Superman is back! The Man of Steel is making his way back into theatres this week! As comic book films all too often go through nowadays, the film will likely be divisive, mostly between the lovers of the previous iteration of the franchise and those who are excited about the franchise’s new direction, and it is a new direction, almost a 180-degree turn. But, after five previous supermen in the last 40 years filled with Film and TV projects, this refresh of the Superman franchise was, frankly, refreshing.
The story in Superman hits the ground running. We are told that Metahumans have existed on Earth for 300 years, and we find Superman (David Corenswet, The Politician, Twisters) at the back end of a battle that he has lost. Conflict between two fictional nations resulted in Kal El’s intervention, and this doesn’t sit well with a number of interested parties. Among them is Supe’s longtime rival, Lex Luthor, who seeks to remove Superman from the equation and replace him with his own brand of Metahumans.
On Superman’s side, as always, is his girlfriend and stalwart reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, The Amateur), backed by the crack team of journalists at The Daily Planet, including Editor Perry White (Wendell Pierce, The Wire, Treme), Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo, Vacation, Santa Clarita Diet), Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover, Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad) and Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett, SNL, Sing).
Also on Superman’s side, but really more adjacent to our hero, is the superhero team known (at least by one member of the team) as The Justice Gang, consisting of The Green Lantern, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion, Firefly, Castle), Hawk Girl (Isabella Merced, The Last of Us, Madame Web) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi, StartUp, For All Mankind) who, while not directly aligned with Superman, definitely have a history with him and appear to have some common ground.
“But, after five previous supermen in the last 40 years filled with Film and TV projects, this refresh of the Superman franchise was, frankly, refreshing.”
And yes, I may have buried the lede a bit for those who have seen the early trailers, Superman has other allies as well. Krypto, the Super Dog, makes his presence felt throughout the movie as an animal who feels very much like my own pain in the butt dog, only with superpowers and a team of robots who tend to the Fortress of solitude and aid Kal El when needed, a nod to Superman’s relationship with robots in the comics. I won’t spoil it for you, but watch the credits for who voices these robots.
Standing against our heroes is the notorious Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult, Mad Max: Fury Road, The Menu) with his mysterious thug, Ultraman and his hand-picked ally, The Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria, The Exorcism of God). You’ll also find a number of other familiar names to DC fans that are sure to get people excited.
The way that Superman presumes that its audience doesn’t need the whole origin story and allows you to join these characters in the progress of their journey was a pleasant change to most Directors, who want the ability to put their stamp on those iconic story points. It’s not to say that aspects of Kal El’s beginnings aren’t referenced, they are. In fact, there are some changes in there that tell a different story about the last Kryptonian and his purpose on Earth, which might rub Superman purists the wrong way, but I enjoyed it as an original story point.
“The way that Superman presumes that its audience doesn’t need the whole origin story and allows you to join these characters in the progress of their journey was a pleasant change…”
David Corenswet’s Superman felt like the largest fundamental change to what we have seen from Superman on the big screen. There was a more fleshed-out humanity in this version that had never been fully realized in any of the previous film versions. There was humour and vulnerability found in Corenswet’s version of the character that had just been missing previously, and, with a character who is usually written to be invulnerable and infallible, was presented as slightly flawed and charming in the most refreshing way.
The staff of the Daily Planet had what felt like a much different role in the film than in previous versions. Usually, you are dealing largely with Clark Kent, Lois Lane and Perry White, with some interjections from the young and naive Jimmy Olson. The chemistry between Kent, Lane, and White is there and wonderful, but this Jimmy Olson has some traits that I won’t spoil, which is a fun departure from the Jimmys of old. Add to that the levity from Beck Bennett and Mikaela Hoover, and you have a fun Daily Planet on your hands.
Superman’s interactions with both the Justice Gang and Lex Luthor also lead you to a story that has been underway long before we joined it. Superman and Luthor know each other well, and the Justice Gang has clear opinions on what it is like collaborating with the Man of Steel when it happens to come up. The actors are playing off of each other well (and tell me that David Corenswet doesn’t occasionally look like Nathan Fillion in the film), and it makes for a dynamic that will be the driver of the newly established DCU.
With composers David Fleming and John Murphy, the Superman score is modernized while still paying homage to John Williams’ original score. You hear his influences throughout the movie, but the music still very much exists in the sensibility of these composers, pushing the action, the love and the chaos perfectly when needed. The themes in a Superman film are generally easy to pare down but are so well blended together that, like most great films, the music is very much the story.
One place where Superman doesn’t shine is in its inconsistent effects. While some things look flawless, others I found to be quite clunky and the success of the good effects really tell on the stuff that isn’t so great. You’ll find it more in the areas where more effects shots were needed or more CG characters are present at once. It’s by no means the worst effects I’ve seen in recent blockbusters, but the disparity between how well done certain things are compared to other things warrants some attention.
“With composers David Fleming and John Murphy, the Superman score is modernized while still paying homage to John Williams’ original score.”
The biggest thing that Superman gets right, though, is what the feeling of a Superman film should be. The first time I saw him take to the skies, I got goosebumps. It may be my favourite Superman flying effect in all of his existence. His relationship with his Earth parents, Ma and Pa Kent, brought me to tears, particularly his conversation with his Dad at his lowest moment. His relationship with his Kryptonian parents also remains incredibly important, as does how that relationship evolves throughout the film.\
Superman hits theatres on July 11, and I expect it to have a massive impact, being to the DCU what Iron Man was to the MCU. While it is certainly a unique Superman film when compared to the Donner or Snyder versions in the past, no part of it feels like anything but an authentic Superman movie, and that’s thanks to James Gunn telling this story with a lot of heart and remaining true to who the hero is at its core. Gunn has created a fun film that doesn’t take itself too seriously and hits all the right notes for this moviegoer.
On a side note, stick around for mid-credit and post-credit scenes. I feel duty-bound to make sure you don’t miss out.
