This actually was my favorite superman movie ever, though granted I haven't actually seen any other superman movie besides Superman Returns. Seriously though, I can see why people wouldn't have liked it, but I actually did really like this movie. This is partly because I have a tendency to latch on to secondary characters and especially villains. I loved the way the movie did Zod - As a villain with believable and sympathetic motivations who was nevertheless monstrous, I like that they can make us understand why his troops would follow this man to hell and back (literally) while still viewing him as a monster. And whenever I think of this movie, 90% of what I remember is random badass U.S. colonel dude and his Badass worthy opponent relationship with Zod's 2IC. I was also a big fan of the way they did the action scenes- no slow mo just crazy overpowered aliens. One of the big problems I have with the standard superman mythos is the way the humans are presented as screaming cowards or uninterested bystanders and it was refreshing the way this movie averted that trope. Regarding the tone, I have a deep appreciation for grimdark, so it was fine by me. I can understand why people say that it conflicts with the tone of superman, but since I can't stand the standard superman mythos this doesn't bother me at all. To me the bland straightforward way the kill choice was presented was part of it's appeal and an excellent demonstration of the stupidity of Thou Shalt Not Kill. Superman: I refuse to kill ever! Zod: Then I kill this random guy. You have 10 seconds to make your choice. Superman: Shit! (Kills him) If your moral principle can be thwarted that easily it needs to be reevaluated.
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Seriously though, I can see why people wouldn't have liked it, but I actually did really like this movie. This is partly because I have a tendency to latch on to secondary characters and especially villains. I loved the way the movie did Zod - As a villain with believable and sympathetic motivations who was nevertheless monstrous, I like that they can make us understand why his troops would follow this man to hell and back (literally) while still viewing him as a monster. And whenever I think of this movie, 90% of what I remember is random badass U.S. colonel dude and his Badass worthy opponent relationship with Zod's 2IC. I was also a big fan of the way they did the action scenes- no slow mo just crazy overpowered aliens. One of the big problems I have with the standard superman mythos is the way the humans are presented as screaming cowards or uninterested bystanders and it was refreshing the way this movie averted that trope.
Regarding the tone, I have a deep appreciation for grimdark, so it was fine by me. I can understand why people say that it conflicts with the tone of superman, but since I can't stand the standard superman mythos this doesn't bother me at all. To me the bland straightforward way the kill choice was presented was part of it's appeal and an excellent demonstration of the stupidity of Thou Shalt Not Kill.
Superman: I refuse to kill ever!
Zod: Then I kill this random guy. You have 10 seconds to make your choice.
Superman: Shit! (Kills him)
If your moral principle can be thwarted that easily it needs to be reevaluated.