Man Of Steel

Went to see it with the family as a Father's Day outing.

Thing Two was crying at the end because Clark's dad dies in a noble act of self-sacrifice.

Reviewers have been notably unkind to the movie, and they have one very good point: This movie is very loud in ways it didn't have to be.  The action sequences are too long and too hectic.

But it's a pretty darn good movie.  It takes an inherently difficult character to make dramatic - Superman - and makes him dramatically compelling.  Superman is perfect, impervious to harm and incredibly powerful.  So the story is about his lack of belonging to either world, Krypton or Earth.

There are some superb performances, most surprisingly by Kevin Costner as Jonathon Kent.

The Avengers was more fun and Whedon knows when to dial down the BANG BOOM and he's verbal and smart.

But Man of Steel was thoughtful and moving.

And Thing Two hugged me all through dinner so that was nice.

UPDATE: Having slept on it, it's really a story about fathers and sons.  Clark/Kal El has two fathers, two visions for him.  Jonathon Kent wants him to be safe and hidden, Jor El wants him to be exceptional.  It's these competing visions that constitute the dramatic arc of the story, but it's also these competing visions that typify every parent's visions for their child.