Man of Steel is my new favourite movie of all time.

It has also defined my split between films and movies. MOS is my favourite MOVIE. My favourite FILM is a different matter.

But there is also a fatal flaw with it. At least for the general viewer the first time.

I saw the negative reviews beforehand. I was... for want of a better word, "scared" when I went into the cinema for the first time. Then I saw the greatest movie I have ever seen and I got angry. Why the bad reviews? Why the "too much of this"? Why the "too little of that"? Why the Reeve callbacks?

I was ready to take them all on. I was going to set each and every "bad" review straight, telling them all how to actually do their jobs. I had quotes from Nietzsche, Frankfurt, Hawking and more lined up. It was going to be biblical.

Then I had to explain 'The World Engine' to someone on AICN [Ain't It Cool News - Ed.]. Twice. And that's the fatal flaw as far as first time critical reception goes. It's too condensed.

MOS was as perfect as it could have been for me. Sure there was the slight stench of Smallville's arrested development in there, but I knew it was going to be there, and it was handled surprisingly well. Performances across the board were great with Cavill himself being the standout. He is going to be this generation's Superman. I wanted Armie Hammer in the title role to hew the character closer to the "classic" Superman post n52 and Smallville.

But I digress. This is not the classic Superman. It was never going to be and I have to give Cavill credit for pulling it off in style. Amy Adams is given the thankless task of updating Lois Lane from "blind in love" to "knowing from the start" and nails it. Michael Shannon gives depth and even charisma to what should be a one-dimensional Zod by way of The Eradicator. All of the cast acquit themselves well, with Costner and Crowe both giving a great study into what it means to be a father - the latter giving the movie it's one moment of levity with his parting advice to Lois.

And this leads us back to the fatal flaw: MOS is relentless once it gets going.

Like Grant Morrison's retelling of Action Comics no.1 in Supergods on steroids, MOS is constant forward motion - and all the intelligent plotting and repeated explanation of said plot in the world means squat if the audience isn't given time to catch up.

I was right at home so MOS gets five stars from me.

But the more other people miss the plot (and there is one) between superpunches, the less they'll understand. The less they understand the more they'll blame the movie. The more they blame the movie the more they'll reject it for the rose-tinted nostalgia of Superman - The Movie. Even if they are still to some extent the same thing.

Part of me still wants to blame the critics. Is the movie too fast and loud for it's own good, or did the critics - professional or not - simply not follow MOS?

What do you think?

I left the cinema thinking "I really didn't enjoy that".

I found myself just wishing it would end; as soon as he put on the cape and the "action" started, the characters dried up and I lost interest. It was like watching someone playing a video game; just all CGI rubbish.

The first half hour on Krypton was dull as well! But once we got to Earth - and Clark was a boy, and then a man, drifting through life - it held my interest. But then the plot-stretching appearance of the "essence" of his father was the beginning of the end for my interest; the characterisation dried up, and it became a really dull action flick.

Seen it all before in those rubbish Transformers films! It is possible to blend eye-watering action with character and humour though, as the new Star Trek films are decent.

Disappointed.

The trailer for Man of Steel suggested that it would be taking Superman back to the beginning and exploring the origins of his creation. Initially reviews had put me off seeing the film as the trailer had really drawn me in but critics were saying that it did not live up to the expectations this had set. However, once I actually got round to seeing it, I found the film to deliver throughout.

Essentially the film starts on Superman's planet, explaining why his parents had to give him up, then moves on to show him as an adult, with relevant flashbacks to his childhood. About the last third of the film is action and fighting, which some reviewers thought did not fit in with what they had been expecting / wanting. I am not a great fan of action in films, where it can be unclear exactly what is going on, but did think that it worked with the story and was thoroughly engaged for the majority of this – spending most of the action sequences thinking “Come on, Superman!”.

Although the film does drag a little near the end of the action, this film is interesting and exciting, reinvigorating the story. I left the cinema thinking “I really enjoyed that!”.