Well, I liked it. I thought it was quite a spectacle. Of course, I am a comic book fan in general, and the character of Superman is just so hard not to like. Not everyone agrees with me, like Roger Ebert (2 stars). He makes some points about the characters being too subdued, more or less. I think if you come in without big expectations, you’ll like it. I plan on seeing it a second time in IMAX 3D, which has to be the biggest hit for IMAX ever. The one IMAX theatre in the Phillipines is booked solid until the end of this month! It will probably be in your local IMAX theatre for the next 2 months, at least.

That said, IMDB has some pretty amazing trivia about casting and direction. For those who don’t know, while the budget was $220M to film it, Warner Bros. spent $40M before filming to get it developed. Many different actors, directors, and writers were considered during this period, which lasted almost a decade. I’ve decided to grace you with my opinion on those in the running, and how the movie could have been vastly improved or run into the ground if they were involved.

Writing: It was written by the guys who did X-Men and X2. They did an ok job.

Much Better: Kevin Smith (Clerks, etc.) or J.J. Abrams (Alias, Lost, Mission Impossible III), who both wrote full length scripts.
Way Worse: Some guy wrote a script where Superman impregnates Lois, then dies, then Lois dies giving birth to the Superbaby, which almost instantly grows into Superman. Kill Lois Lane? Are you fucking high??? I can only imagine the script caught fire as it hurtled towards the trash can.

Directing: It was directed by Bryan Singer, who did the first two X-Men movies and The Usual Suspects. He’s good in my book.

Different: Tim Burton, who would’ve direct the Kevin Smith script. He directed the first two Batman movies, which were ok in my book, but more cartoony than respectful to the comic books (i.e., they were no Batman Begins). Still, should’ve been decent with Smith’s script… Brett Ratner, who just did X-Men 3, and a good job there; but he was also responsible for Rush Hour, which I’m not a huge fan of… Robert Rodriguez (Desperado, Sin City) was also offered the job, but he just flat out turned it down.
Way Worse: McG, who did Charlie’s Angels. That would’ve been a huge turd. He left because he disagreed with filming in Australia… Michael Bay, director of oh so many piles of crap: Pearl Harbor, Armageddon, Bad Boys…

Superman: Brandon Routh does a decent job. I think it’s hard to point to the perfect Superman from our current actors.

Maybe Better: Brendan Fraser, Jim Caviezel. Both are good actors (What? Fraser can’t act? So you saw The Quiet American? Oh, you didn’t, did you? Then please be quiet, adults are talking…) Fraser has that all-American face, but Caviezel really wanted the part, unlike most, and I think that counts for something. Unfortunately, Singer told him he was too famous after playing Jesus in Passion of the Christ.
Different: Josh Hartnett, David Boreanaz, Ian Somerhalder
Worse: Paul Walker, Ashton Kutcher, Jerry O’Connell

Lois Lane: Kate Bosworth does a decent job, and she’s super cute, but not quite Lois Lane material. Not sassy enough.

Better: Keira Knightly (sorry, Masterchief)
Different: Elisha Cuthbert (maybe worse), Scarlett Johansson, Claire Danes
Worse: Mischa Barton, Keri Russell

Jimmy Olsen: The actor did a good job, but I just like some actors better.

Better: Topher Grace (Eric Foreman of That 70’s Show).
Different: Shia LaBeouf.

The rest: Archive footage of Marlon Brando plays Jor-El. Frank Langella plays Perry White, editor of the Daily Planet; it’s a small role, unlike Peter Parker’s boss J. Jonah Jameson.

Johnny Depp was considered for both Jor-El and Lex Luthor, seems a strange choice for either. Anthony Hopkins was attached to Jor-El, but dropped out with Ratner. Singer wanted Jude Law to play General Zod so bad, that after he turned down the part (several times, reportedly) Singer removed the role from the film. Not sure about Law as Zod, seems a bit young for a general, don’t you think?