Perhaps the Best Superman Movie Ever

Rating: 7/10 (13 July 2013)

Zack Snyder got a lot right and not much wrong.
Henry Cavill plays a great Superman. This is a guy I could really see facing some moral and ethical quandaries down the road. He's truly alien in this movie. He wanders the earth, never getting too close to anyone. He saves people when they need help, and moves on. He doesn't fit in, and he knows it. We don't even meet his 'alter ego' until the very end of the movie, and by that point he's shed the whole 'truth, justice and the American way' bit and gone to protector of the world status.
Amy Adams' Lois Lane is too perfect. She doesn't smoke or appear to have any vices. She's not caustic to her co-workers, she's patient with her boss... it just feels like we're 'meant' to really, really like her. Reviews have gushed about how smart her Lois is, and yet I saw her do things on screen that made me question if Lois had any brains at all.
Zod is a three-dimensional character this time, not some revenge-driven psycho, but a man bred for battle and living in the glory of his past. A man of vision and dreams. I loved this character.
Diane Lane's Martha is wonderful. I wouldn't change a thing.
Kevin Costner plays a bit of a jerk. He would rather see his adopted son remain anonymous and let other people die, so he can grow up to change the world. At least he's consistent. You can see how several of the characters would let people die to fulfill their own scripts. This world is not a happy place.
Russell Crowe's Jor-El beats all previous Jor-Els hands down.
Antje Traue's Faora-Ul... yes, she's hot, and her armor actually makes sense, but the dribble coming out of her mouth about evolution just made her sound like an idiot. Really, a civilization advanced far beyond our own, and this is the intellectual argument for cultural and species superiority? Spare me.
Overall, I liked the film. There were some beautiful scenes, and most of the backstory made sense. Krypton has been fully realized, and even the Phantom Zone bits weren't cheesy. The exploration of Clark's powers was well done, and the flashbacks worked this time. His relationships with his adopted parents aren't perfect, and I loved them for it. They really form a basis for his actions later in the film.
There were some flaws which nagged along the way. Some of the fight scenes were drawn out far too long. The fact that Superman didn't often go out of his way to help people endangered by the brawls and Kryptonian superweapons was not exactly endearing. That Superman couldn't be bothered to help clean up and rebuild after the mess he and the Kryptonians made was completely out of character. There was a great deal of setup for a Superman who was supposed to lead humanity into the light, and I think that whole bit was forgotten in all the knuckle dragging, as Clark settles into obscurity at the end.
That lack may be the worst part of the whole package.