I thought the action scenes and effects were top-notch, with only a few small instances that I could pick out as "fake". And man, Superman has never seemed faster and stronger. What a way to bring back a superhero. And Brandon Routh...well, it took a few scenes to get used to him, but by the end of the film, I completely bought him as Superman. He may not have the classic Supes "look", but he certainly has the presence. And Kevin Spacey as Lex Luthor added a whole new kind of cold insanity to the character, far more than Gene Hackman ever did.

On the other hand, I thought the movie was definitely too long. I don't mind long movies, but when they feel long, that's a problem. I think part of this movie's goal (and curse) was that it had to not only get the older fans caught up with the storyline from the older films, but it also had to "introduce" the characters to a new generation that might not have seen those old movies or read the comics. AND it had to have its own plotline to drive everything forward. There was just too much to do in one movie, but I guess it had to be done.

Then there's the plot point about halfway through the movie that totally had me spinning. A complete WTF? moment. I won't spoil it, but you'll absolutely know it when you see it. Now, I can't say I followed the comics, but this new subplot seemed to come out of nowhere and kind of fell to the side as the movie went on. It wasn't until the end of the movie that it's brought up again, and even then, I'm not sure what it might mean for future sequels.

Like I said, overall, I thought it was a fine movie. Maybe not the best, but it really brought back a character that a lot of people have been missing for years, and it wasn't afraid to acknowledge that. Hopefully, along with the renewed Batman franchise and the Spider-man series hitting full blast, this classic superhero will become new all over again.