I have nothing against movies that start with a hero that is already established in said universe. Obviously, this is not about how he came to earth and began to acquire the trust of humanity like the man of steel was (kind of). There are multiple good and bad things about this movie.
I couldn't believe in the power of Superman here as I watched him get beaten down for more than half of the movie. You don't get to see his enormous power while crushing others despite the fact that he IS the strongest DC hero. My vision of him here was that he was inferior until the very end when he finally decided to pop off. Until then, it felt like he was struggling, massively, and that downgraded my overall feeling of him being what he actually is.
The story wasn't that captivating. You don't get to see his parents much or his connection with them. It felt like their role could've literally been left out entirely. We don't get much time to understand who Kent is outside of his superhero role, how he built relationship with certain people and how he feels to be a part of a normal human society. Also, the relationship with his girl didn't really feel emotional due to the cast deciding that she's an emotionally unstable person, just what a guy of Clark Kent's caliber really needs. The chemistry was off, it felt rushed, simply. The concept, yet again, had to be about saving the world, about Lex Luthor creating a literal machine that somehow managed to match Superman's power, all while giving commands to the user of that machine because the guy is lacking appropriate skill. I felt like the story should've been more unique, about him facing a more supernatural type of enemy and going back and forth in blows. That didn't happen, he was getting BEATEN UP for majority of the movie, I didn't like that. He had way too much help and relied on other DC heroes to save him, so much so that, for the 5th time, made a negative impression of his power and superiority (besides saving people in the very last moment by carrying the falling buildings). This heavily reminds me of Marvel approach, and mind you, DC isn't marvel. It's a much darker and more serious universe. There's nothing truly unique about this, it's just a copy paste formula.
On the bright side, I don't know why some people are complaining about the actor, he fits the role perfectly. He's handsome, well shaped and looks like he belongs in that costume. He has decent acting skills, it's just too bad that he couldn't shine more due to direction.
CGI is really nice too, it's immersive. Every punch could be felt, the flying animation was really convincing.
Even though the movie followed a classic Marvel path, it did make me chuckle a few times.
They had a pretty decent idea of humanity turning against Superman due to his parents wanting him to destroy the planet, and that's the only part of the story that I liked and somewhat felt. Being betrayed by your own kind and also being tested to find your purpose again, despite that request. There was so much potential, but it failed to reach it.
This was supposed to be a more convincing movie about the Superman himself, not so many apparent allies that he has. The movie was too sarcastic and bright, failing to capture the heart of the universe he truly lives in.
3 stars, generous 3 stars.