Very Good Reboot

Rating: 9/10 (20 November 2013)

The infant Kal-El is sent from the planet Krypton to Earth and ends up saving the planet as Superman (Henry Cavill) from General Zod (Michael Shannon) and his men.
We are going back to the beginning of the Superman story and some of this incorporates changes from what we used to know. So be prepared. (Rebooting is now our way of life, don't you know?)
Long story short: The first half is very good, the second half is all CGI with Superman fighting Zod and his men. These fight scenes are dragged out for way too long and no one cared about collateral damage as these supermen crashed into just about every building in Metropolis and we watch as they fall. And, yes, the CGI is super spectacular, but again, no one cared about collateral damage. Even in the Superman comic books Superman tried to do the fighting away from the population. Not here. There seems to be the Hollywood directors club that says we the people want to see devastation on a large scale and this is what we have.
The use of flashbacks when Clark Kent was a youth was very good. They make their points with Pa Kent (Kevin Costner) providing parental guidance to a young Clark. These learning techniques may well prove to be beneficial in later sequels. They were like "wax on, wax off" moments and filled in gaps nicely.
What we didn't know: Clark as a young adult apparently left home to work on a fishing boat, a bar, and an I-Hop. These journeys were never explained. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) knows from the get –go who Clark is and there is no mystery regarding a secret identity. The "S" on Superman's suit is not an "S", it is Kryptonian for Hope. Make of that what you will. Oh, his suit is not a bright red, yellow and blue anymore, it's quite dark. Kal-El (later Clark) had a live birth the traditional way.Seems Kryptononians had egg farms (so to speak) and the eggs were genetically engineered to provide the newborn's skill and station in life. This is what General Zod was all about protecting.
All in all, this was very good reboot and the supporting cast provided solid performances from Lawrence Fishburne as Perry White; Diane Lane as Ma Kent; Harry Lennix as General Swanwick; Richard Schiff as Dr. Hamilton; and Russell Crowe as Jor-El and we see him for most of the movie, and not just when Krypton was exploding. Ooops, there was no Jimmy Olsen (maybe in a sequel).
Yes, I liked this story, reboot and all, but I thought Michael Shannon was not menacing enough as General Zod. It just didn't work for me.
I waited until the movie ended to see if we would see Superman fly towards us with a big toothy grin as Christopher Reeves did. That toothy grin endeared him to us for all time (getting weepy now). Didn't happen with Henry Cavill and it should have.
When all is said and done with Zod and his men and Clark goes to work for the Daily Planet we do see Clark with the mandatory glasses and guess what else: Buck Teeth. Hey, there's our big toothy grin as he smiles and sees Lois at her desk. HA! (9/10)
Violence: Yes. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: No.