What Superman needed

Rating: 8/10 (2 June 2014)

On the planet Krypton, Jor-El (Russell Crowe) is killed by General Zod (Michael Shannon) after he launches his son with the Codex of Kryptonian genetics to earth. Zod and his men are sentenced and imprisoned in the Phantom Zone. Soon after Krypton implodes. The baby is raised by the Kents (Diane Lane, Kevin Costner). Clark Kent (Henry Cavill) grows up to be a drifter hiding his powers from everybody. Then a spaceship is discovered in 18,000 years old ice. Lois Lane (Amy Adams) is there but Clark pilots it away. It's an earlier scout ship that the Kryptonians sent out. Kryptonians fell into population control and they abandoned space exploration. When Zod arrives on earth, Kal-El is the only hope.
This is a darker Superman which is exactly what the franchise needs. This should have been done by Bryan Singer for his reboot rather than trying to copy the Richard Donner version. This is not the Norman Rockwell painting version. Clark Kent is scruffy fisherman and not the boy scout. Even Pa Kent advises against using his powers when his schoolmates' lives are at stake. This is a true reboot.
The action looks quite good. Everything is expertly made. There is the Battlestar Galactica TV style of zooming in on the action. The designs look amazing. The hand to hand combat is pretty much all CGI. On one hand, I understand the superpower nature can only be done by CGI. On the other hand, I always prefer real stunts for human size combat. If there is one possible complain, the action doesn't take enough breaks. The audience needs a few more quiet breaks to catch their breath. The action may be too overwhelming.
Quite frankly, Superman no longer has the duo personality and he is simply the angst ridden hero. Henry Cavill does a solid job delivering the needed performance. It's not until the end does he become nerdy reporter. The brilliant Michael Shannon does a superb job as General Zod. Overall, this is a solid launching point for a new series of DC comics movies.