Terrific cast - lots of action but a bit too serious

Rating: Null/10 (13 June 2013)

This is a visually stunning exciting serious movie. It's different from the Christopher Reeve version. It shows a lot more background about Krypton, Zod (quite noble here), Clark's childhood angst, his adult angst. I know it is no point to do a similar plot and so they have made some interesting changes in the Lois and Clark relationship. The action sequences are over the top and range from Smallville to Metropolis to space.
The cast is almost perfectly chosen. Amy Adams is the ideal Lois Lane -charming and brave. Her role is sufficiently proactive. Diane Lane is moving and believable as Martha Kent. Russell Crowe is usually a bit grumpy looking but here he is alright. Chris Meloni is a good U.S. commander. Michael Shannon (who knew Boardwalk would lead to this) is quite a sympathetic and charismatic Zod. As for the comic book handsome Henry Cavill, he completely looks the part of Superman. It's too bad he has to look gloomy and scruffy for a good part of the movie. The new blue suit is an improvement on the older one with a more modern color.
A few faults: The music was a highlight of the 80s version with the "Superman Theme" and "Can you read my mind" which are still memorable today. This 2013 film had a completely forgettable score.
The climactic fighting and smashing into roads buildings is a bit overdone and repetitive. A few clever and original action sequences without so much destruction would have been better. But even if they went overboard, too much action is better than the Brandon Routh version which just sank.
I missed the charm and humor of the Reeve version (eg the magic of the first flight with Lois) are not found here. Just a couple of chuckles in 2013. Some lighter moments might have made Superman a more rounded hero than some gloomy Dark Knight kind of action figure. Superman needs to be more fun than the other Avengers and Marvel heroes. Hopefully a sequel will go more into these other aspects of romance and humor.