Man of Steel - A [Spoilers!]

Summary: A smart blockbuster with an emotional core. Equal parts character study and sci-fi action, classic themes and refreshing twists. Cool but over-used CGI doesn't add much, but it doesn't detract from the quality storytelling either. Impressive new start for the First and Greatest Superhero and hopefully just scratching the surface of an epic but meaningful DC Comics Movie Universe! Entertainment and Inspiration are the keys. Grade 9/10 A

What I Loved (almost everything):

• The movie as a whole. Story, direction, tone, production, score. It's not perfect, but the good outweighs the bad by a ton. (I'm really surprised it's getting such negative reviews from some people. At the very least it's a huge improvement over Superman Returns!)
• Director Snyder, writer Goyer, and producer Nolan manage to combine heart, spectacle, and thought-provoking ideas (just like Goyer/Nolan did with the Dark Knight Trilogy). Makes you wonder how you would feel if you found out you were an alien and destined to be a savior, and how the world would react if they discovered an alien lived among us.
• THE CAST. Amazing and so perfect for each character. Cavill embodies Clark/Superman's strength, humility, determination, and genuine goodness. Adams' Lois is smart, sharp, warm, bold, and beautiful. Crowe is quietly powerful and fleshes out the sometimes-ethereal Jor-El very well (surprisingly one of my fav characters in the movie). Shannon is crazy intense crazy (XD) but still adds realness to over-the-top villainy. Costner and Lane are just pure heartland of America, the warmest parts of the story. Also enjoyed supporting cast Fishburne as Perry, Schiff (The West Wing's Toby!) as Dr. Hamilton, Meloni as Col. Hardy, Traue as Faora, and others like Battlestar Galactica vets Penikett and Juliani (Smallville's Hamilton!).
• Super-suit looks great. Alien but familiar (no underwear on the outside!). Lois' outfits look professional and (mostly) practical, not frumpy at all (stupid fanboys XP).
• Lois is proactive, figures out Clark's identity almost right away, and is part of the solution, not just a distress-y, albeit plucky, damsel who gets in the way.
• Krypton, an extremely cool, fully-realized alien world with a fascinating new history and beautiful cultural design. And the Kryptonian atmospheric conditions being a replacement for Kryptonite was clever.
• Mind-blowing action on such a massive scale. Pretty flawless, showing the real impact of super-strength, thrill of flight, and believable super-speed. Those really gave me hope that other JLAers could be done well on the big screen without looking fake or cheesy (Smallville and even Green Lantern).
• The origin of Daily Planet Clark Kent. The last scene. <3
• Lexcorp and Wayne Enterprises logo Easter eggs! They do exist!
• MoS is a really good jumping-off point in creating a shared universe in which the other DC characters can also appear!

What I Disliked (and how it can be fixed):

• Relentless fight scenes. Stunning, but too long. I sometimes got "battle fatigue," and when the action kind of turned into generic all-CGI shots, my eyes started to glaze over (partially due to lack of sleep). After Superman Returns, people clamored for more action, but I do wish they had been edited a bit shorter to make room for more character moments.
• I enjoyed the characterizations and interactions, but there could have been more, especially for young Clark and for Clark and Lois' budding relationship, which didn't quite reach KISS ME level yet, though it was a good kiss scene that could have just come from the release of tension from the averted apocalypse, not just attraction and intimacy.
• Why is Pa Kent so cynical about mankind? The Kents are the ideal parents who instill in Clark love, respect, compassion, and essentially his humanity. Costner does a great job of providing warm guidance, but his insistence that humans can't be trusted to trust in Clark was kind of sad (but pretty true). (It's a weird reversal. You'd think Jor-El would be the father who didn't trust Earthlings and Jonathan the dad who encouraged it, but for once, Jor-El sounds more like the source of hope than Pa Kent?) But at the end, Ma said Pa always saw that greatness in Clark (or something), so I guess Jonathan meant the world wasn't ready yet, but would be someday, and Clark had to be responsible and careful about what he did and when he could reveal himself. Also, his cause of death was a bit "Uncle Ben," adding unnecessary guilt and angst on young Clark.

