“Superman” Review
James Gunn’s Superman maintains an old-fashioned charm while also updating the storyline.
James Gunn’s (The Suicide Squad, Guardians of the Galaxy series) Superman maintains an old-fashioned charm while also updating the storyline to incorporate AI, robotics, and timely clashes between two foreign nations. Three things one can be sure of in a James Gunn film are whip smart, tongue-in-cheek dialogue; great visuals; and music that brings the heat to a scene and gets your foot tapping.
Where the current iteration of Superman falls short is Lois and Clark’s relationship, which lacks chemistry, and Lex Luthor’s world is glossed over. Metropolis is also a shallow setting rather than a clearly defined, secondary character in the story and an intricate part of the main characters’ lives and development.
Superman was introduced in Action Comics #1 in 1938. In a time when the average American was struggling, Superman symbolized hope and escapism. Radio series, television series, and movies evolved from this beloved superhero’s story. Richard Donner’s 1978 film version, which was written by Mario Puzo (The Godfather) and starred Christopher Reeve, set the bar high for portrayals of the Man of Steel. The current film gives a classy nod to the 1978 version and goes meta by including a cameo by Will Reeve, son of Christopher Reeve.
The film starts out with Superman (David Corenswet) becoming an outcast because Lex Luthor, a wonderfully villainous Nicholas Hoult, is helping to turn the tide of opinion about him by making him seem physically weak and emphasizing that he’s a metahuman, an alien. Luthor believes in brain over brawn, but his brain isn’t motivated by something innate like Superman’s is. It’s stimulated by strategy. Superman has helped prevent the fictional country of Boravia from invading neighboring fictional country of Jarhanpur but has also been beaten to a pulp by kaiju. His trusty robots, including Gary (Alan Tudyk), help fix him up and give him the appropriate amount of sun to heal him.
During his day job at The Daily Planet, Clark Kent’s love interest Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is the only one who knows his true identity. When she tries to interview him at her apartment, the differences in their ideas about being human are evident. While Superman is a human with extra powers, his perspective and mentality remain pure and idealistic. He shakes off negative thoughts like Krypto the Superdog shakes off fleas. Lois is much more jaded. Brosnahan is fine as Lois but lacks the glittery grit of Margot Kidder’s Lois.
Luthor’s attacks on Superman are relentless. Other metahumans come to Superman’s aid. Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) make up the Justice Gang that have their own unique superpowers that help save the day and keep the world in alignment.
Corenswet, with the lantern-jaw and curly-cued hair, is a physical prototype of Superman. He also has a sweetness to him that can be likened to Christopher Reeve’s aura but he’s not awkward like Richard Donner’s Clark Kent. He doesn’t really need to be since we’re more immersed in Superman’s world than Clark Kent’s.
The real MVP of the movie is Krypto the Superdog who’s fashioned after Gunn’s own dog Ozu, who has ears like the ones on Krypto. Krypto’ ears make him look like he’s always questioning things. He’s adorable and fierce.
Is this a standalone film? No. Most comic book-based movies these days have too many interconnected characters that have stories that are augmented by television series, films, and comics. However, one can still enjoy this Superman without being familiar with all of the characters because everyone is familiar with Superman/Clark Kent, Lois Lane, and Lex Luthor.
In his first foray into superhero films with DC Studios, which he runs with Peter Safran, Gunn’s Superman doesn’t have as much soul as his Guardian of the Galaxies movies, but it’s still a strong start to Chapter One of the Gods and Monsters portion of the DC Universe.
Superman is a Warner Bros. release that hits theaters nationwide on July 11.
Sonya Alexander started off her career training to be a talent agent. She eventually realized she was meant to be on the creative end and has been writing ever since. As a freelance writer she’s written screenplays, covered film, television, music and video games and done academic writing. She’s also been a script reader for over twenty years. She's a member of the African American Film Critics Association and currently resides in Los Angeles.