5. Krypton, We Hardly Knew Ye
Besides crystals, Marlon Brando, and his glow in the dark suit, we never got much of a view of Krypton and what that world was like in comparison to Earth. That's why it was kind of cool to see Krypton in all its Apocalyptic glory. Lasers, explosions, and flying dragons oh my. Unfortunately, Krypton was a bit of a mess and it made the film messy as well because while it was interesting to watch, it was also unnecessary. For the first 20 minutes, we were immersed in Krypton and introduced to elements that would come into play later on in the story such as the codex and General Zod, but for all intents and purposes it could've been condensed. The film could've started out with Jor-El and Lara infusing the codex into Kal and General Zod busting through the doors. It would've saved an extra 10 minutes and then we could've gone right into Clark's present as a cast member of Deadliest Catch. In all seriousness, what was captured on Krypton was more pleasing to the eye than anything; we did get a sense of how Kryptonians lost their sense of humanity as Kal was the first "natural birth in centuries," but it fell short of any real thematic impact just as Zod exploded onto the scene and lasered a council woman without batting an eyelash. We weren't given enough time to process everything. As Lara launched Kal into space with the codex, I was confused more than anything because at that point I didn't know what the hell a codex was, why it was infused into Kal, and why Jor-El waited until the last minute to pick a planet to send his only son to. I'm not against the sense of mystery, but there needed to be a sense of urgency and significance to the actions in the beginning. Instead, everything felt rushed.