Short answer: Yes
Long answer:
First, I don't post here often or lurk here often so some of these comments may be more appropriate for a thread I may have missed...so please forgive me ahead of time. Also, let me state that I found the movie rather enjoyable, however I do agree with those that believe a super villain and super battle was what SR lacked to give it more of a home run hit...
Okay, to the meat of my post. In general I think both sides of the argument stem from a dose of fanboyism...either you like the Donner/New Singer's emotional human take to Superman or you want the comic version. For me, I wanted a mix of both. Someone here already made a contradicting statement in regards to Batman Begins and why there was no Joker, and I completely agreed with why Joker was absent in the first New Batman film...simply because everybody in the world has/had seen the Joker vs. Batman arc in comics, books, television shows and of course the old movies. Is this not the same issue with Superman? I don't see how people can ignore this simple fact that the Lex vs Superman arc has been beaten into our brains for decades. IT IS THE REASON PEOPLE DON'T KNOW ABOUT THE OTHER VILLAINS, and the reason SR needed a new villain or another villain.
IMO, it's debatable as to whether or not Lex is Superman's greatest villain, but that's not the point of this thread. Also, as I said in the first sentence, this is also a dose of fanboyism...so it's a bit hypocritical to blast those of us that wanted and want a super powered villian on the basis of our fanboyism. With that said, this movie was a completely redone version of Superman: The Movie with additives. The real estate scheme Lex cooked up although different in mechanics bares strong resemblance to the scheme of Lex in Superman: The Movie. Thus, this makes this model of Lex just weak...very weak and makes the hero vs enemy theme kind of lame here. We've seen Superman save people. cities and what not from natural disasters in Superman: The Movie, and while that material doesn't need to be removed...it doesn't need to be the only material/action in the movie. It could have been better and on par with Spiderman in my opinion. Unlike most people, I thought X1 and X2 were okay and X3 took it more back to the comic book although origins and the like were still screwed up...small stuff is okay but a comic book movie is supposed to be just that a comic book movie...it's not a romantic comedy, romantic drama, suspense, mystery...make you think film, unless of course thats the story arc you are pulling the direction of the film from. Donner, Singer and company clearly reinvented Superman, much like Singer and Company nearly reinvented the X-men.
I'm rambling...what I'm getting at is a super villain would not have hurt this film at all...although it had powerful scenes and emotional this and that...it was the same old same old story we saw about 20 years ago in Superman: The Movie...with additives and new faces I might add. It's not about a bunch of brainless guys wanting to see a slugfest, it's about making sure one of your favorite characters gets his due...his whole due and not what some guys interpret...his whole due is seeing him protect the world against both men in it and threats from beyond it....
I get tired of hearing the excuse that these characters need to be "down to Earth." As a creator (hobbyist until I one day get noticed) myself I don't create characters to be "too real," if people wanted to see a realistic film complete with emotional this and that (which nothing is wrong with that by the way) they would have went to see one of the many other films out there that gives them that...No I think people went into the theater to see Superman...not a soap opera, not a comedy romance, romantic drama, or whatever...but Superman, an action oriented, suspense film with a little romance and situations that help you root for the good guy and hate the villain...this film lacked that due to its weak representation of all characters and lack of impact on the villain vs hero. Which in conclusion makes me feel that there should have been a super villain to counter the weak model of Lex presented...
Sane