Sexuality/Nudity Acceptable
Violence Acceptable
Vulgarity Acceptable
Anti-Catholic Philosophy Acceptable
Years ago I had a discussion with a friend of mine who is a giant Godzilla fan. He was explaining to me that Godzilla was a genre unto himself. Throughout the years, Godzilla has been interpreted as a horror movie, a children's franchise, or even a political allegory. That's why in the same year you can have Godzilla Minus One, which is an artistically and thematically beautiful exploration of post-war grief, and Godzilla x Kong: The New Empire, which is basically just the movie version of banging your action figures together. The point is that they both work because Godzilla movies are bigger than one single interpretation.
I bring this up because what is true of Godzilla is true of Superman.
Superman is a genre unto himself and he contains many genres.
Richard Donner's Superman movies was his creation of an mythic, American epic.
Superman III is a slapstick comedy.
Superman IV: the Quest for Peace is a political diatribe.
Bryan Singer's Superman Returns is a relationship melodrama.
Lois and Clark: The New Adventures of Superman is a rom-com.
Smallville is a coming-of-age story.
Superman and Lois is a family drama.
Man of Steel is an exploration of how the "real world" would react to a Superman.
I bring all of this up because James Gunn's Superman cannot and should not be pigeonholed to fit any of the above previous Superman projects. And you can like all of the different takes on the character throughout the years without the movies and shows having to be consistent. James Gunn's Superman is very different than Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, but I loved both of them.
(Confession time, I have seen every theatrical Superman movie in the theater multiple times since Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. As a child, I even read the novelization of Superman IV. So you know upfront how special Superman is to me, especially in the theatrical form.)
So how did I feel about this Superman?
I loved it.
Writer/Director James Gunn throws you into the deep end at the very start of the movie. He completely skips the entire origin story. In fact, he skips what would normally be the first act of a movie. We are told that three weeks earlier Superman (David Corenswet) stopped a war between two nations and that three hours earlier one of those nations sent a metahuman to Metropolis who beat Superman so badly that he had to retreat. The movie begins with that shot from the teaser of Superman crashing into Antarctica to get to the Fortress of Solitude. There are no flashbacks to get you caught up, instead the movie pushes forward at breakneck speed. In the Fortress, we encounter a looped message from Superman's Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara who tell him that he is to do good for the Earth. But the rest of the message has been corrupted and has never been heard. But this message established Superman's whole mission of being a hero.
The story centers around Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and his obsession to take Superman down. During these exploits, Superman is sometimes assisted by "The Justice Gang," consisting of Guy Gardner "Green Lantern" (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). As Luthor's plans continue to unfold Superman's life begins to fall apart all the while Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) work behind the scenes to help him.
I don't want to give away too much of the plot, because watching it unfold is part of the fun.
Why did I love this movie so much?
Part of it is that it feels like the comic books I read come to life. Moreso than most superhero films, is able to translate that feeling of reading good comic books. Most of the time these either go too goofy and campy or they go too "realistic." This movie is bright and colorful with imaginative spectacle while at the same time having clear, distinct, and interesting characters along with a strong dramatic through-line.
Perhaps my feelings are colored by the fact that Gunn nails the essence of the comic characters. Superman is the ultimate aspirational hero. He embodies goodness. I can tell you when I went from liking to loving the movie is when in a moment of frustration Superman yells, "Good Gosh!" His refusal to take God's name in vain won me over.
But the other characters are also interpreted very well. Guy Gardner is a jerk who you love and that is how is portrayed. He is frustratingly dismissive and arrogant, but you just can't help but love him because of this as he knocks people down with a giant green middle finger. Gunn also perfectly translated Mr. Terrific to the big screen. He is a genius who is always the smartest guy in the room who and it frustrates him so much to have to slow down and explain everything. I love how Mr. Terrific's biggest problem with Luthor doesn't seem to be his evil, but his shoddy science. In the James Gunniest scene in the film, we also get to see Terrific take down an entire group of bad guys while an obscure pop song plays in the background. Luthor is played with an energetic evil. Lois is portrayed as smart and strong without having to take Superman down a notch.
