4/10 as the cons outweigh the pros
I am quite disappointed in this movie, given that I am quite a fan of both Zack Snyder's and Nolan's works. Points highlighted as below:-
Pros:-
1. Probably the most vulnerable superman film in terms of his humanity and the struggles in search of identity and belonging. Probably the first movie to show how his powers were a discomfort to him. Probably the first movie that shows how imperfect he was and he was not able to protect everyone
2. Mind-blowing action sequences of the usual Zack Snyder-quality
3. Great acting performances by all-star studded cast
4. No room for unnecessary romance (except for a ridiculous 3-4 min of the movie) which was a good move given that it was the story of his initial journey as Superman
5. They made Lois Lane the Best Reporter to ever appear in Movies - a true investigator, and a very daring one
6. They made the Kent parents very cool and modern parents in their own right
Cons:- 1. The biggest flaw is that this movie went against all key fundamentals that defines Superman. Although the action sequences were beautifully made, I was more troubled by them (rather than savouring them) because the film conveniently ignored and "censored" the HUGE amount of human (by-standers) casualties caused by the destruction. No excuses on 'the world now is a darker place so destruction should be more realistic' because such massive destruction happened in the movie as the parties involved did not do their jobs properly to make the inevitable less painful. The fact that Superman allowed this to happen, and partake in it without worrying about human lives (except for a few key characters) was seriously horrendous to the very essence that build his character. I would have been more satisfied if Superman tried to save a few more other than Lois even if he can't save a whole city of citizens. But For instance, his fight scenes with Zod could be better done elsewhere (i.e. lure him away from the dense civilization to the ocean or something?) without smashing into buildings and causing potential loss of innocent survivors. HELLO? If Batman could do it (when fighting against his villains in Nolan's movies), why cant Superman do it?
2. How on earth, when the breathe support was down, did Zod able to permanently adapt to Earth's atmosphere at the last moments for such a long fight scene? This script was written by Nolan, "revenge" was NOT a convenient excuse
3. Another STUPID major error - Superman cant breathe in Kriptonian Spaceship (quite obvious it wasn't due to any Kripton material). It is a well known fact Superman can hold his breath in vacuum/ outer space where there is no air at all, and it was already explained in the movie that he learned the art of sharpening his focus
4. Superman allowed his hometown to be devastated (again I don't want to repeat the point of any potential loss of lives) in unnecessary long fight scenes when he could have just K.O. his foes by ripping all the Kriptonian's breathing masks off. HELLO! Both Superman and ZOD himself explained in the movie that 'their temporary weakness was revealed'
5. Superman actually murdered someone in this movie. That scene was not well-made. I do not know for sure if he had other ways to prevent the murder, but logically speaking he should have other ways because he IS Superman and he already said in the movie he can do things that others cant (a choke hold is the LAMEST way to go about it). Sure he showed regrets and even consulted Lois for his actions, but that scene lasted for a mere 5 minutes which was barely a justification for such a radical change in Superman's character - and then we have that stupid ending
6. Too many inconsistencies in the plot - the same flaw seen in The Dark Knight Rises - for example, Why do they need Lois Lane on board the Kriptonian spaceship (and with a welcoming breathing mask for her) when her purpose in the end was to disrupt their operations? Why did Clark take such a stupid risk to decide to hand over to Lois his father's chip? Why when was a planet about to be destroyed, have its citizens care about their last few hours of their lives deciding how to banish some 'war criminals' , which actually made more sense to banish them to stay in the dying planet and use the ice technology to save a few good/ deserving citizens to carry on the Kryptonian's survival? In one-on-one scenes, Why did only a few Kryptonians went into real confrontational action against humankind and the heroes (what were the others doing)? Why did people or Daily Planet seemed to be calm and not question the government on the disturbing videos? The government's scientist / doctor already mentioned that the World Device was using GRAVITY force, and yet the commander sent war planes to destroy the devices, and the scientist was there too. HOW STUPID!
