I’m not surprised that Superman hasn’t been the bigger blockbuster some of its Marvel movies have and that’s taking into account the latest string of misses. I think it’s fair to say that James Gunn has finally made a Superman movie that is for comic book fans, not the general public. Even if The Suicide Squad hadn’t been released on HBO Max at the same time, I’m sure it wouldn’t have made much money.
Sadly, Gunn is one of the few filmmakers who actually understands how to make a comic-book movie. The formula has gone tired so much with the MCU I recently watch Iron Man and realized how generic it seems. It was well-made generic but generic nonetheless. The tiresome origin stories all seem to be lackluster that people going into this movie are probably expecting another Superman grows up in Kansas opening. Not this time.
The action begins at the beginning following some title cards. There’s no reason for Gunn to bore us with a half hour or even 10 minutes of Superman’s life on Earth being raised by Jonathan and Martha Kent as their own son, Clark. David Corenswet is the fourth actor to don the cape as Supes on the Silver Screen since 1978. And there’s also Smallville and Lois and Clark. But I understand why some bigwig in a studio might want Gunn to have a far more generic format as it’s rumored someone went into The Avengers expecting Superman to show up at one point.
After the negative and far too serious portrayal by Henry Cavill in the Snyderverse of the DCEU, Superman is now a soft reboot that works a lot better. Gunn doesn’t follow the same aesthetic as the MCU even though he did direct the Guardians of the Galaxy movies. But you can tell he knows what to do and what not to do. Superman is battling a mysterious metahuman called Ultraman that is being controlled by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).
While I’d wish we’d actually see Supes battle a different villain on screen once beside Lex Luthor or a carbon copy played by Robert Vaughn, Hoult is a bigger improvement over Jesse Eisenberg who should’ve never been cast. Hoult has a menacing look behind his eyes that shows he will do whatever possible to gain power. Eisenberg looked like a Bond villain parody. And with Gunn already working on the sequel, maybe Braniac, Bizarro and Mister Mxyzpltk will appear.
The premise involves Lex involved in a plot to hurt Supes’ reputation while aiding the war-mongering Boravia to gain control of half of the oppressed Jarhanpur. At the same time, there is a conflict between Superman/Clark and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) in regards to their relationship as well if Superman is complicit in the warring of Boravia and Jarhanpur. In many ways, Gunn seems to be targeting the digital information age and how opinions can easily be switched as people don’t double-check things.
Gunn, himself, has endured some of the “cancel culture” and ire of “keyboard warriors” who expect celebrities and public figures to agree with them 100 percent. Coming with recent events over the last few months, you can see why so many people don’t like seeing “their hero” turned “woke.” Superman was created by writer Jerry Seigel and artist Joe Shuster, both Jewish people appearing in print in 1938. A year later, the MS St. Louis carrying Jewish people seeking asylum from Nazi Germany would be denied entry into North American countries.
Even though Superman was considered a model of American values, he himself had been sent to Earth. He was an alien raised in the Heartland of America. Should it matter what the the intentions were of his biological parents? Gunn also wrote the movie Brightburn in which a Superman-like child who turns violent. There’s also rumored stories of Jesus Christ as a child acting as a Dennis the Menace type of person.
No matter what he’s called if it’s Clark Kent, Superman or Kal-El, he’s not without flaws, but he’s made the choice to use his powers for good. There’s also the inclusion of the “Justice Gang” somewhat led by the arrogant Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) as Green Lantern. Gardner seems to be a representative of the law and order instead of true justice and reason.
For the most part, Gunn does set up a nice first entry in the rebooted DCU. Fillion, a constant collaborator with Gunn, pulls off a nice performance. There’s also Michael Hoult/Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). These characters don’t ovedrshadow Superman but Gunn knows as many other comic book fans there is a constant crossover of characters.
And of course, there’s the dog Krypto, who basically steals the show. The inclusion of Krypto helps liven up the tone of the movie. Gunn has become one of those directors who knows how to hold back and not go overboard. Sadly, after the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Marvel sent a memo they wanted all other entries to follow suit. The problem is not all comic-book movies have to be just a collection of jokes and action sequences.
Maybe that’s why people didn’t like it. Warner Bros. Discovery which owns DC Studios released its first trailer months ago and I guess people were expecting something more grand and epic. That’s not to say that Gunn doesn’t half-ass it. The DC franchise has been the whipping boy, somewhat unfairly by comic-book fans for the past decade. It’s hard to make a movie like this and appease everyone.
Whenever someone would do a movie adaptation of a popular book, people knew certain things had to be changed. But the fandom of comic-books has made it almost impossible to do anything, even though this is the most faithful version since the 1978 version. To hear people comment, they were expecting a movie that was going to turn the water into wine. This is just a nice escape of fun entertainment for two hours.
And what’s wrong with that? The problem isn’t the movie but the people watching it.
What do you think? Please comment.
Zane Says 