A note here about the dog, Krypto. I was skeptical about his incorporation into the movie as too campy. But Gunn makes it work. While Krypto is often present to help Superman get out of a jam, he is almost as unruly and destructive as some of the villains. The best way I can describe him is chaotic good: when he shows up he could just as easily make things worse as better. The movie captures that love you have for an unruly dog that doesn't understand how you could be upset when he loves you so much.
Gunn definitely brought his A-game when directing this movie. Even now some of his visuals are sticking with me. He knows how to make Superman look iconic (as when he is rising out of a destroyed building) or romantic (as when he flying in air while kissing Lois) or vulnerable (as when he is beaten up in the fetal position in the ice of Antarctica). This is a fun movie to watch. He wisely incorporates the John Williams score that Zack Snyder avoided so much. But Gunn uses it to maximum effect for both thrills and inspiration.
Thematically the movie works incredibly well. This Superman is a young man who is still trying to find who he is. He has the simple trust of a Kansas farm boy and he sees the world in those very simple terms. There is a scene towards the beginning where Lois interviews Superman. The scene actually goes on for a long time and should grind the movie to a halt, but instead I found it fascinating as Lois pushed Superman to reflect on his actions. Lois questions everyone and everything as a good skeptical reporter should do. Superman trusts his moral compass because he feels the responsibility to protect the innocent. Neither are necessarily wrong, but the conflict leads to some great character sparks.
In one of the movie's most touching scenes, Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince) has a heart to heart with Clark about the role of parents and children and identity. It is a simple moment but profound in its simplicity. And it is the simple, country decency of Pa and Ma Kent (Neva Howell) that form the invisible backbone of the movie.
The performances are generally excellent. Corenswet steps into the role perfectly. His Superman is not the legendary icon that Christopher Reeves was. Nor is he the angsty and brooding Henry Cavill. There is an innocence to Corenswet's performance that is different than in most interpretations of the character on screen. I heard a reviewer say that he plays him like a large boy and his dog trying to do his best in a complicated world. Brosnahan is a fantastic Lois. I completely buy her chemistry with Corenswet along with their conflicts. Her strength and intelligence is always present but always in a feminine and not masculine way. Hoult's Luthor is a step above Jessie Eisenberg's. He talks fast and thinks fast and is so casually cruel about life that he is the perfect foil to the life-loving Superman. Fillion plays Guy Gardner to perfect. But a real standout is Gathegi as Mr. Terrific. On the page, this character could come off as robotic, because he is at times rather cold. But instead of cold, Gathegi makes him cool. He has a swagger and a confidence that make you want to be like him. And the Kents play there part with an honest country simplicity. Ma keeps calling Pa a "mush" because he is overly emotional, but it comes off with less of a criticism but more of a tender teasing. These two aren't secretly sophisticated sages. They are just a plain man and his wife who seem to embody hard work, love, and family.
I do have a few nitpicks with the film.
The worst part of the film is Hawkgirl. Merced is a fine actress, but she doesn't feel like she stands toe-to-toe with the others. Also, she does this super annoying hawk screech as she attacks that is not only cloying, but she looks really stupid as she does. She also has a moment that seems to contradict the main theme of the movie.
There is also a scene where Jimmy Olsen is meeting a source and he walks past of bunch of prostitutes propositioning him. In a movie that is aimed at a PG-13 audience, I thought that this was unnecessarily inappropriate. I felt that way about the language in general. While not overly vulgar, there were enough swear words that made me very aware of how many kids were in the theater listening.
Finally, Lex's girlfriend Eve Tessmacher (Sara Sampaio) is written as so cloying and clinging in a completely one-dimensional way. Valerie Perrine's Tessmacher was also played for vapid comedy in the 1978 film, but even there she was given some depth and heart that is lacking in Gunn's writing of this character.
While the fanboy in me loved this film, I think the normal movie-going audience will as well. I talked to someone who saw the movie with me and she downloaded the soundtrack before we even left the theater. As with most Gunn movies, he uses music strategically for maximum emotional effect.
And the main emotional effect is that I left the theater happy and with a smile on my face.
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