“No wonder this pensive, angst-ridden kid grows up to be Henry Cavill, so cautiously grounded he at first seems inexpressive. Unfortunately, the movie’s title is apt.” - Time Out “Open your mouth, you want to say to Cavill inspire us a little. “As Superman and Clark Kent, Cavill is a big, handsome and undeniably impressive slab of beef, genial enough but with no visible personality.” - Salon Cavill, a pretty man whose body has been inflated to Bluto-esque proportions.” - New York Times And like Christopher Reeve, Cavill wears the suit, not vice-versa.” - New York Daily News Like Christian Bale’s Batman, Cavill’s Britishness (you can’t tell behind a fake American accent) gives him an Otherness. “Cavill walks a tricky line, winding up with the right amount of earnestness. He’s handsome and capable, but one can’t help missing Christopher Reeve’s twinkle. “Cavill’s performance is less memorable for his introspective brooding than for his six-pack (a fetish for Snyder, the director of “300”). Who said being a superhero was easy?” - Los Angeles Times “It features brooding, buff British actor Henry Cavill as a muscular yet sensitive type (think Jack Kerouac spending way too much time in the gym) trying to find himself, torn between his Krypton roots and his Kansas upbringing. As Cavill shuts his eyes to the Antarctic sun during his first spin in the suit, he trusts Snyder and how the camera will regard him. We also see a welcome sight - Superman thinking. The British actor brings a cagey physicality to Clark/Kal-El, projecting a tired resignation to his powers that helps when their boundaries are seemingly unlimited.
“The most successful part of Snyder’s vision is two-fold: the laser-focused emphasis on Clark Kent’s journey into Superman, and the impressive ease with which Cavill slides into the lead role. “Becomingly modest in the character’s low-key early scenes and gradually reveling in his power, Cavill has a pleasing presence that makes him easy to accept, as Kal-El accepts the extraordinary fate that has been prescribed for him.” - The Hollywood Reporter
All Cavill’s Superman is required to do is look hot and fly for our sins.” - Grantland The most charming thing about him is the window box of chest hair poking out of his costume’s collar. He’s in most of the scenes and yet isn’t asked to provide any charisma. “It’s entirely possible to leave Man of Steel with no idea what kind of actor Cavill is. And I suspect that Superman aficionados will be disappointed by just how joyless most of Snyder’s reboot is.” - Entertainment Weekly “At the risk of damning Cavill with faint praise, the 30-year-old Brit makes a better Man of Steel than the milquetoast Brandon Routh did in 2006’s Superman Returns. It’s too bad that Cavill’s superhuman stiffness makes it look as though she’s trying to snog a piece of granite.” - Daily Mail “Still, at least repeatedly saving the life of pretty investigative journalist Lois Lane (Amy Adams) earns him a kiss. “Henry Cavill looks the part as the adult Clark/Superman, but he’s a bit of a stiff on screen, and it doesn’t help that his main move while wearing the cape is to roar like a lion and ball up his fists.” - Chicago Sun-Times Cavill’s Superman is an interestingly conflicted hunk, but he doesn’t resonate beyond the borders of the screen.” - Boston Globe I missed the dorky modesty of Christopher Reeves Superman, the squareness that really marked the character as an alien.
“British actor Henry Cavill gives a strong, likable, occasionally moving performance in the title role, but doesn’t quite come out a movie star. “Cavill - whose performance involves more posing than acting - is alternately presented as an alien messiah, a superweapon, and an American flag flapping in the wind the one thing he never gets to be is a character.” - A.V. Club, Ignatiy Vishnevetsky panned director Zack Snyder and producer Christopher Nolan’s reboot, while Drew McWeeny nearly broke into nostalgia-induced tears over at HitFix, calling it “the Superman movie waited whole life to see.” Yet, all the critics unanimously agreed that Henry Cavill is handsome, like, “impossibly,” “cartoonishly” handsome - “ so ripped that he’s nearly shredded.” The leading man damn well looks like Superman, but can he play him? Here’s what the critics thought: Man of Steel’s Metacritic score of 55 is a perfect indication of the mixed reviews that have greeted the movie. Pictures’ and Legendary Pictures’ action adventure “MAN OF STEEL,” a Warner Bros.