Superman vs Villains is not what's important

I see a lot of criticism about the uninteresting villains that Superman has faced off against but I have never personally seen that conflict as important to his character development.

When I see a Superman movie, what I am looking for or alternatively what makes him my favorite is the way he strives against his own limits or the circumstances he is in. Of course what his limits are, are always variable or how tough his circumstances actually turn out to be is subservient to the plot and which is why an actor playing Superman needs good acting skills to portray that 'struggle'. The accompanying music also plays a big part.

For example, in 'Man of Steel', Superman's first true flight, his rescue of Lois and the destruction of the World Engine are scenes that can swell any fan's chest with pride. More than the fight scenes, these majestic visuals are what define a Superman movie.

I go to see him do everything he can to preserve human life and not betray his principles. I was disappointed.

Who is saying that? What a lot are complaining about is that it is flashy movie without much substance. If anything it is a problem a lot of it is focused on Superman beating up the villains.

I don't know much about Superman but I know about Doomsday and during the fight at the end of the movie (Metropolis) I thought man they should have saved this kind of action for a Doomsday vs. Superman.

Again I don't know much about Superman but I really don't know how they will top the grandeur of the fight scene in this movie. I'm just saying this made the last scenes in The Avengers look lame, and I don't know what they can do in upcoming movies that will make the battle seem as important as that one with Zod.

MoS had no character development, that's it's flaw.

Actually the last fight was no more majestic than Neo vs Agent Smith in Matrix 3 and even then it lacked the wow factor that Matrix 2 had in terms of fight choreography.

I think that the plot was not very clever but there was quite a bit of good character development in terms of Supes' interaction with his parents.

The thing with the military was wasted screen time honestly. I don't know why Superhero movies are starting to fall in that trap.

I think that the villains are an important part of the story. The issue with Superman is that he is this God-like figure that really has no weakness and thus needs some sort of adversary that can match him in some way or give him legitimate threat. I think one of the issues with Superman Returns (one of many, many) is that the villain is kind of lame.

The parents did nothing except for his father saying "Don't get caught" which is hardly "good character development"

Shesh this is what baffles me about fans who defend this movie. At this point a movie about Jor'el is more interesting where in fact I'd rather see a movie about him instead.

Biggest problem with superman movies is.. superman!

HEY HE IS WEAK AGAINT MAGIC AND SPACE ROCKS JUST LIKE I AM.

Villains are always really important, if they were not it would just be Superman flying around for like 4 hours blowing up mountains. James Bond does not last longer than my dad without Bond Villains, TDK is not loved without the Joker, and Keyser Söze is still referenced long after anything else in the usual suspects has fallen faaar out of our culture because of the grandiose depictions of him.

A good villain fleshes out the character and challenges him/her, pushing him to the brink, and making him/her someone you want to empathize with and he/she likable as a result. Or a Sympathetic Villain can be used to make an audience think about things greater than the story.

Plus, it's a super hero movie, so yeah, a villain is usually an important thing.

Yep

It had plenty of character development for super man. That was the sole purpose of all of the flash backs. It established his morality and his struggle of facing his powers while growing up.

The problem with the movie is they developed super man's morality, but failed to exemplify it when he actually became super man. He showed no emotion for the destruction and loss of life that ensued from his conflict. The most emotion he showed was him screaming after killing zod, which didn't make any sense.

Comic books are for jerks.

@the_ruiner: He did everything he could to preserve human life. He was given no other option. Also, it's not the first time Superman has killed either. It's happened numerous times over his history. As shown in the film, he immediately felt tremendous remorse.

(Check Superman #22, it's pretty much the exact same as Man Of Steel, and is what leads him to vow to never kill anyone)

Lex Luthor is awesome but I could do without Brainiac and the rest. Luthor is one fascinating motherfucker.