englanddg
One Little Spark...
I also liked Superman Returns, but liked Man of Steel a bit more. The real problem with MOS is the fight sequences, which, as you state, went on and on and on... It's like they had a mandate to out-do The Avengers. Problem there is that with Avengers you have six heroes fighting multiple foes, sometimes in groups of two or three... and Joss was able to keep all of the balls in the air IMO. With MOS you have the same two battling it out on repeat. We get it after round three; but Snyder/Goyer wanted to show us all nine rounds.
It's as if there was a Warner Bros executive in the edit room repeatedly pushing the "More Cowbell!" button.
But... I did like the increased emphasis on the alien-on-earth angle, and I think Cavill has the potential to equal Reeve as a great Superman.
I just got back from seeing it, and I thought it was really well done UNTIL the fight scenes. Not that they weren't great, they were, but I found myself getting alittle bored with them.
The Smallville battle was great. But by the end it was getting alittle tired and old...they could easily have cut those down and kept (if not magnified) the effect of the scenes.
It does make me excited for a sequel...
Anyhow, I think your analysis sums it up perfectly.