An OK movie, but disappointing.

Rating: 5/10 (24 June 2013)

I can't say that going into this movie, I thought I would see another Dark Knight, but I at least hoped to be impressed overall.
This could have been a great movie. It had a great idea (even if not original), great acting, and great cinematography as well, but it falls short of the hype and expectations one should expect from Nolan and Snyder. Very short.
As with every big budget action movie, the special effects were top notch. It is clear that a lot of good work was done to make things look right, but that doesn't make a good movie. Where this movie falls short is the story and message. While I am not going to pretend like I know the Superman comics well, I believe I can safely say that Superman lives on the North Pole for a reason. He is supposed to represent an international peace keeper, not the all American hero that he was supposedly portrayed as in "Man of Steel." That being said I'm not really sure if he was even a hero or peace keeper at all.
Throughout the movie, Superman is constantly harming innocent civilians. It may not be focused on or direct, but it is quite apparent. He tears through large buildings and vehicles no doubt containing hundreds of people (I believe one individual death was even portrayed humorously), but when one of Zod's men tries to kill a single family Superman dramatically stops it from happening.
As for the story, as mentioned in other reviews, Kryptonians don't seem to be logical thinkers (that might explain the last problem as well actually). They clearly have access to large transport ships, but only manage a few survivors of the entire planet. It just doesn't make sense. This along with many other simple inconsistencies just make the story less believable (such as the father letting himself die to send a message). The sum of small parts is a large number in this case.
The biggest problem I have with this movie though, is the creators attempting to turn Superman into Captain America. I guess Superman defeated the Kryptonians and their self proclaimed lack of morals by being a good Christian boy who is always morally sound (except for the mindless destruction of course); a point which isn't even actually made considering that nearly every enemy in the movie pretty much killed themselves by sheer absent mindedness. The movie is trying to appeal to the masses of people who want to hear a sob story. I guess they succeeded.