It would be very very awkward if Clark Kent can retain his hidden identity in MOS 2, given that too many people knew about his identity ever since his childhood
I am quite disappointed in this movie, given that I am quite a fan of both Zack Snyder's and Nolan's works. Points highlighted as below:-
Pros:-
1. Probably the most vulnerable superman film in terms of his humanity and the struggles in search of identity and belonging. Probably the first movie to show how his powers were a discomfort to him. Probably the first movie that shows how imperfect he was and he was not able to protect everyone
2. Mind-blowing action sequences of the usual Zack Snyder-quality
3. Great acting performances by all-star studded cast
4. No room for unnecessary romance (except for a ridiculous 3-4 min of the movie) which was a good move given that it was the story of his initial journey as Superman
5. They made Lois Lane the Best Reporter to ever appear in Movies - a true investigator, and a very daring one
6. They made the Kent parents very cool and modern parents in their own right
Cons:- 1. The biggest flaw is that this movie went against all key fundamentals that defines Superman. Although the action sequences were beautifully made, I was more troubled by them (rather than savouring them) because the film conveniently ignored and "censored" the HUGE amount of human (by-standers) casualties caused by the destruction. No excuses on 'the world now is a darker place so destruction should be more realistic' because such massive destruction happened in the movie as the parties involved did not do their jobs properly to make the inevitable less painful. The fact that Superman allowed this to happen, and partake in it without worrying about human lives (except for a few key characters) was seriously horrendous to the very essence that build his character. I would have been more satisfied if Superman tried to save a few more other than Lois even if he can't save a whole city of citizens. But For instance, his fight scenes with Zod could be better done elsewhere (i.e. lure him away from the dense civilization to the ocean or something?) without smashing into buildings and causing potential loss of innocent survivors. HELLO? If Batman could do it (when fighting against his villains in Nolan's movies), why cant Superman do it?
2. How on earth, when the breathe support was down, did Zod able to permanently adapt to Earth's atmosphere at the last moments for such a long fight scene? This script was written by Nolan, "revenge" was NOT a convenient excuse
3. Another STUPID major error - Superman cant breathe in Kriptonian Spaceship (quite obvious it wasn't due to any Kripton material). It is a well known fact Superman can hold his breath in vacuum/ outer space where there is no air at all, and it was already explained in the movie that he learned the art of sharpening his focus
4. Superman allowed his hometown to be devastated (again I don't want to repeat the point of any potential loss of lives) in unnecessary long fight scenes when he could have just K.O. his foes by ripping all the Kriptonian's breathing masks off. HELLO! Both Superman and ZOD himself explained in the movie that 'their temporary weakness was revealed'
5. Superman actually murdered someone in this movie. That scene was not well-made. I do not know for sure if he had other ways to prevent the murder, but logically speaking he should have other ways because he IS Superman and he already said in the movie he can do things that others cant (a choke hold is the LAMEST way to go about it). Sure he showed regrets and even consulted Lois for his actions, but that scene lasted for a mere 5 minutes which was barely a justification for such a radical change in Superman's character - and then we have that stupid ending
6. Too many inconsistencies in the plot - the same flaw seen in The Dark Knight Rises - for example, Why do they need Lois Lane on board the Kriptonian spaceship (and with a welcoming breathing mask for her) when her purpose in the end was to disrupt their operations? Why did Clark take such a stupid risk to decide to hand over to Lois his father's chip? Why when was a planet about to be destroyed, have its citizens care about their last few hours of their lives deciding how to banish some 'war criminals' , which actually made more sense to banish them to stay in the dying planet and use the ice technology to save a few good/ deserving citizens to carry on the Kryptonian's survival? In one-on-one scenes, Why did only a few Kryptonians went into real confrontational action against humankind and the heroes (what were the others doing)? Why did people or Daily Planet seemed to be calm and not question the government on the disturbing videos? The government's scientist / doctor already mentioned that the World Device was using GRAVITY force, and yet the commander sent war planes to destroy the devices, and the scientist was there too. HOW STUPID!
It would be very very awkward if Clark Kent can retain his hidden identity in MOS 2, given that too many people knew about his identity ever since his childhood