What Some Viewers Disliked (and my defense):

• People are complaining that Superman caused just as much collateral damage as the Kryptonians, without stopping to save all the innocents. I hope this post is a valid defense of that. I assumed most of the people had already evacuated, but even so, it's a fault of the film that there isn't a shot of Superman X-ray scanning the surroundings and pulling Zod away from a populated building into an evacuated one. That would have showed Clark's priority of protecting people, not just stopping the Kryptonians (and it would have been a tiny breather in the midst of the non-stop fighting).
• The big controversy is Superman killing Zod. I was shocked, but not exactly dismayed. It feels wrong because Superman would never kill, but that's in the comics where there's always another way, while in the "real" world, sometimes there's no other choice. (I think of it like, sometimes, policemen have to take down the crazy gunman to save the hostages.) It mirrors Clark's decision to let Krypton die to preserve Earth rather than sacrifice Earth to resurrect Krypton. He has to kill Zod or essentially "kill" innocents and let more and more innocents die after that because Zod will never stop, as he said, because he has no other purpose in life now. I like the interpretation that Zod was effectively forcing Kal to kill him because as a warrior, that was the only way to get the "reward of a good death" in combat (a kind of noble suicide). And just in terms of good drama, Clark's cry of despair at what he had done was heartbreaking.
• The writer said they made this tough decision because it felt more appropriate in their "real" world than sending Zod to the Phantom Zone again, which would be kind of anti-climactic, and it gives young Superman a reason for his No-Kill Vow (um, his ethical upbringing isn't enough reason?). It's not to make Superman "edgier" but more human. Seems to me the problem is the public thinks perfect, over-powered, boy scout Superman is boring so they want him more relatable, while the fans want to keep him as the paragon for us to aspire to, not bring him down to our level. I think the point of MoS is that he can be both, human and the ideal of humanity; he just has to learn and grow, like everyone else (and in turn, we can all be Super, too, if we grow as people). MoS is "Superman Begins." Not everyone can agree with it, but I like it and what it's trying to achieve. (As a huge Bat-fan, I found the changes in Batman Begins more offensive, so I understand where Super-fans are coming from. ^^;)

What I Want to See in the Sequel(s) (to redeem flaws and continue themes, narrative, and awesome):

• More Pa Kent flashbacks, more heartwarming dispensing of everyman wisdom, mainly to show he wasn't always such a downer but a believer in the good in man and the one who teaches Clark that.
• Empire Magazine Podcast's Man of Steel Spoiler Special has lots of great observations, interesting analysis, and insightful interviews with the director and writer. One cool theory I heard was that the wanton destruction of property was on purpose and that it'll become a plot point in the sequel. Lex Luthor will blame everything on Superman, adding to people's distrust of an alien, while casting himself in a good light as he rebuilds Metropolis (and possibly picks up some Kryptonian goodies?).
• I like the idea that Superman will have to deal with the consequences of his actions in MoS: the revelation of his public appearance as an alien, the damage he caused, and the understandable fear of the public/government after seeing him use his immense power and killing someone (like when Wonder Woman became a pariah after breaking the neck of Maxwell Lord to save Superman, Batman, and many others).
• I heard the writers are planning for Superman to "go global" and deal with international politics and big issues like world hunger. That sounds interesting. Will Superman renounce his US citizenship?
• More humor and light please! MoS is grim because Clark is a lost soul and then Zod threatens Earth. Not much room for jokes. But now that Clark feels comfortable in his own skin, the bumbling, charming Daily Planet Clark Kent we love can come out. Clark dating Lois and Superman maybe facing the smart-ass megalomaniac Lex Luthor can definitely lighten the tone!
• I want the sequel title to be Man of Krypton so that the threequel can be Man of Tomorrow. ;)
• GOD I WANT A WORLDS FINEST MOVIE! So much. After Superman, there must be Worlds Finest(!), followed by Batman, maybe Superman, TRINITY(!!), Wonder Woman(!), maybe more Batman and Superman, then JUSTICE LEAGUE(!!!) MOVIE, plus spin-offs for Flash, (new) Green Lantern, Aquaman(?), Martian Manhunter(?), Cyborg(?)! 8D Make it happen, DC/WB!!

Edit (7/21): Superman/Batman movie announced at San Diego Comic-Con!! THANK YOU, DC/WB!! My reaction.