Poster © Warner Bros. Pictures. Shown at reduced size for review and commentary.
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GenreAction, Adventure & Sci-Fi
RatedPG-13
Runtime2 hr 23 mins
ReleasedJune 14, 2013
StreamingSee Where to Watch
DirectorZack Snyder
StarringHenry Cavill, Amy Adams, Michael Shannon
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Man of Steel (2013)
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| TTMDB | +Add to Top 8 |
| Man of Steel's Details | |
| Genre | Action, Adventure & Sci-Fi |
| Rated | PG-13 |
| Released | 06/10/2013 (Alice Tully Hall); 06/14/2013 (United States) |
| Streaming | See Where to Watch on this page. |
| Running Time | 2 hr 23 mins |
| Budget | Not reported |
| Box Office | Updated daily from Box Office Mojo. See the numbers below. |
| Based On | Characters appearing in comic books published by DC Entertainment |
| Country | United States, United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
| Man of Steel's Interests | |
| General | Red capes, Kansas cornfields, flannel shirts, Kryptonian tech, a scout ship frozen in Arctic ice. |
| Music | Hans Zimmer. Drums that sound like a guy learning to fly. |
| Movies | Superman (1978). Christopher Reeve set the bar, then flew over it. |
| Television | Smallville. Ten seasons of Clark not wearing the cape yet. |
| Heroes | Martha Kent. Kansas mom, unshakable, best pep talks on the planet. |
| Man of Steel's Crew | |
| Director | Zack Snyder |
| Writers | David S. Goyer, David S. Goyer (story), Christopher Nolan (story) |
| Producers | Charles Roven, Christopher Nolan, Emma Thomas, Deborah Snyder |
| Cinematography | Amir Mokri |
| Music | Hans Zimmer |
| Edited By | David Brenner |
| Production | Warner Bros. Pictures, Legendary Pictures, DC Entertainment, Syncopy, Peters Entertainment |
| Distributed By | Warner Bros. Pictures |
Superman is supposed to save the city. In Man of Steel he saves it by punching General Zod through most of it, and the movie barely stops to notice the buildings coming down. That’s the problem. Zack Snyder made a 143-minute Superman story that’s allergic to joy. Everything is gray, everyone is sad, and Kevin Costner’s Pa Kent seems more worried about Clark being seen than Clark doing good. Henry Cavill is perfect casting, all quiet decency, and when he finally flies for the first time it’s genuinely thrilling. Michael Shannon yells every line like Krypton owes him money. Amy Adams mostly reacts to things. It made $670 million worldwide on a reported $225M budget, so people came, but critics put it ahead of only 41% of movies. A 5.1 because the cast is right and the mood is a rainy Tuesday. $1,823 says you try counting the buildings that fall in the last hour and lose track.
What works: Henry Cavill is a great Superman, the first flight scene soars, and the Krypton opening has real scale.
What doesn’t: The tone is gloomy from start to finish, and the final fight wrecks a city with almost no sense of the people inside it.
Who it’s for: People who like their superheroes serious and their fight scenes loud enough to rattle the popcorn.
Spoilers
Pa Kent dies in a tornado after waving Clark off from saving him, so the secret stays safe. In the finale Superman ends the fight by killing Zod to save a cornered family, and it clearly breaks him.
Krypton is falling apart after its people drained the planet's core, so scientist Jor-El (Russell Crowe) launches his newborn son Kal-El toward Earth just in time. The baby lands in Kansas and grows up as Clark Kent (Henry Cavill), raised by Jonathan (Kevin Costner) and Martha Kent (Diane Lane), who tell him to keep his powers hidden. As an adult he drifts from job to job, quietly saving people and then moving on before anyone asks questions. Then reporter Lois Lane (Amy Adams) starts following his trail, and General Zod (Michael Shannon) comes looking for him. Zack Snyder directs. One hundred forty-three minutes, cape optional.
Anyone from a small town with a big secret. Flannel preferred.
| Henry Cavill | Kal-El / Clark Kent |
| Amy Adams | Lois Lane |
| Michael Shannon | General Zod |
| Kevin Costner | Jonathan Kent |
| Diane Lane | Martha Kent |
| Laurence Fishburne | Perry White |
| Antje Traue | Faora-Ul |
| Ayelet Zurer | Lara Lor-Van |
| Christopher Meloni | Col. Nathan Hardy |
| Russell Crowe | Jor-El |
- (cur | prev) 14:30, 17 October 2026 DataBot +520 Numbers refreshed: Production budget Not reported → $225M; Worldwide box office $670.1M; Domestic box office $291M; Opening weekend $116.6M; Profit / loss (est.) -$2.4M; Rotten Tomatoes 56%; CinemaScore A−; box office chart updated; RT 56% (340 reviews); Metacritic 55 / 100; CinemaScore A−; IMDb users 7.1 / 10 (878,869 votes); movie.guru score 6.0.
- (cur | prev) 12:00, 17 October 2026 DataBot +2,000 Profile created from Wikipedia and Box Office Mojo: cast, crew, release dates, budget, official trailer.