I don't think those that didn't enjoy the movie have done a particularly good job articulating their grievances but I think much of it centres around the bolded.
In Man of Steel the only thing that separated him from any other guy with an angsty troubled childhood, were the powers and for many people that just isn't Superman.
We buy into the idea of Superman as an unassailable force for good because we are shown people believing in him and time and again having their faith rewarded (religious metaphors are always unavoidable here) and there isn't a single Superman origin story that hasn't tried to set that tone initially. This dynamic gives him what you could cynically argue are two of his most powerful weapons; image and propaganda. In fact him having an alter-ego that works at a global newspaper is hugely convenient because how people feel about what Superman is doing is often more important just as important as what Superman is actually doing and it allows us to keep tabs on his public perception.
If he doesn't have that public trust then he's a short stop away from being an alien, something to be feared, an undesirable lightning rod for devastation and destruction. Time and again we've seen his enemies make him vulnerable by tarnishing his character but Man of Steel subverted the lofty hopes expectations people are supposed have of Superman without having set them up in the first place. For almost everyone in the world him being exposed as an alien interloper by Zod and their fight in Metropolis was the first they knew about him and try as I might I don't see how they can legitimately build him up as a public heroic figure that people would put their faith in. At this point the only thing that makes sense is humanity demanding that he leave Earth.
The reason why people harp on about why it is so hard to write good Superman stories is because he is supposed to embody something approaching perfection. Snyder and co did away with that element of his character in an effort to create something more relatable but that's the interesting thing. It turns out a lot of people don't want to relate to Superman, they want to be inspired by him. The internal juxtaposition of Superman/Clark Kent is useful because it starkly signposts the difference between the mundane and the awe inspiring (honestly I'm in no way mad that they did away with that or the daily planet gig but they didn't really add anything to take its place. As a result he's 33 in the movie yet his life feels void and empty.)
Now you could suggest that that on a human level its impossible to make an inspirational Superman movie without being corny or sacrificing realism but that ignores the conceit that allows us to accept him as a proposition in the first place. The idea of anything as perfect as we purport superman to be is hugely unrealistic, not because of his abilities alone but in how they interact with his character and what we already understand about the nature of power. Nothing that strong should be that humble and incorruptible Nothing that fast should be so patient. Nobody that isolated should have that much empathy. We allow ourselves to be drawn in because he represents the best of everything we want to believe about humanity.
I feel you could do anything you wanted in a Superman movie and as long as you captured the essence of that and for many Man of Steel didn't.
If you can do anything why you shoot down him being a juvenile delinquent
? Im not suggesting he be evil,im suggesting he be a kid?and doing what kids do but being that he's superman maybe his powers make him a delinquent by accident....even when he's trying to do right he's causing destruction,petting a dog he breaks the dogs neck,playfully throws sumbody in the pool and gives em whiplash
,kisses a girl and hurts her when he squeezing it
....But nah superman learns to use his power just because "his parents told him to focus"
....just like he's good just because he was told to be good.....people complaining about superman killing are just people picking shyt to complain about about a movie they didn't like,same with the "superman caused too much destruction
" crew....But end of the day people just want to see a good movie and would've gave a pass on that killing zod shyt had the movie been good...I would like finding out superman hurt people and caused destruction in the past and that's why he's good,thats why he's kind of a loner because he's been scared of what he might do.....This Superman who's just always had it come easy,always had it figured out
?.....How can sumbody that powerful just always have it figured out without trial and error
...and the errors not cause destruction?
like I say Superman can be as perfect as you want him to be but young Clark could've had some REAL growing pains,the growing pains would actually explain superman and make you root for him for a reason other than we supposed to.....I don't give a damn if comic fans don't want him explained just because they grew up on em and didn't question it as a kid....but I guess that's just the way it is,the story of supermans life
