@lvenger: Hey sorry, you asked me for my opinions and why I disagreed with you on points. Here's a post I have from a while back in Tony's article which essentially mirrors your own complaints. Sorry, it's a little long :P
I feel like I've already said my piece a few times throughout different threads prior to this but I'll do so again. First and foremost, thank you for the article Tony and while I don't agree with your opinion, I still respect it completely. After all, it is your own opinion! :)
So, in a sense, I do agree with you in regards of this not being a Superman film in its entirety. Why? Because for the better part of the film or for almost the entirety of it, Clark isn't Superman yet. This is the point of the film, it's a starting point, an origin story. It's unfortunate because people seem to neglect that fact. This takes place before Clark becomes the Superman the world comes to know, that all the comic book readers and die-hard Superman fans (such as myself) have come to idolize and adore.
Which brings me to the next point. Clark is severely inexperienced with his powers, that much is clear throughout almost the entire film. He doesn't even learn how to begin to control his powers or utilize them properly until he meets Jor-El. I think it's unfair to compare this film's version of Clark to the Donner films and especially comics, the best example constantly being reused is "What's so Funny about Truth, Justice and the American Way?". As I stated earlier, this Clark doesn't have the benefit of having years of experience under his belt, he hasn't tested his limits, grown with his capabilities and been able to learn he who or what he wants to be. I mean, once he gets the suit and begins to learn the extents of his powers, he's thrusted into an alien invasion with time to breath.
As for the destruction caused and especially the controversial Zod death scene, I will have to admit here that my first viewing of the film was severely ill-received due to the latter development. I, like many people especially Tony and Mark Waid, were irked by the fact that Clark killed Zod. Although, the more I thought about it, the more I understood it and why that scene was so brilliantly written and how I applaud the writers greatly. In the comics, Superman always has some ridiculous plot device that aids him in stopping his enemies, especially those as powerful as he is. He's in a world full of spectacular people such as himself who can aid him, who have the benefit of advanced technology to imprison such beings.
With Man of Steel, none of that is the case. The last of the Phantom Drives were used up or destroyed when Faora and the other Kryptonians were sent back into the Phantom Zone. Some may argue that there possibly may have been the Phantom Drive left on Clark's "Fortess of Solitude", but that's not the case. Even if it was still operational, how would Clark be able to get Zod back across the city and have the time to utilize it? Zod was clearly showing that he was just as powerful, if not more so than Clark was with the addition of his warrior nature edging out the favour. That's why it worked here. Clark didn't have any other option of stopping Zod.
I told myself in my first viewing, "Why didn't he fly up through the ceiling, why didn't he knock his head down, why didn't he cover his eyes with his hand?" How would that aid him? Clark would potentially lose his upper hand with the choke hold and even if he did knock him out? Then what? There is not a single thing on the planet that could hold Zod or Superman. He would just get back up and start causing even more unwarranted destruction. Clark's decision to kill Zod was the only way of stopping him and protecting the billions of people on Earth from potential annihilation as it was clear that Superman was beginning to lose that fight. There is no comic book plot device that could save Clark in this situation and we see a character, one of the most iconic in the world, put into a situation with no other choice.
Which leads me to my final point that connects with all the others. Clark is not Superman yet and definitely not the one we know. I believe that decision he made is what causes him to create that unbreakable moral compass, that one moment that reminds him what he should strive to avoid at all costs in the future. To me, it feels like a behind the scenes look at what helped build Superman into the person we know and who comes to inspire humanity to be greater than itself and it's something I am sure the sequel has plenty of room to cover.
So to close things off, is Man of Steel a perfect film in my opinion? No, not even close. But it greatly succeeds in what it set out to do and I applaud the crew for not taking the liberties with the character and trying something unique and different.
Rant over :)
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