In addition to the absence of action, the movie places too much emphasis on emotional appeal--think The Hulk (2003). And Superman is presented as a Super Stalker who pays a little too much attention to Lois Lane and her family. I wouldn’t expect a ubiquitous saver-of-the-world to spend so much time spying on and courting someone with a fiancé. After a while, the Superman-Clark Kent-Lois Lane-Richard White love square gets really annoying.

Lastly, I’d be remiss if didn’t allude to the ending. Without spoiling it, let me just say the plot resolution defies the whole premise of the Superman character. As I sat in the theatre, I thought to myself, “this is not supposed to happen.”

Although I cannot speak too favorably about the movie, I am intrigued to see how some of the unresolved issues will factor into the next Superman film. I also think this all-time America superhero is relatively family-safe. It is not the best film at developing moral character, though, as Superman is no less self-serving than Lex Luthor. If one of the Ten Commandments forbids coveting your neighbor’s wife (Exodus 20: 17), then coveting someone’s fiancé with the use of superpowers has definitely got to be immoral.

The disappointing news is that the next Superman film will be filled with plenty of Kryptonite and amazing special effects but endless hours of inaction. The good news is that Spiderman III (2007) is less than a year away. This movie truly proves why the world doesn’t need a Superman (film).