Sometimes, it helps to be old. Just not this time. If you’ve been around a while, you’ve seen so many iterations of this character that you can’t expect anything particularly new in yet another outing for the Man of Steel. So going in, if you’re not a child, expectations for this flick are low. That actually works to this pic's advantage, as it means that, if nothing is really screwed up, the odds turn heavily in the movie’s favor. And that’s mostly how it works out here. There are enough fresh elements in this presentation—most notably, the expanded context of Supe's story, including some decent supporting work from some slightly off-brand heroes—that even the weariest viewer will get a few kicks out of these proceedings. The film does include a few missteps—today’s Lois is not quite all that, and there’s a notable bit of condescension in the depiction of the Kents as flyover yokels—but ultimately, the story gets back to the core of the title character’s appeal: his choice to be one of us, not one above us. That rap has played well for almost a century now and it never really gets old…even if those of us who have seen it all before keep putting on the years. Oh, yeah, and the dog is fun, too.
