I hated the original. I liked this one. It's not a perfect masterpiece or even a really really great superhero movie, but it was better than most. Weirdly, you know what my favorite part was? Not black uniform Superman, not the added action scenes, not Steppenwolf's crazy new armor, but the design of his eyes. Steppenwolf is huge, looks menacing, but he has sad eyes:
They are not puppy dog big, but they are enough to tell us that this is a real character with depth... for a comic book villain anyway. His new back story is that he wants to prove himself and go back home and rejoin Darkseid is relatable, unlike the cardboard cutout of just wanting to take over/destroy earth or whatever (been there, done that). He betrayed his old master and wants to make amends. In his eyes, his path is clear: conquer earth or die. Not only does that give him the proper motivation to be relentless in his objective, but it gives weight to Darkseid, who is seen as such an authority figure that the fact that he finally decides to give Earth attention again makes for an ominous cliffhanger. Steppenwolf goes from a totally forgettable and flat villain to a semi-interesting 3 dimensional force of will, and it made a huge difference.