The funny thing is, MoS was all out scifi craziness. It was easily the most "sci-fi" Superman movie yet, full of funky sci-fi-isms like the World Engine, Genesis Chamber, The Codex, etc. Jor-El rides a freakin' alien dragon for crying out loud. Sure, the tone is psuedo-"realism" a bit to give the world's reaction to the events more weight, but at the core it was a first contact/alien invasion movie, just set in a recognizable version of our world. That alone didn't make it good though.
Maybe it was merely an issue of having the right ideas and the execution faltering, but we still don't really have a modern reference for what a universally-loved Superman movie looks like. In other words, there's still no way to definitively say that even someone with the "right" sensibilities for the character would produce something that resonated with the majority of moviegoers and critics. That's just my theory, because I honestly think Superman simply doesn't have the same appeal to the GA as a lot of other superhero characters, regardless of how you dress it up. I think the idea of Superman is something that appeals to people, but translating that into a great film is a different story. Not impossible though, I just think it would take someone with a really strong vision. I heard some rumors that George Miller is being looked at by WB to possibly do the solo Supes sequel. Now that is something I'd be interested in.
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