MAN OF STEEL | FAMILY MOVIE REVIEW INFORMATION FOR PARENTS AND KIDS

"MAN OF STEEL"
(2013) (Henry Cavill, Amy Adams) (PG-13)

QUICK TAKE:: Action: Having been sent to Earth as an infant and growing up with superhuman powers, a young man must contend with the arrival of others from his now extinct planet who want to repopulate their kind here at the expense of its current inhabitants.

PLOT:

On the distant planet of Krypton, scientist Jor-El (RUSSELL CROWE) and his wife have welcomed the arrival of their infant son, Kal-El, the first naturally born baby there in centuries. While he celebrates that, Jor-El worries about the physical stability of his planet, a sentiment shared with their military leader, General Zod (MICHAEL SHANNON), and his many minions, including Faora-Ul (ANTJE TRAUE).

As the latter attempt a coup, Jor-El and his wife send their infant on an interstellar journey toward Earth, a more primitive planet but one where Kal-El's denser molecular structure will make him near impervious to any harm. General Zod and his followers are ultimately captured and sent off into a frozen purgatory in space, but not before Jor-El is killed and Krypton explodes.

In the intervening years, Kal-El is raised on Earth by Smallville, Kansas farmers Martha (DIANE LANE) and Jonathan Kent (KEVIN COSTNER). The latter tries to impart his wisdom onto the boy, especially that he shouldn't ever reveal his superhuman powers to anyone. Years later, Clark Kent (HENRY CAVILL) is a strapping fellow who works odd jobs, all while trying to discover the truth behind his origins.

It's during that when he ends up saving newspaper reporter Lois Lane (AMY ADAMS) who works for the Daily Planet in the city of Metropolis. Her editor, Perry White (LAURENCE FISHBURNE), isn't foolish enough to publish her story about this mysterious stranger with super powers, so she sets out on her own to figure out who he is.

At the same time, and having been freed of their imprisonment by the destruction of Krypton, General Zod and his followers have traveled to Earth where they plan on repopulating their civilization on the planet, regardless of the effects of that on the indigenous people. But they must contend with Clark, now christened Superman, who's determined to stop them.

WILL KIDS WANT TO SEE IT?: Those who are fans of superhero movies most likely will.

WHY THE MPAA RATED IT: PG-13: For intense sequences of sci-fi violence, action and destruction, and for some language.

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