1) There's an inconsistency in how long it takes Superman to travel from Krypton to Earth. Jar-El says that he's been dead for thousands of years. But then Lex quotes the newspaper article that Lois Lane writes, saying that Superman says Krypton exploded in 1948, and that it took him 3 years to reach earth.
2) When the spaceship is traveling, and we hear little bits and pieces of Jar-El's lecturing, at one point he mentions Chinese writings...which wouldn't have existed at the time of Jar-El's death, if he died thousands of years ago.
3) When Superman is a boy and is running alongside the train, the running effect looks painfully hokey. Could this be cut?
4) The flying scene with Lois, where they fly by the WTC and the Statue of Liberty, then up through the clouds, is really, really long, and the whole "can you read my mind" monologue comes off as being...goofy. Could this be cut down to something more reasonable? Basically cut down the sight-seeing a bit, then where she falls, cut past a lot of "read my mind" bit, show a bit more flying, then go to him taking her back.
And just a crazy ass thought I had (and I know you won't touch this with a 20 foot pole, but just a brainfart I had):
I really, really hate the look of the dude they have playing Superman as a high school kid. It just feels weird, for whatever reason. He has no charisma whatsoever. Maybe it was the bit with him running alongside the train, but it just rubbed me the wrong way. The thing that occured to me is--this kid dresses exactly the same way as Tom Welling does in the Smallville series--flannel shirts, jeans, etc. He even wears his hair in a way that wouldn't be totally anachronistic to the time in which the movie takes place--if Clark arrived in Smallville at the age of about two in 1951, he would be in high school from about 1963 to 1967, so the long hair is appropriate.
So, to cut this short, do you at all like the idea of using Smallville footage, with Clark finding the spaceship, and going up north and throwing the crystal to create the Fortress of Solitude? I know this is outright heresy, but hell, I think Tom Welling looks more like Christopher Reeve than the actor playing him during the high school years in the movie.
Just curious what your thoughts were, but I'm sure you've already cut the hell out of the beginning, as it's so damn long. One thing I found interesting about the new movie--they really picked up on a TON of little details from the original movie, and the actors nailed the mannerisms of the original actors.
Something I happened to spot in the first movie--
Right after the missiles launch, and the order to abort is given, the guy pushing the button is played by an actor that goes on to play a certain alcoholic mailman on TV...