The Superman movie I was always waiting for.

Rating: 8/10 (13 June 2013)

If you're a fan of Superman, rest easy. This movie truly gave us the Man of Steel in all of his super powerful glory. This is definitely a movie with flaws, of course, but if you can overlook a few minor issues and just sink yourself into it, I'm sure you'll enjoy it as much as I did.
Let's start with the positives first. The scenes on Krypton in the beginning of the film are truly epic in scale and presentation. We get to see a view of Krypton like we never have before. Rather than just present us with the super clean, white, crystal-like Krypton from the Reeve era, we get a more gritty look this time. Krypton is in trouble and it is felt within the opening moments. Russell Crowe is fantastic as Jor-El, and gets much more screen time than I had initially thought he would. Even well after Krypton meets its fate, he still shows up as a guide for his son on Earth, and has a few surprisingly awesome moments. Even after death this guy is a formidable.
Then we have the Man of Steel himself, Kal-El. Henry Cavill did a great job with what he was given here. He shows us a vulnerable and yet still formidable version of Superman. He looks the part and fills the suit well. When it came time to go to work, we truly get to see Superman do things we've never, and I mean NEVER seen him do in a film. All the while, Cavill keeps us grounded with him and does his best to keep us interested in Kal-El's journey of self discovery. Great choice.
The rest of the supporting cast did their parts well also. Amy Adams did fine as Lois Lane. She wasn't completely vulnerable and was tough without seeming ridiculously over-written to be the quintessential damsel in distress turned super girl. She carried herself well. Michael Shannon was also great as Zod. He played all the right notes and didn't give us just a one-note villain who was bad just to be bad. Zod believe what he's doing is right, even though he knows it's cruel. Shannon gives us a Zod who feels regret at times, and we can read it all over his face. The only other character who was truly a stand-out here was Faora. She was a nice contrast to Zod, because while he seems grounded and aware, she is just cold-hearted and evil. She does what Zod asks her to do and is fiercely loyal to his cause, but you can tell she enjoys it much more than he does. Not to say the rest of the cast was bad in any way, but I'm just mentioning the stand-outs.
The action in this movie is FANTASTIC. A few moments my jaw literally fell open. If you want to see Superman fight, and I mean REALLY fight, then this movie has you covered. I'm well aware that some people don't get off on action, but I eat it up like candy. I was VERY pleased with the action in this movie and I didn't feel it overstayed its welcome at all. Some will inevitably disagree with me, but that's the way I see it.
On a small note, the score by Hans Zimmer in this film is orgasmic. I can't put it any other way. Seriously. I had chill bumps every time a new movement started up. If you're like me and feel like a movie is enhanced ten fold by the music, you'll be more than satisfied here.
As for the negatives. I'll do my best to lay them out as matter of fact as I can. It is true that there is a lack of character development in this film. I didn't want to believe it, but I can't lie to myself. I felt like Snyder was trying his best to give us those notes of emotional resonance to make us feel something for some of the events that happened in flashback, but the mistake was that not enough time was given to those scenes. When we see the flashbacks, they work. We get the message of what each particular flashback is trying to convey. However, had a little more time been focused on those flashbacks, we would have felt closer to Clark by the time he dons the blue and red suit. Which brings me to my next issue.
We literally get thrown into Clark becoming Superman. It happens so fast that you might feel like a part of the movie was left out by mistake. When Clark sets out of the Fortress of Solitude and tries to fly for the first time, we feel like we have barely heard him say a handful of words. It just felt "off" to me and going over it again and again in my head, I still think it felt a bit too rushed.
Any other issues? Well, not really. I had issues with this film just like I would with any other. No film is perfect, ever. With that said, I had A LOT of fun and felt like a kid again when Superman finally threw his kid gloves off. The action scenes, again, are brutal, fast and suited to this character. We don't have a 'weak' Superman in this movie, so don't worry if you were concerned about that. He gives as good as he gets, and personally I'm glad for that. Showing a Superman who has a challenge to face is much more interesting than just making him an unstoppable god.
I don't like giving number scores because it can throw everything out of balance. I won't do that for this film. All I can say is that if you go into this film with an open mind and let it take you in, you'll enjoy it. Dare I say, you just might even love it.