I know it seems like we get a new Spider-Man, Batman or Superman every few years, but I am pleased to say I think the newest version of “Superman” is here to stay.
For me, I’ve always liked Superman, but he was never one of my favorite superheroes.
As a child, I loved “Superman the Animated Series” and the Justice League cartoon from the early 2000s, which were my favorite adaptations of him, but I always gravitated more toward heroes like Spider-Man and Batman, and the introduction of the Marvel Cinematic Universe shelved most of my interest in Superman. I still watched all the “Superman” movies as they came out, but I really felt that the character and his alter ego Clark Kent were squandered in many of these adaptations and felt bland.
After the collapse of the DC Extended Universe, which was filled with middling to downright bad movies including “Batman vs. Superman,” “The Justice League” and “The Flash.” Warner Bros. pulled the plug on that version of DC and installed James Gunn, who most notably put together the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies and DC’s “The Suicide Squad,” and producer/talent manager Peter Safran as the heads of DC Studios. While other projects including the “Creature Commandos” show on HBO Max kicked off this new DC Universe, “Superman” represents the DCU’s launch on the big screen.
As a huge fan of Gunn’s previous work, I have been cautiously optimistic about this new DCU and the vision he has for it. In addition to supervising the studio, Gunn wrote and directed the latest “Superman.” I always look forward to the killer soundtracks, the tone, weird creatures and comedy in the movies Gunn makes and I am happy to report all of it is present in “Superman.”
While you may be wondering if viewers are going to be saddled with yet another Superman origin story, that is not the case here. Instead, viewers are given an opening crawl to quickly explain who this iteration of Superman is and to set the stage for the movie. Without giving away too much, the plot centers around Superman stepping into a conflict between two fictitious countries and the political fallout of doing so without approval from the U.S. government, and how one of his greatest enemies, Lex Luthor, attempts to take advantage of the situation. The movie to me felt like it was about Superman coming to terms with his humanity, his upbringing and why that makes him a symbol of hope and goodness in a way recent “Superman” films have been unable to capture.
This time around, Superman/Clark Kent is played by David Corenswet, reporter/Superman love interest Lois Lane is played by Rachel Brosnahan and Luthor is played by Nicholas Hoult. Across the board, the main cast is excellent and Corenswet is the best Superman we’ve had since Christopher Reeves — two of his scenes with Hoult are incredible and show the human side of Superman in brilliant ways.
While I think the romance between Clark and Lois is a bit surface level and I think their acting kind of represented that, there is room for their chemistry to grow in future movies, but their interactions have a kind of range you would expect from a budding relationship.
The supporting cast is just as good with Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern Guy Gardner and Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific. Both are scene stealers and had me laughing each time they came on screen. Fillion, over the years, has become one of my favorite actors, both in his roles in some of my favorite video games as well as his other roles in movies and shows like “The Rookie.” Seeing him as a sarcastic, rude and genuine jerk of a character with a ridiculous bowl cut had me cracking up throughout the movie.
I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Superman’s sidekick in the movie, Krypto the Super Dog. Inspired by Gunn’s dog, Krypto is a genuine comedic terror for Superman, his allies and his enemies.
The action scenes are top notch, with many of the larger battles taking place on a huge scale, giving all the characters huge opportunities to showcase their abilities. Normally I keep an eye out for bad CGI, but it was not present from what I could tell.
The soundtrack was also a great mix of both new and familiar themes, and I particularly enjoyed the remixed rendition of the original Superman theme from the Christopher Reeves movies.
What makes the latest “Superman” movie stand out to me is that it’s not about the superhero side, it’s about the man and his humanity and how he has become the way that he is. There are some emotional scenes where we get to see what he is thinking, how he is dealing with everything around him and why he wants to be a force for good and protect people. Is it a little surface level with a lack of subtlety? Sure, but I think the way it is delivered is powerful and reintroduces the audience to what Superman means.
Two of the scenes that stand out to me the most when it comes to this is when Superman is giving a monologue to Luthor at the end of the movie and another when he returns to his childhood home in Kansas and has a powerful conversation with his adopted father. There’s a real emotional core to this movie and this new version of Superman that I’m excited to see grow as we get introduced to other characters like Batman, Wonder Woman and the rest of the Justice League.
To me, “Superman” was a great starting point for the DCU and I am excited to watch it again in the very near future to see what I might have missed.
While we don’t have much outside of Superman and his supporting cast in the new DCU, I am confident that this version of the character will be an excellent core in this new universe, and I am excited to see Gunn’s vision evolve. My one gripe is we won’t get another movie until “Supergirl” next summer, but I think it’s going to be worth the wait as the DCU ramps up.
