I absolutely loved this...it's the Superman film i've waited for.
First of all,i loved the decision to make the film a ''first contact'' type of film rather than the usual superhero theatrics.The script doesn't shy from asking difficult philosophical questions,from both perspectives,ours and theirs.What if we encountered a basically invincible demi-god with the power to destroy everything?Can you ever trust such a being?Can you ever feel safe knowing that such a being is somewhere around?On the other hand,if we did encounter such a being,there would be a tremendous amount of fear,paranoia,suicides,anarchy...mo st religions would basically be falsified and that is going to turn the world in chaos.Not only there IS life out there,but they make us look like primitive Neanderthals with their technology and science.One scene in particular that left a big impact on me was the flashback between Kal and his father,where he asks whether he should have left the kids to drown and he answers...maybe.Now at face value,it's a ridiculous answer because we are talking about innocent children's life.But considering the consequences of such a deed,a turmoil from which there is no going back,the question and the answer become a lot more morally complicated.That kind of morally ambiguity is again presented at the end where Superman has to decide between killing Zod or letting the family(and countless others that would follow) die.It's an incredibly difficult choice but it's obvious that Zod will not stop,not now,not ever,like any militant sociopath from Hitler to Osama,he's absolutely convinced in his ideals and would follow them to his death.
Unlike Bane/Talia,The Lizard or Loki,Zod was a villain that had a clear goal,clearly defined purpose and an understandable behavior.The idea that Kryptonians were pre-determined in their life-choices is very interesting and scary.Zod was morally innocent since he had no choice in becoming who he was,he was bred to be a warrior who defends his people and he did so for the whole duration of the film.From our perspective he was a violent sociopath but Kryptonian perspective he was simply following his destiny.
I really liked the understated relationship between Kal and Louis,he's basically prince charming times 100,a selfless hero who looks like a cover model so it's easily understandable why she falls for him,especially after he saves her life and acts like it's nothing,while she was someone Kal could really trust,something he was battling with from childhood.She was tough,courageous and not the usual damsel in distress that we're accustomed in these type of movies.
I really don't understand the complaints about the third act,''mindless destruction'',etc...is there a mindful type of destruction?Was Hiroshima a nice type of destruction?Is there any war/armed conflict in which there are not countless lifes lost,whole cities and even countries ruined?Compared to real wars,this was nothing,a block of a city.We're talking about an alien invasion,two demi-gods fighting at the peak of their powers...what would they do,settle their differences by playing a chess game?No stakes?There were no stakes in The Avengers where the aliens were so weak,they were getting killed by arrows and bullets.Here,if Superman doesn't destroy the world maker,our whole atmosphere is changed and the whole of humanity dies.Bigger stakes than that,i would be hard pressed to find.Especially since humans were completely helpless against Zod and his followers.
Another thing i liked was the competence and bravery of human beings,Perry White's selfless decision to forfeit his life rather than leave his employee to die,the soldiers who weren't mindless drones,who were following duties but were also thinking with their own heads,at first not differentiate between Kal and Zod's soldiers but after a while recognizing that he fights for us not against us.
I had a couple of small issues of course,i would have loved to see 10 more minutes at the beginning,building Zod's/Jor's relationship a little more,seeing Krypton in peace time rather than jump right into the end of the planet,the lighting was very annoying,a screen glare was apparent every 5 minutes and some of the editing was a bit too quick and muddled.
But other than that,i can't wait for a sequel,especially after the double-meaning wink at the end with ''welcome to the planet''.He's now one of us and i can't wait to see him in his next adventures.