Grand and Glittery, but so typical

Rating: 5/10 (17 June 2013)

If CG visuals are your favorite thing in the whole world, this movie won't disappoint. But where it comes through with sights and sounds, it lacks in substance. This is especially disappointing for a high-caliber cast, with only a few shining moments: Jor-El leading Lois through the alien ship and helping her defeat foes was a very slick scene, and the first engagement between Faora-Un and her large sidekick against Superman really lays down the prowess and creativity of the VFX team. The flashbacks into Clark's childhood are also decently well executed.
But aside from the above and several easter eggs like the Lexcorp logo on a tanker truck, the rest of the movie is recycled Hollywood glitz. The storyline is simplistic and reminiscent of a Tennet-series Doctor Who special, the acting from both Henry Cavill and Amy Adams is pretty flat, and basically every plot development is predictable. Last- second success is used liberally. The film also begins to make some philosophical points about trust, eco-responsibility, and evil motives, but doesn't finish making them before descending into Dragon Ball Z- style, train-tossing combat.
And then there's the physics. I'm not going to gripe too much - it is a SUPERman movie - but if the production team is going to break rules, at least break them consistently! Like the street dust floating toward the temporary "singularity" whilst Lois - closer to the anomaly - falls away from it; or that the "gravity waves" crush cars under their own weight but not buildings. Continuity is lax, too - how does Col. Hardy instantly know when Superman defeated the World Machine? At least they bothered to explain how Zod found Kal-El (always a distress beacon)!
Overall, this film is fun to watch if you aren't a scrutinizing moviegoer. If the finer points in films are your thing, avoid Man of Steel. Or, do like the guy behind me did, and bring a loaded flask!