A great half of a movie

Rating: 4/10 (17 June 2013)

(This is my first ever review and I thought that I needed to write about it after reading many reviews by both professional critics and users saying this movie is great. I must disagree with those reviews.)
After seeing many of the previews for this movie, I was very intrigued. I went into watching this movie with an open mind and actually enjoyed......half of the movie.
Like many of the reboot movies, it was very interesting learning the back story of Superman and how he learned to be a hero and to turn into the man he is. I really enjoyed the battle on Krypton and the all of the background about Krypton's society (I was never a fan of the comic books so my knowledge of superman is limited). Probably the most interesting parts are young Clark growing up and learning to hide his powers and also his restraint against people who wrong him.
Also I did like how Lois Lane and Clark's relationship stays very much simple and does not become a major part of the story. It actually gives this franchise somewhere to go.
Sadly halfway through the movie, they gave up on all sort of story telling halfway through the movie.
**Spoilers Ahead******
I think the biggest part of the movie that took me out of the movie was right after General Zod and his buddies came to Earth. General Zod broadcasts to the world that Superman is living among them and he needs to turn himself over to them otherwise the world will be theirs. Clark then goes to church and talks about sacrificing himself for the good of earth (with a glass window of Jesus in the background). At this point of beating someone over the head with a comparison of a comic book hero compared to a religious figure was just ridiculous. After that the movie is just nothing but fight after fight and action scene after action scene. Drama gone. I felt bored watching all the cgi fighting, exploding buildings, crumbling pavement, and shattering glass. It felt more like watching kids play a video game. There's little worry that Superman won't prevail and no reason to think that Zod and the others will somehow beat him.
Also I didn't quite understand Superman's cries of anguish after killing Zod. He destroyed countless baby krypton fetuses, killed countless people in the crossfire of his fights with all of the other kryptonians but apparently the one guy was apparently too much for him?!?!
My biggest gripe about the movie is probably the use of shaky-cam THROUGHOUT THE MOVIE. Random dialog scenes apparently need to have the camera keep moving around for what..........effect?!? It makes no sense at all. Sometimes in actions scenes....sure shaky-cam helps add to the action and help people feel like they are there. It makes it hard to follow the story as someone is trying to explain what is going on and the camera is being operated by someone who is actively having a seizure.
If you are looking for a random action film and are sick of watching Michael Bay movies, by all means go see this movie.