You see, ultimately, the movie is about birth control and the technology we possess today that make this possible

Rating: 8/10 (18 September 2014)

"Sometimes you need to take a leap of faith first. Trust will come later."
In, what looks like a largely deserted church hall, this is the advice Clark Kent gets, when he confesses to a priest that he is the fugitive alien that has been broad casted and requested to trade his surrender for the sake of planet Earth. General Zod, our main antagonist and fellow alien, seeks the answer to the reincarnation of his Krypton race that is harbored in Superman. At last he finds him on Earth and demands his immediate surrender, under the public distress of the world. Now, facing such decisions, it is unsurprising that our newest make-over of Clark Kent, AKA "Superman", is not a fellow of many words. He is not exactly the smooth-talking, latte-drinking, wacky sidekick of Lois Lane. Seriously, this is a troubled man (as the score by Zimmer manages to put it in ever manic volume). Our screen writers, including Goyer, Nolan and directed by visual master Snyder, took Superman serious this time. I like that.
First of all, we get to know a lot more about Superman's home planet Krypton, his "race", his "people", of whom general Zod is part. Heck, we even get to learn that the symbolic "S" on his chest doesn't stand for Superman, but for "Hope" in Krypton Language. We also get to learn about his "class"; that is, on Krypton, amidst a technologically advanced society with an all encompassing birth control and predetermined genetic population planning, Superman, was a natural birth, first in a thousands of years - so, worth a lot. And this is the phenomenal value that is at stake. It is for this reason why his parents, at the eve of their planet's destruction, risked their lives in order to shuttle their new-born son into the big void, into our planetary system and onto our beloved planet Earth. You see, ultimately, the movie is about birth control and the technology we possess today that make this possible.
For instance, the planet Krypton is portrayed as cold, harsh and calculative - in possession of phenomenal computational power and algorithm, so complex that it appears as biological (indeed, it is even able to preserve consciousness, as embodied by Superman's biological father, who returns as a hologram extension of a computer program). Technology is in its first nature of the planet and its inhabitants (predetermined). As Superman's biological father explains as a hologram, Kryptons were bred by program. This ideology is best embodied in our antagonist, general Zod, who we learn was bred (programmed) as a warrior, to whom his soul purpose is to protect Krypton, to reincarnate Krypton, even if it means to wipe out any other organisms that might stand in the way (humans). Superman, on the other hand, is a natural. He was as much "a surprise" to his parents, as to the earthling couple, who found him in the shuttle, which landed on the premises of their farm (Kevin Costner!). Yes, that's right, Superman grew up in Kansas. The contrast between worlds, of where our antagonist was bred and the hay-y cornfields that shaped Clark Kent, won't escape you. Superman is the complete opposite of general Zod. And Superman is all about chance! Or a blessing, as any natural birth would be.
With such basic question packed within this plot, you can imagine that this movie already was a success in its stage of inception. Indeed, it is a plot of such simplicity that allows for such phenomenal drama on a galactic scale to develop without losing traction. And as the technological objects grow larger, fiercer, and out of this world, we ultimately witness a drama so heavy that it seems to place even Superman under near collapse. For instance, we witness a young Clark Kent lifting a school bus from the water saving the kids in it (vehicles), then we witness an adult Clark Kent pushing an oil rig in full flame, in order to save a couple of drillers (mega-structures). In contrast to these scenes, we witness an adult Clark Kent, motionless, watching his father die under a hurricane (act of nature/god), believing his father's word that it would be for the better that he would not reveal his true identity in front of so many witnesses that were present at the time. But ultimately, we witness Superman, facing machinery so powerful, it is able to shape ("terraforming") entire planets through gravitational manipulation ("the world engine").
It so happens that General Zod wants to use this machine to repopulate planet Earth with Kryptons (bred by program). And it is under the power of this machine that thunders down on Superman with the gravity of planets, that he faces his final test of faith, in his ability to overcome, not as Superman, but as a natural born, as a force of its own in the face of such physics. And it is within these defining moments that Superman, as a force, becomes the enabler of worlds, saving one and, by implication, denying another. You see, ultimately, it isn't humans that destroy the planet, but machines, mega-structures and programs (if we consider general Zod as a machine as well, or at least the product of a program).
It is not surprising then, that the movie is far-reaching and manages to trigger many interesting themes that allow us to identify with our main protagonist, Superman. Superman, is a natural born, a force of its own. He is also the living embodiment of both worlds, both of human earth as well as technological Krypton. The movie did a good job in plotting an appeal that identifies Superman as a part in all of us. Hence, the movie's ending with a final question by his mother, addressed not only to Superman, but to all of us:
"What are you going to do when you are not saving the world?"