Superman Review - A triumphant debut for Gunn's DCU
- Chase Gifford
- 1 day ago
- 6 min read
“Once I thought to write a history of the immigrants in America. Then I discovered that the immigrants were American history.” - Oscar Handlin
After years of suffering through the Snyder-verse, we finally have a chance to welcome something new. A breath of fresh air. A return to form before the time of colorless superficiality and mind-numbing slow motion. After creating what I believe to be the best trilogy of the MCU, James Gunn has moved to DC to rekindle our love of superheroes and celluloid. For all the dark and dim we have endured, we have officially entered the age of bright colors, unabashed frivolity, and an all around understanding of what makes a really good comic book flick.
First thing I think Gunn fully understands is that audiences don’t always have to know the characters beforehand. At one time, no one outside of comic book enthusiasts knew who the Guardians of the Galaxy were. Now? In the eyes of moviegoers they may be just as significant as your Batmans, Supermans, Iron Mans, and Captain Americas. He bravely continues that tradition in his first endeavor as Co-Chairman and CEO of DC Studios and perhaps most importantly, as writer and director of Superman.
With the obvious characters we’re all pretty well acquainted – Superman, Lois Lane, Lex Luthor, Ma & Pa Kent, and even Jimmy Olsen. But as a means to begin the DCU all over again, Gunn is introducing us to characters like The Engineer, a pivotal soldier in Lex Luthor’s ongoing battle against Superman. She is fierce, formidable, and highly intelligent. For all the ways Lex is ruthless with his intelligence, The Engineer is there for the ways Lex cannot be with abilities controlling nanotechnology allowing her brutality to increase and spread.
On the side of justice (gang) is Mr. Terrific who is one of the best parts of this story. He is determined, highly capable, effortlessly adaptable, and rebellious when it counts. He is a fantastic aid to Superman but never blindly so, always keeping Kal-El honest even at the risk of angering him. He is the friend Superman needs but not always the one he wants. Once a hindrance of Kal-El, Metamorpho, aka Rex Mason aka The Element Man is a being able to transmute his body into various elemental forms and compounds such as Kryptonite which I don’t have to tell you, can be a serious problem for ol’ Supes.
If you can just hang on, the new characters I trust will continue on in other formats, movies or television, and will reveal who they truly are. But for the time being, in the realm of Superman, they are wonderfully weird, comic book incarnate characters. They are the beginning of what I trust will be a new and wild world now known as the DCU. And of course, the first entry is the man of steel himself. And what an amazing debut it is.
We’ve had Christopher Reeve, forever our first cinematic flying superhero, no offense to Kirk Alyn and George Reeves but this title rightfully belongs to Reeve who I suspect will remain the very personification of Superman. Dean Cain was an iconic Superman in the 90’s but he never transitioned with the character into movies. Tom Welling was a young Clark Kent discovering what it means to be thee Superman in a long gestating series called Smallville, a CW classic. Superman eventually returned to the big screen with Brandon Routh donning the cape in Superman Returns, a flawed but charming interpretation. Next of course came the one man most at one time agreed was the best version of the character since Reeve, Henry Cavill was the Man of Steel. Tyler Hoechlin carried the torch on the small screen with Supergirl and then Superman & Lois getting what is so far one of the most complete Superman arcs in television or film. And now we arrive at the present day. David Corenswet is Kal-El, Clark Kent, Supes, the newly anointed Man of Steel or simply and succinctly, Superman. And he absolutely delivers as the Last Son of Krypton.
More than previous versions, this particular Superman is a mirror representation of his upbringing in rural Kansas. He has a folksy way of speaking, refraining from bad language as much as he can. He understands the importance of hard work having been raised on a farm. He is simplistic in his beliefs believing people should be saved and protected. Not just people from this area of the planet or this one that isn’t amidst a major conflict. All people. A timely message in an ever-growing time of unwarranted resentment towards immigrants and war-torn civilians of third-world countries.
As much as he stands for the American way, he is a representative of the planet Earth, where humans struggle to coexist but still he tries to see the good in them. Corenswet demonstrates restraint perfectly in the face of great adversity. Whether that adversity is in the quieter moments that require his patience in conversation or in the moments that he becomes rageful and wants to give into his baser instincts like vengeance; still he must refrain and be the shining example we trust him to be. As Kent he is adequately quirky while always having a faint sign of secrets just beneath his hypno glasses. When he dons the cape he is convincingly strong, capable, and ferocious when it’s required of him. Kent/Superman is a dual role of great nuance and detail and Corenswet is the embodiment of Metropolis’ most famous citizen and aspiring Daily Planet journalist.
Rachel Brosnahan takes the mantle of Lois Lane from prominent performances, perhaps most famously, Margot Kidder who, like Reeve, was such a perfect representation of what most would imagine as that very character. Kidder is Lois Lane like Reeve is Superman. Forever. But Brosnahan, despite such great heights, ascends them beautifully as the always tenacious and commanding star journalist of the Daily Planet. Her greatest moments are when she’s able to be a genuine reporter, delving into the moments at hand that demand her attention and her unyielding desire for truth and justice, kind of like her high flying boy toy. I think they’re a good match but circumstances might say otherwise.
In this iteration of Superman, the titular hero is well-established on Earth. He has been a prominent figure in Metropolis and beyond for some time now. He is busier than ever trying to combat the crazy efforts of Lex Luthor, emphatically and maniacally played by Nicholas Hoult. As the smartest man alive Luthor is constantly baiting and prodding his arch nemesis with obvious and not so obvious mind games and literal monsters of science. His first step, destroy the reputation of Superman, isolating and condemning his arrival, his extended stay, and his suspected intentions for the future.
As an alien entity that abides by no borders, the governments of the world are wary of his unclarified purpose. Lex then pushes for uninterrupted permission to ultimately destroy Superman, with all his intelligence and tools at hand, this is nothing for Superman to take lightly. For all that Lex Luthor puts on display, his ulterior motives remain hidden until the perfect moment, usually causing dismay on every side that is of significance to the matter at hand. Superman is in for the fight of his life.
This movie is a James Gunn movie and it’s all the better for it. It’s odd when it should be, funny when it matters without distraction, high energy action sequences, lively dialogue that can be either quite funny or equally poignant. The characters he has chosen to introduce are eclectic and bizarre but undeniably enthralling. His interpretation of Superman, along with the wonderful casting, all make for one of the most comic accurate versions of these characters we’ve ever seen on the big screen. Whether that’s a good thing is for each person to decide for themselves.
The story is exciting, well-paced but knows when it’s important to slow things down and ground this hero we all know can fly. To watch him eat cereal while barefoot looking out at the farmland he grew up on is a real humanizing moment. It rounds out a character that will shortly thereafter fly impossibly into the sky at astounding speeds and perform extraordinary feats of strength and heroism. He is a human and an alien simultaneously. He is Clark Kent as he is Superman. From mild-mannered to god-like, James Gunn, David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Krypto and extended cast in the IMAX format all combine powers to make the best version of Superman we’ve seen since 1978.
Rated PG-13 For: violence, action and language
Runtime: 129 minutes
After Credits Scene: Mid and end. Yes.
Genre: Action/ Adventure, Superhero
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi
Directed By: James Gunn
Out of 10
Story: 8.5/ Acting: 9/ Directing: 10/ Visuals: 10
OVERALL: 9/10
Buy to Own: Yes.
Check out the trailer below: