will have a bigger role than a flyby in that one?

It seems like right now, JJ Abrams and Joss Whedon can do no wrong.