8. The Flashback Structure
I don't understand why the movie presented the flashbacks out of sync. Snyder could have just shown all of them in chronological order, and it would have been a lot easier to follow Superman's journey. Instead they're presented as though someone spun a wheel and said "Okay, let's put the scene where Clark saves the fat kid HERE." The writers lazily attempt to connect the flashbacks by using visual imagery, like a yellow school bus in the distance, or an image of a cross glaringly shoved into the background. But flashbacks only work when they're triggered by some kind of emotional connection to the present day material. This admittedly happens with the graveyard bookends to the Jonathan death scene, but the scene in itself is so stupid that it renders all emotionality null and void (a lot more on that later). The worst thing about the flashback structure is that Jonathan dies in flashback 3, but is alive again in flashback 4. Generally when writers want you to care about someone who's going to be killed off, they do it by using each of the character's scenes to build up to his death, and then removing him from the movie afterwards. Cutting back and forth to him after his death completely ruins any emotional build-up, and comes off as though the writers forgot they killed him. I get the feeling the only reason they didn't do the Smallville scenes chronologically was to avoid repeating the formula from the original Chris Reeve film. But you know what? If it ain't broke, don't fix it.