I can imagine the conversation Christopher Nolan (Dark Knight Trilogy) had with the studio execs:

Execs: We’d really like to reboot Superman the same way you did Batman. Like for example a dark, gritty, realistic take on Richard Donner’s classic Superman 1 and 2 from the 1970s. Can you do it?

Nolan: How droll; been there done that. But can I recommend my mate Zack Snyder (300), he’s not as good (if I do say so myself) but he’s looking for a gig

Execs: OK, but can you at least take a producer credit? We’ll pay you a gazillion?

Nolan: Sure, why not?

What’s Super:

A. Awesome CGI battles that simulate indestructible super-beings tossing each other around Manhattan, the best yet seen on the silver screen

B. It’s more entertaining than Bryan Singer’s underwhelming Superman Returns (2006), due to #‎A, not casting Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane, and avoiding any asinine subplots involving Superman’s progeny (I hope JJ Abrams is taking note for Star Wars 7!)

What Falls to Earth with a Dull Thud:

** spoiler alerts **

1. So dark and gritty it took out all the fun: in the end this is a super-being in red tights and a cape. Some campy levity (e.g. via smart dialog) would have improved proceedings

2. So “realistic” that the silly pseudo-scientific explanations for Superman’s powers start sounding like midi-chlorians … And don’t sit well with plot holes like how Zod and crew didn’t age 32 years while searching for Kal-El etc.

3. Merged the stories of Superman 1 and 2 by splitting each in half and mashing them together, and cutting out more interesting parts – e.g. Lex Luthor, and Lois Lane’s romance

4. Snyder gets points for trying to invert some usual superhero tropes, but in the case of Amy Adams’ Lois Lane (she figures out Superman’s identity early on, and there is no real screen time or chemistry with Cavill), it simply fails

5. There is no emotional or thematic core. What plays well in the trailer as exposition about Superman’s relationship to humanity remains just that in the film: dry narration by Russell Crowe, no real exploration of the themes in plot or character development

6. Snyder also attempts to emulate JJ Abrams with constant Lost-like flashbacks as a story-telling device. In Lost, this trick worked because there is genuine mystery about the characters and their back story, and the existence of time travel converged the events of past, present and future. In Man of Steel, it merely slowed down the main plot without any payoff for the audience.

So ultimately, a disappointing movie that doesn’t live up to its brilliant marketing. By no means the worst superhero (or Superman) movie, but could have been so much better …