Structurally, the first half of Man of Steel is a mess. From the second Kal-el's ship lands on Earth, they flash forward to when he's an adult, then he's a kid, then he's an adult, then he's a teenager, then he's an adult. It's really hard to get to know this guy because of the transitions, and certain scenes just don't have the impact they might otherwise have had if the film had had a more linear structure. Take the scene with Jonathan Kent dying. If this scene had been earlier in the film, when Supes was a kid, it would have been so much more impactful and easier to understand. He was still discovering his powers and he would have been conflicted over whether to use them or not still. As it is now, its just hard to believe he would just stand there. It's kind of stupid actually. Even if you take the film's explanation though, it really has no impact because we really don't know the guy. They have to explain Superman's reasoning through a line of dialogue because the writer knows his behavior makes no sense. That's bad character writing in my opinion. We should really be able to get it without expository dialogue.
The second half has a lot of entertaining action, but since Superman is developed so poorly in the first half, it's hard to be as invested in the outcome as we should be.
The Indians are coming! Quick, put your scalp in your pocket! -Groucho Marx
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