Before Superman, I believed the zany, wacky, whimsical world of comic books could not translate to film. It always needed to be sanitized in some way, brought to a level that modern audiences could buy-into. After Superman, I now believe that all attempts to bring the wild color of the comic pages to light were just doing it wrong. Superman is a comic book that comes to life in all of the best ways. From the moment the action starts, the movie flies by like a speeding bullet. The action hits harder than the power of a locomotive. The crescendos of the iconic John Williams theme alongside hopeful scenes of heroism leap beyond what any other Superman movie has been able to achieve since Richard Donner’s 1978 rendition. Superman saves lives. He goes out of his way to protect rather than destroy. The focus is on the rescues rather than the knock-out punches –though there are still plenty of those too. It’s a film that perfectly understands the character, the source material, and puts it on screen in its full glory for all to see. It’s a ballsy move. Audiences will either completely buy-in, or reject the silliness outright. For me, I embraced it with all my heart.
Superfriends
James Gunn’s Superman succeeds on every level at bringing the Man of Tomorrow into the present day. From the moment David Corenswet’s Superman appears on screen I immediately bought that this guy is Superman. He’s not doing an impression of Christopher Reeve nor does he imitate the dowerness of Henry Cavill. He stands on his own, bringing a unique humanity to the character that long-time comic fans have desperately wanted to see on the big screen for decades. He is not perfect. He can be overwhelmed, he gets angry, sad, joyful, he makes mistakes, but no matter what, he always tries to do his best. More than perhaps any actor before, David Corenswet embodied what the Man of Steel represents. He is Superman.
The surrounding cast elevate the story, bringing a fullness to this Superman-centric narrative. Rachel Brosnahan is a great Lois Lane, unafraid to speak her mind and get the big scoop. Nicholas Hoult is the most accurate, emotional, and sinister Lex on screen to date. Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardener and Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific stand out as great characters and foils to Superman. Mr. Terrific specifically has a larger role than I originally anticipated and showed himself to be worthy of a film all on his own sometime in the future. Krypto, in all his furried glory, guides the film in an odd way that adds a lot of heart to the film especially for dog-lovers and owners like myself.
At times, the cast did seem overinflated. The storyline involving Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) was unnecessary and dragged on for too long. In addition, there was not enough Clark Kent. As a matter of fact, there were not enough of the Kents in general. Despite being important characters for Clark in the film, they do not get the proper screentime to build their relationship, instead relying on the audience having previous exposure to these characters from different versions to fill in the gaps. Thankfully, what scenes we do get with the Kents in this film are top notch.
A better tomorrow
Superman as a character represents hope. He stands for what is right, does his best every day to fight for truth, justice, and a better tomorrow. He is an ideal to strive toward. That perpetual optimism has been missing from the character on the silver screen for quite some time. Not since Christopher Reeve first donned the red cape have audiences felt the warming presence of a hopeful Superman. Subsequent versions of the character have, to varying degrees, muted the colorful, shining beacon that Superman is supposed to be. Brandon Routh gave us his best Christopher Reeve impression in an underwhelming 2006 blockbuster. Henry Cavill brought a somberness to the character that had the potential for complex character development that never materialized and, in fact, continued to become darker by the film. In 2025, David Corenswet arrives as yet another iteration of the Man of Steel, one which delivers on the promise to bring the color, joy, and idealism back to Man of Tomorrow.
The Review
Superb
