Perspectives/Comparisons on Man Of Steel ala Superman & Superman II

Rating: 8/10 (27 June 2013)

Right off the rip let me just state that this film is the Superman reboot that we've all been waiting for! While I'm still a fan of the first two Donner films & of Christopher Reeve of course, Zack Snyder, Henry Cavill, Russell Crowe, & Amy Adams & co did a superb job resurrecting the Man Of Steel. I believe that Chris is somewhere smiling.
Now let me say from the start I'll be using some comparisons with the Donner films from back in the day as cheesy as they seem compared to films now days including MOS. Films these days are more extreme & more violent because these are the times that we're living in. So right off the bat Snyder's vision of Krypton is that it's an advanced technological decaying mess at war & about to destroy itself from within. I myself prefer the old vision of Krypton as a bright shinning example of highly advanced enlightenment in the universe that's doomed to be destroyed from without by an act of nature or you could say by the Creator! I thought the Donner version of Superman's Krypton was just as dramatic with the intro & with Marlon Brando as Jor-El prosecuting Zod & his crew to the Phantom Zone was just as good or better. Also, speaking of the Phantom Zone, in Superman the way that dome opened up & took them away hangs with the iced up sarcophagi-sentencing send off of MOS.
Next I do agree somewhat that the film might seem a little rushed in the beginning in that Clark is all grown up & trying to find his place in the world with all his abilities as he looks back on his life so far. To be honest I liked the flashbacks & the way he & Lois are sort of thrown together early on in the film. And speaking of Lois aka Amy Adams, she & Cavill did have chemistry but not what I would call Christopher Reeve/Margot Kidder chemistry yet. Still a good start though.
Now to the action which I didn't think was over the top at all. I thought the fight scenes were very realistic especially when you're talking about super powered beings going at it. Also big kudos to Synder & Nolan for allowing the humans to get their licks in in the form of Lois Lane, Col Hardy, & the US Military. Loved it that mankind wasn't completely helpless.
In comparing the two big fight scenes I'm going to admit that I preferred the Battle Of Smallville in a way which had a more earthy, close-in feel to it complete with Col Hardy & the A 10 Warthogs than the grandiose Battle Of Metropolis between Superman & Zod which reminded me so much of Neo vs Agent Smith from the final Matrix movie. Also to me the final fight scene was not at all over the top and/or overly long as some have suggested. All in all on the action I only wish Christopher Reeve had had a chance to cut loose on his Zod like Henry did. Would have loved to have seen it!
In closing I really enjoyed the film a lot but wasn't completely blown away so I'm going to give it an 8 on a scale from 1 to 10 & probably would score it higher if the soundtrack was better. IMO John Williams was sorely missed & the only parts that Hans Zimmer got right were the battle scenes but oh well...
In closing MOS is worth the money & I'm looking forward to MOS II & the Justice League eventually!