Polarized reaction because of it's greatness and flaws...

Rating: 8/10 (21 June 2013)

I've been waiting for this film since 1987.
I'm the guy who used to go to go to school aged 6 with his Superman outfit under my clothes. So it's fair to say I'm a fan.
As an adult I've little interest in action blockbusters in general, so I had to watch MOS twice to get an objective appraisal.
There are really 3 or 4 short but annoying moments in a 2 1/2 film. Some of the dialogue and acting / directing could be better.
There are actually some great character moments, some unsatisfying ones. Some great acting, some weak. Some good dialogue, some bad.
A lot of that criticism is fair, but none of it stopped me from enjoying the movie.
A lot of the other criticism on here is I think blinded by nostalgia. Go and watch the Donner films again through adult eyes, and you'll see plenty of bad in there also - but like MOS doesn't stop it being a great movie.
Kal-el is portrayed here as more psychologically damaged by his "outsider" childhood than the Reeve's Superman.
I really liked what they did with the character - he's not really confident in himself as a person, he's been having to hide who he is his entire life, had no real friends, and plenty of reason to feel bitter, withdrawn, and isolated.
Yet he chooses to come out of hiding to save the world. He's a different type of hero. Not all American like Reeve, but more nuanced for a more complicated age.
The tempo of the film does feel a little rushed, like trying to squeeze two films of story into 1 - but to counter that, they wanted to introduce Superman to this world in a state of panic and fear, which works well with the use of Zod. So there's a lot to fit in.
Being generous to Snyder, I think it's hard to spend $200m on any movie these days without the suits getting involved with their focus groups during the edit - and I get the impression that is what has happened here.
Certain characters don't have their story arks fully told, perhaps to squeeze in more action and sell more toys and video games.
Even still, the action is more believable with the powers they're supposed to have.
In summary, none of the bad points spoiled this movie for me, and this is more or less the Superman I wanted.
He's tortured, and naturally very apprehensive of revealing himself to the modern world. As a grown up, I buy this more than I would Reeve rocking up in 1970s Metropolis donning his red pants and saying "so this is how I roll, deal with it".
I loved that Superman, but I couldn't buy it 2013.