Man of Steel brings the iconic hero Superman back to the big screen, but the film is flawed, according to critics.

"Man of Steel combines the origin story from Richard Donner's iconic 1978 film version with the Zod storyline in that film's sequel, but it sacrifices many of those films' most important elements in the process," writes The Daily Beast.

The movie, directed by Zack Snyder, begins by showing the first child, Kal-El, to be naturally born on the planet Krypton in years. But because his planet isn't safe, baby Kal-El, later known as Clark Kent, is sent to Earth. The movie goes back and forth between Clark's life as a grown-up and his childhood. Eventually, Kent is forced to deal with his secret background when planet Earth is invaded by his extraterrestrial race. The supervillain General Zod is after Kent and threatens him by saying. "Surrender within 24 hours or watch this world suffer the consequences."

Still, for critics, the strong element of action is missing.

"But Snyder struggles to set up huge moments that don't take off. Massive scenes of destruction in Clark's hometown of Smallville and in Metropolis (A New York stand-in is again hit by 9/11 imagery) are missing memorable execution. You're not left with "That was great!" but "What were the metal tentacles fighting Superman?" writes The New York Daily News.

Another big problem, critics say, is that Superman's personality and true nature isn't depicted well in the movie.

"A part of Superman always got off on being the hero, the protector, the "god" to these people. In Man of Steel, there's no clue as to why this brooding, relatively humorless alien wants to save these people, aside from the fact that his daddy told him to," also writes The Daily Beast.

Finally, the chance of this Superman flick becoming as famous as the Batman trilogies, does not seem likely to some critics.

"But Snyder doesn't have the material or the inclination to make Man of Steel as thought-provoking as Nolan's Dark Knight trilogy. Superman wrestles with his allegiance to humans or his home planet, but the quandaries of a super-powered man betwixt worlds doesn't have any real resonance. The gravity that cloaks Man of Steel is merely an en vogue costume," writes FirstPost.com.

The movie, which stars Henry Cavill as Clark Kent and Amy Adam as Lois Lane, hits theaters on June 14.

Tags: Movie Reviews