Entertaining, but doesn't live up to the hype

Rating: 6/10 (17 June 2013)

I've been excited about this movie ever since the first teaser trailer came out last year. I loved Snyder's previous superhero film, Watchmen, and like almost everybody else I loved Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight. Needless to say, when I heard the two were working together on a Superman reboot, I probably got a little carried away with my expectations, and as a result I found this movie somewhat disappointing.
The film starts with a lengthy introduction on the dying world of Krypton, and details how Superman ended up on Earth. This introductory act also serves to introduce Jor-El, Superman's biological father, and General Zod, a corrupt general willing to do whatever it takes to serve the people of Krypton. It's immediately apparent that Jor-El and General Zod represent perfectly contrasted good and evil, and while I agree that Jor-El should represent a source of irrepressible good, I was already worried that Zod would be one-dimensionally evil , and would be a boring antagonist as a result. Villains that are simply evil without much complexity usually equal forgettable movies. More on that later.
As the lengthy intro draws to a close, we finally get to see the namesake of the film. The second act begins with Superman's vessel crashing down towards Earth. The next hour or so of the film details the rise of Superman, showing bits and pieces from several different time periods of a young Clark Kent's life. This act is done in an interesting style. Rather than chronologically move through Superman's life, Snyder instead opts to jump back and forth between the present and the past, retelling Kent's childhood through a series of flashbacks. I thought this decision was an interesting idea, but I found it created some pacing issues.
It is in this act that the film runs into its biggest problem; no matter what was happening on screen, I was never emotionally pulled in. Even during the film's most monumental events, such as the death of Jonathan Kent, or the first time Superman flies, there was just no emotional depth for me to sink into. I think that's probably for a variety of reasons, including less than inspired performances, but primarily it's the result of misguided directing.
All of the film's story eventually culminates into a spectacular showdown between Superman and Zod. As I had initially feared, Zod winds up being a bland and uninteresting villain, and that really made it difficult to enjoy the climax at all. In addition to that, the climax is much too long; half way through this fight I was wishing it was over. I will say that I did really enjoy how they ended the fight, but they needed to cut out about fifteen minutes in the middle.
As is the case with most summer blockbusters, the visuals are stunning. Snyder's emphatically visual style is on display for most of the movie, and even if he did sometimes get carried away, it is still a very nice film to look at.
As far as the acting is concerned, I liked Henry Cavill as Superman. Most of the time he was very good, although there were a few lines that his delivery seemed a bit off. Michael Shannon is okay as Zod, but I definitely think most of the blame lies with the script for his less than satisfactory performance. As for the supporting cast, I really enjoyed Amy Adams and Russell Crowe as Lois Lane and Jor-El, respectively; I thought these two were highlights in the film. Kevin Costner gives a decent performance as Jonathan Kent, but his role is so important it needed to be aced. Jonathan Kent will always be the heart of a Superman story, just like Alfred in Batman or Uncle Ben in Spiderman, and Costner just wasn't quite able to draw me into the film emotionally. Aside from the mentioned, none of the other supporting actors really stood out to me.
All in all, it's an okay movie. It will entertain you for a few hours, but don't hype it up too much like I did. It's a somewhat brainless action movie, and that's all it is.
RATING: 6/10