FIRST REVIEW
In ‘Superman’, Kal-El (David Corenswet) has been actively saving the day as Superman for three years. Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is dating Karl-El/Clark Kent, and knows about his real identity. Clark has a cozy gig at The Daily Planet as a reporter, where he’s friendly with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gironde), a lower-level reporter. Supes is also babysitting his cousin’s (Kara Zor-El/Supergirl, as played by Milly Alcock) dog, Krypto. Lex Luthor’s (Nicholas Hoult) latest series of schemes wind up threatening not just Superman and his friends, but all of Metropolis and possibly the world.
James Gunn is back two years after completing his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for Marvel. This time he’s playing for DC, and has been tasked with faithfully adapting an even bigger property: ‘Superman’. Gunn directs and is credited as the sole writer on the film. In his hands, ‘Superman’ is occasionally sentimental and heartfelt, but more often than not falls into the realm of comic book silliness. This often feels like reading multiple unrelated issues of the Superman comic book back-to-back-to-back.
James Gunn makes some choices here (from making Jimmy Olsen someone who is popular with the ladies, to over-including Krypto in the proceedings, to a particular decision regarding Bradley Cooper’s Jor-El and Angela Sarafyan’s Lara Lor-Van) that might leave some scratching their heads. Gunn also includes some of his trademarks: goofy humor and a scene set to a pop song, among others. It’s almost like the Marvel-ification of DC films (and I LIKE Marvel!).
There is very little plot or through line to ‘Superman’. Instead, there’s more-so just an escalating series of events or schemes. There is little to no character development for Hawk Girl (Isabel Merced), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillon), Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), Rick Flagg Sr. (Frank Grillo), Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), Ma Kent (Neva Howell), Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Ultra Man. Ma Kent and Pa Kent are primarily used as jokes. Maxwell Lord is a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo (Yeah, that rumored plot involving Supes being pressured to join ‘The Justice Gang’ is nowhere to be found here).
Another problem is that there are many characters introduced that serve little to no purpose, except maybe to act as building blocks or stepping stones to bigger things down the line (It often seems like the film is actively setting pieces and characters up for future movies.). Other characters feel like they should be more important than they actually are. Ultra Man, for example, could be the main villain for an entire movie, but is instead relegated to background character until the last twenty minutes or so. It’s also interesting to note that the score samples the classic John Williams’ Superman theme multiple times, yet Gunn’s ‘Superman’ has more in common with the comics and cartoons than it does the Christopher Reeve movies.
So, what does ‘Superman’ do right? The cinematography by Henry Braham (‘Nanny McPhee’, ‘The Golden Compass’, ‘The Legend of Tarzan’, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2’, ‘Maleficent: Mistress of Evil’, ‘The Suicide Squad’, ‘Cinderella’ 2021, ‘Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3’, ‘The Flash’) is consistently bright and colorful. The score by David Fleming and John Murphy is mostly great, though it can lean too much into synth/techno/electro at times. All of the roles are well cast, with the best being David Corenswet as Superman (Corenswet can’t reach the heights of Christopher Reeves, but he’s better than Henry Cavill and Brandon Routh), Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen.
Gunn seems uninterested in holding hands or playing catch-up for those unfamiliar with Superman and his comics. He drops audiences into the action in media res via an opening text crawl (one of the best opening text crawls I’ve seen), essentially taking off running and not looking back. There was an insane amount of potential here, but the proceedings are often messy and convoluted (not unlike the plot of a comic book). The decisions Gunn makes throughout will likely alienate audiences as the film tends to opt for the silly, comic book-y, and cartoon-y.
‘Superman’ doesn’t re-invent the superhero movie. What it does instead, is move the superhero movie out of the gritty real world back into the colorful and fantastic comic book world. It’s a readjustment, but one that’s for the best. While ‘Superman’ lacks a plot or story, the action scenes (of which there are many) are all entertaining and Corenswet’s Superman is a much more faithful iteration of the character. While this Superman doesn’t fly as high as it could or should, it still manages to make it off the ground.
SECOND REVIEW
A film that is primarily about Superman having to confront his own naïveté and idealism, deciding if these aspects are holding him back/making him weak or if these attributes define who he is. The strongest aspect of this movie is easily the character work. David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, and Sara Sampson as Eve Teschmacher are PERFECTION. I love these characters and I love getting to spend time with them.
Unfortunately, there are small moments that feel very wrong, from Superman allowing The Justice Gang to fight a kaiju while he mopes with Lois, or the recovered message of Joe-El and Lara which is filled with atrociously laughable dialogue. The multiple themes and messages are blunt and lack subtlety, like Ultraman being the literal personification of the man Superman fears he could become and his fight with the villain being a metaphor for his inner battle with himself. There’s also the invasion of a small country which is clearly meant to remind of the conflicts in Gaza and the Ukraine, and the multiple times Superman is referred to as an Alien like it’s a bad thing is likely a commentary on how society has grown to view illegal immigrants (who are often referred to as Aliens in real life). I could see why the anti-woke crowd might despise this film, but woke has never bothered me and I’d bet it wouldn’t bother the naysayers either if these aspects were better executed.
The film is also too long, starts to drag in the last hour, feels overstuffed, and tries to do too much. Superman is an imperfect film, but its heart is ultimately in the right place and ultimately I can’t fault a film for having great aspirations and trying to do too much. Superman doesn’t soar, but at least it manages to get itself off the ground. I’m looking forward to more films with these characters.
3.5 STARS
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