With astronomical weight and expectations, James Gunn’s DCU officially kicks off strong with Superman: a superhero movie bursting with equal parts eye-popping spectacle and a sweet, beating heart. Gunn’s trademark goofy tone takes some adjusting to, when juxtaposed with emotional sincerity and more serious geopolitical themes. But it eventually yields a uniquely engaging energy that mostly works.
Rest assured, David Corenswet knocks it out of the park as Superman/Clark Kent. He simply oozes kindness, humanity, and hope. His unrelenting commitment to compassion, empathy, and protecting the innocent is not only who Superman is in the comics, but its manifestation on the big screen is the kind of pop culture role model we all desperately need to see and embrace right now. That and celebrating how amazing dogs are. Krypto rules!
Gunn’s script is where the film hits some snags. The trajectory and mechanics of the plot are messy and I could have used a -25% reduction in random comedy bits (some land great and some not at all). There’s also too many characters, which result in some supporting roles netting out to be superfluous. And this isn’t even a symptom of “superhero cameo bloat,” but more so on the human side with the Daily Planet and LexCorp rank and file. We don’t need one-liners from that many randos!
The spectacle is what makes up for the script deficiencies, as the film starts with a bang and rarely takes its foot off the gas via a diverse array of thrilling action set pieces (though with varying levels of CGI volume/quality).
Each of the supporting heroes (Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Mr. Terrific) get to showcase their unique abilities, but the beach camp battle between Mr. Terrific and dozens of LexCorp goons is particularly exciting to watch unfold. Most of Gunn’s superhero movies feature a continuously shot standout fight sequence. This is the one.
Not to mention Edi Gathegi’s performance as Mr. Terrific was simply scene-stealing magnetism. He was the absolute standout supporting character for me and really the MVP of the entire film in terms of functional contribution to the mission at hand. Rachel Brosnahan and Nicholas Hoult both delivered fine performances as Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, respectively. It felt like everyone was tapped into the unique essence of each character, taking Gunn’s lead on how the comics should translate to the big screen.
Superman is not the best movie of the year, nor is it the best superhero movie ever. But it’s heartfelt, action-packed, unique, and fun. I’m excited to see what the future holds for the DCU.
