Title: Superman
Describe This Movie In One All-Star Superman Quote:
SUPERMAN: You could’ve saved the world *years* ago if it mattered to you, Luthor.
Brief Plot Synopsis: “Big surprise: James Gunn isn’t fond of social media.”
Rating Using Random Objects Relevant To The Film: 3.5 G.I. Robots out of 5.
Tagline: “Look up.”
Better Tagline: “Nary a Jesus Christ pose in sight.”
Not So Brief Plot Synopsis: Superman (David Corenswet) arrived on Earth from his home planet of Krypton 30 years ago. Charged by his birth parents with doing right by his new home, he emerged as the world’s most powerful metahuman three years ago. Disguised as mild-mannered Clark Kent and working at the Daily Planet alongside reporter and romantic interest Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Supes enjoys widespread adulation until unilaterally preventing an international conflict, goading billionaire industrialist Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) into springing his long-planned trap to get rid of Superman once and for all.
“Critical” Analysis: In case you ever find yourself doubting the concept of going from “rags to riches,” just remember that James Gunn, a former Troma screenwriter (Tromeo and Juliet), is now co-CEO of one of the largest film franchises in the world. He did this by putting in the superhero work, making The Specials and Super before getting the call from the MCU, where he directed all three Guardian of the Galaxy movies. From there. he jumped ship to DC, launching new movies and TV shows on his was to ultimately heading DC Studios.
It’s a simplified timeline, but having his hand in all the pies to this point has helped Gunn maintain some continuity of tone in the new DCU. They key word being “some,” as Peacemaker and The Suicide Squad are distinctly more … coarse than Superman. All his properties, however, retain a sense of optimism even in the midst of all the dick jokes and strange obsession with alien eyeball abuse.
Never has this been more apparent than in Superman (though there’s still eyeball stuff). It’s almost relentlessly hopeful, using Clark’s human upbringing as the template by which he views his mission to do good on Earth, even is if it puts him at odds with the government, Luthor, and — initially — the corporate-backed “Justice Gang.”
As usual, Gunn finds some obscure characters to populate the menagerie. Frequent collaborator Nathan Fillion plays Guy Gardner, the token asshole Green Lantern, Isbela Merced is Hawkgirl, and a wholly unsung Edi Gathegi is terrific as, yes, Mr. Terrific. Krypto the Superdog also make his big screen debut, and is a combo scene stealer/deus ex “muttina.” Shut up.
And in what shouldn’t be surprising coming from a guy whose career was almost ended by online trolls, Gunn hates social media. Look no further than Luthor’s army of genetically modified (and painfully on-the-nose) monkeys constantly posting anti-Supes content.
It fits, because Luthor is Elon Musk. Or would be, if Musk was as smart as he claims to be, had a winning personality, and ever actually invented anything. Someone like that would, in a non-metahuman setting, be one of the most powerful people in the world.. As it is, his talents are – to Luthor’s mind – unappreciated, while this “alien” with no governmental sanction gets all the accolades.
This Superman is a total 180 from the Zack Snyder version, and that’s naturally led to recriminations from both fans of the latter and MAGA chuds who — while they might identify with Luthor screaming the equivalent of video game combo codes (don’t ask) — are either unaware of the character’s history or illiterate. Possibly both.
Because Superman has historically always represented this optimistic – if not utopian – ideal of a hero: the Technicolor yin to Batman’s grayscale yang. In theory, Henry Cavill’s portrayal should have been great, and he certainly had the chops. But the miserable Randian universe he was forced to occupy did nobody any favors. Gunn understands the assignment, and his script and palette allows Corenswet to really explore the space as Superman.
Superman isn’t without its flaws. There’s a bit of a lull after the opening fight sequence (against the “Hammer of Moravia,” a metahuman controlled by Luthor) that threatens to bog us down in relationship problems. And while Gunn’s humor is probably as in check here as it’s ever been, he still manages to exhibit some of his more antisocial tendencies (usually via Fillion) and frame a tender encounter between Lois and Clark while a battle against a “dimensional imp” rages in the background (“They can handle this”)..
But once it gets into its goofy groove, Superman is great fun. Corenswet *is* the Big Blue Schoolboy, as Frank Miller’s Oliver Queen once described him, Brosnahan was born to play Lois, and Hoult is effortlessly duplicitous as Luthor. James Gunn has delivered the best Superman since Richard Donner, thanks to fully embracing what the character is supposed to be.
Ask A 16-Year Old:
RFTED: So what did you think?
16YO: Not enough David Corenswet shirtless scenes.
RFTED: He … didn’t have any shirtless scenes.
16YO: Exactly.
Superman is in theaters today.
