Faster than a speeding bullet, early reviews for Man of Steel have hit the Web.
And by the sound of them, most critics appear to be pleased with Zack Snyder's epic reimagining of the Superman mythos starring Henry Cavill, which hits theaters this Friday.
Here's a sampling of what they're saying:
• "Zack Snyder's huge, backstory-heavy extravaganza is a rehab job that perhaps didn't cry out to be done, but proves so overwhelmingly insistent in its size and strength that it's hard not to give in. Warner Bros.' new tentpole should remain firmly planted around the world for much of the summer," wrote Todd McCarthy of The Hollywood Reporter.
• "I've not been a fan of director Zack Snyder (Sucker Punch) in the past, but under [Dark Knight director and executive producer Christopher] Nolan's supervision he largely lays off the ADD editing and does a highly respectable, and sometimes inspired job of retooling the basic Superman mythology in Man of Steel," praised Lou Lumenick of the New York Post.
• "Make no mistake; this is Superman. For my own personal sensibilities, this is the most interesting, emotionally satisfying, richly imagined version of the story," raved Drew McWeeny of Hit Fix who called it a "winner top to bottom."
• "This Man of Steel is still faster than a speeding bullet and more powerful than a locomotive. But even more miraculously, he humanizes the gargantuan movie around him. It's his Kryptonite, and still, he defies it," offered Stephanie Zacharek of The Village Voice.
• On the other hand, Scott Foundas of Variety was less than enthralled with the flick, writing, "So far, so gloomy, with little of the genuine wonderment the very name Superman calls to mind…Cavill is also the most dour and brooding, lacking even the sardonic self-amusement of Christian Bale in Bruce Wayne mode—and he appears to have been directed to be exactly this way. Like its lead, Snyder's entire movie seems afraid to crack a smile."
• "Man of Steel is punchy, engaging and fun, even if it slips into a final 45 minutes of explosions and fights during which reason starts to vanish and the science gets muddy," opined Dave Calhoun of Time Out London.