Man of Steel

I saw the new Superman movie "Man of Steel" over the weekend, and was happy with the overall finished product. It did not however exceed, or really even meet my expectations. Exceeding my expectations in a movie however has become an increasingly difficult feat for Hollywood to accomplish. I have seen so many movies that the bar for exceeding my expectations has become so lofty that it rarely happens anymore. If there is anyone reading this that has not seen "Man of Steel" I am getting ready to discuss spoilers that may affect your viewing experience so be warned.
First the movie seemed to be a bit of a hodgepodge of different stuff that was (how can I say) borrowed from other movies. The Krypton scenes felt like a mixture of the backdrop from "Prometheus" with the drab grey colors combined with the flying creatures from "Attack of the Clones". Then there was the scene with Zod ordering the release of the planet former. I think his exact line was-"Release the Planet Former" and my friend immediately looked at me and said "And don't forget the Kracken", referencing of course "Clash of the Titans". Then the scene after Kal-El breaks Zod's neck and screams out, I swear I thought he said "KHANNNN"! Of course most of these similarities are mainly just nit-picking, which according to my son Conner is something I do to the extreme whenever he and I disagree on movies (He loved Man of Steel by the way). Combine all these things with the fact that this story has already been told effectively in Superman II, I guess I would summarize everything with the statement that the movie as a whole just felt very familiar to me.
Now to the body of the movie. Russell Crowe was great as Jor-El. He to me embodied the spirit of the character and Michael Shannon's Zod was a great counter balance to Jor-El. They both believed they were acting for Krypton's greater good. I would have to say the casting director really did a great job over-all. Amy Adams as Lois didn't feel right to me though. I know she is a hot commodity now, but I think they could have done better. Maybe Mila Kunis or how about Jessica Biehl, but again just nit picking.
The story was good. The character development which many people have complained about was effective for me. They balanced action and drama well enough for my liking. I didn't care for Lois finding out who Clark really was right from the get-go. It seems like in this version everyone in Smallville knows Clark's little secret from the start. It was also a little goofy to me how he just stumbled on the alien craft too. He just happened to overhear people chatting about this discovery that sets in motion the realization of his identity. I understand that this was the catalyst that set the story in motion and eventually brought Zod to Earth in the first place, but it seemed to me that they could have done something a little different. My single biggest problem with the whole movie was how he dispatched Zod by simply snapping his neck. The battle that Kal-El engages with the Kryptonians effectively destroys the landscape of Metropolis. There are scenes when Kal-El or one of the Kryptonians get thrown through buildings and punched into the air and all this comes to an end when Kal-El slaps on a rear naked choke hold to Zod and snaps his neck. It just seemed a little anti-climactic to me. I'm not even complaining about his use of lethal force like some people are, I just think it was a little too easy after the enormous fight they had just participated in.
I did like the way the Kryptonians had to use a respirator because they could not adjust to Earth's atmosphere. I also liked how Zod's buddies were expelled back to the Phantom zone. So to sum up there was enough things that I liked to balance out the things I didn't like.
When I was younger, I remember DC comics were the best. Marvel had Spiderman, and Hulk but they didn't come close to comparing to Superman. I have put some thought into this recently and have come up with a possible solution as to why Marvel comics have surpassed DC, specifically Superman. Marvel comics like Iron Man, Spiderman, Hulk etc, deal with humans who are very flawed therefore extremely relatable. Superman is an alien who is basically invulnerable to anything that could harm him. He possesses strength and abilities that make him unbelievably powerful. He can fly, shoot lasers from his eyes and has X-ray vision. His powers are basically over-kill even in the world of comics. I can just about buy a multi-millionaire that has a super suit becoming a super hero called Iron Man. But Superman has no real weakness. Even the whole Kryptonite weakness is nearly impossible to exploit. I think it is Superman's strengths that make it difficult for me cinematically because Superman can't loose. His biggest problem is subduing his opponents without killing them.
The long term likability of this movie for me depends on where they go from here. I understand that from here we have to introduce Lex Luthor, but beyond that I want to see some new villains. I want to see the story of Darksied,  Apokolypse, and Braniac. There is more to Superman's storyline than Zod and Lex Luthor and those are the stories I want to see on the big screen.
The success of this movie demonstrates two principles. 1, The world wide love of Superman and 2, The effectiveness of mass marketing. For the last three months you have not been able to log onto the internet or turn on your TV without seeing some type of ad for "Man of Steel" and it has paid off for the studio, but I would be surprised if it enjoys much more success than it already has.