Personally I think trying to connect this to earier films is dumb, considering that it's supposed to be a NEW Superman film for a NEW generation, therefore, it should start out on a clean slate all its own, like "Batman Begins". Also I think the use of Marlon Brando's archive footage is lazy and distasteful; there are plenty of good LIVING actors who could play Jor-El, why dig up the dead?
I also find the casting of Kate Bosworth as Lois Lane a dreadful one. It's like Katie Holmes in "Batman Begins" - she doesn't come across as this experienced news woman, she just comes off like a snotty little teen.