MOS Tries to fly high, but his boots are stuck in lifeless mood

Rating: Null/10 (14 June 2013)

While I've always been more or a Marvel fan than DC, I had some high hopes for MOS based on the recent trailers. It really looked like Warner Bros had successfully emulated the Marvel magic that Disney has been trotting out, blockbuster after blockbuster.
And, for a time, MOS works. It's certainly not lacking in the casting department: I think all are just excellent choices, and all did the best they could with what they were given. Henry Cavill completely owns the role, just as Christopher Reeve before him. Amy Adams is a sweet, tough, smart and gorgeous Lois Lane.
But, this is a seriously flawed movie, with drama front-loaded & rushed into the first half of the runtime, and the back half being a mindless monster-mash of invincible enemies fighting an equally invincible hero, amidst an overwhelming scale of destruction that makes you wonder, 'Just exactly what did Superman actually save or protect?' Unlike Iron Man 3 or Avengers or Thor, which gave us powerful heroes and chaotic destruction, but with a balance of well-written comedic relief and just outright ...moments to breathe, Man Of Steel grabs you, slams you into your chair, and keeps relentlessly punishing you into submission (especially with the thunder of IMAX and visual impact of 3D).
It sounds like a good thing, and it surely looks the part. There are nice twists to the setup between the characters, especially between Lois and Clark; an inventive approach to his weakness; beautiful modernization of Krypton, his suit, his father, and so much more. The Hans Zimmer score is rather adept, considering the sidelining of the iconic Wiliams theme. So why is it all so...empty? I think it's because for that second half of the film, it's just immovable objects pointlessly smashing into each other (like the most disengaging parts of the action in the original Richard Donner Superman II). Imagine the tussle between Iron Man & Thor in Avengers, but played-out for 60 minutes instead of 5 minutes, without any fun quips. And, it feels so unpopulated, as if they couldn't afford enough extras. Whereas in Transformers 3's Chicago under siege, or Avengers' ransacked NY, it really felt like these were living cities being attacked, at times in MOS it feels like the only inhabitants of Metropolis are the handful of 'important' people at the Daily Planet.
Add to that a very disappointing solution to the main villain, especially after the length & scope of battle. The only other thing I can say without giving anything directly away, is that you'll know exactly how much confidence Warner Bros actually has in this film, the franchise, and any related franchise, by how the end credits are handled.