Yeah, they introduced the idea in the beginning that he could grow up to be an ideal to strive for, and then COLLATERALBATTLEDAMAGEHUUUUR! And why were the bad guys so powerful, if their species become powerful based on becoming stronger by adapting to their environment, and Kal was so strong because he grew up adapting to Earth? I also think they would be more interesting if the audience had a reason to like them or sympathize with them in some way, but even the bad guy leader (Zal?) was a robot.
I just thought the movie could've been much more, and I spent like half an hour discussing how it could've been a better story with my girlfriend afterwards. Maybe Superman has unstoppable brawns, but what about more internal conflict, capitalizing on what it was like to have two dads, maybe have him sympathizing or being tricked by the Kryptonites, really flesh out the "Lead the People by example," why does he care about fitting in with or being accepted by humans if he can easily be "above" them, can Superman really be responsible for saving everyone, etc... There were many pretty great BEGINNINGS of ideas, but the screenwriter (or Zack Snyder) didn't pick one or two to really flesh out and make rich. Besides "You'll never find out how strong you are until you test your limits," basically the movie fell into the "superman trap" during the entire climax where basically Kal had little trouble overcoming any obstacle by flying faster, harder, and being physically stronger. I'd feel super confident having him on my football team, but I think that makes for a boring story.
