Director Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel  is a pensively constructed reboot of the Superman film franchise, and although it’s not manifestly original, there are some terrific performances from a first-rate ensemble.

Actor Henry Cavill is an acceptable dark and brooding Kal-El/Clark Kent for a contemporary audience. His chemistry with Amy Adams (Lois Lane) is charming but their relationship is shown fleetingly because this is essentially an origin story.  It is less concerned with Smallville than it is with the planet of Krypton and General Zod’s rebellion, exile and sworn vengeance on the last naturally born native of his dying planet.

When Zod (Michael Shannon) finds an under-developed Kal-El (Clark’s Krypton name) on Earth, there’s mayhem and not a single stone of Metropolis is left undisturbed.

The influence of producer Christopher Nolan (The Dark Knight, Batman Begins, Inception) is obvious. This is a much darker, cheerless movie than Superman Returns or any of the earlier films in the series. Rather, there’s steel, rust and toughness in this reboot.

Yet other than re-casting, sure-fire direction and a jarring musical score, there’s nothing here that wasn’t there when Christopher Reeve played the superhero in 1978.  In many respects Man of Steel doesn’t scale the heights of Nolan’s finest efforts. However, although this Superman is a safe, predictable and unadorned effort, it is still an enjoyable and heroic blockbuster.

There is great potential here for a much stronger,  superior Superman movie to come, and in many ways, that’s the point of this reboot.