Of our big budget superheroes, Superman was the first. His comic debut happened way back in 1938. And yet he is somehow one of the more exclusive superheroes to play. With only three prior big screen actors, David Corenswet’s debut as the fourth Superman is a big deal.
Luckily, James Gunn has bottled magic with his take on the Man of Steel. Superman throws us into the mix with Clark Kent (David Corenswet) as he is trying to be Superman for the people of Metropolis who are maybe not that happy with him in that moment. Superman is operating under the idea that he’s doing what he thinks is right for everyone. But that doesn’t always work out for the best.
While he has his Fortress of Solitude, with Superman Robots to boot, a lot of Clark’s life is kind of just figuring it out. Corenswet brings a brightness to the character that exists within the comic persona of Superman but has, for the most part, been left out of the live action adaptations. His “oh shucks” antics are just who he is. It isn’t a front he puts on as Clark, his Superman is just as “oh golly gee” about things.
And with that sweetness comes a feeling of hopefulness that I’ve missed from my Superman stories. The Christopher Nolan Batman trilogy changed the genre for better or worse and while a more serious approach to a Superman movie can work, he is and always has been a symbol of hope and we did lose that for a while.
Luckily, Gunn and Corenswet brought that idea of Superman back to us in one of the most comic-booky movies to date.
Superman is nothing without his team
Clark Kent’s life and Superman’s life are often so separated from one another that you have two separate storylines running at the same time. Or, like in the case of Man of Steel, you don’t really even get to see his life at the Daily Planet until the end of the film. Gunn finds a balance between Superman and Clark that allows the Daily Planet faves get their time to shine.
Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is as involved in the action as Clark is, Jimmy (Skylar Gisondo) is pulled along for the ride, and even Perry White (Wendell Pierce) ends up riding on a space ship at one point. They’re all involved in not only helping “Superman” but making sure that Metropolis is safe and it feels nice to have them there in more than just a “work” capacity for Clark.
Clark Kent’s great love might just be Lex Luthor
Every superhero has their greatest foe. For Superman, it has always been Lex Luthor and Nicholas Hoult’s take on the character reminds audience a lot of what Gene Hackman was doing with Christopher Reeve’s Superman. This time around though, both Corenswet and Hoult seem to be having a lot of fun with their dynamic together.
Hoult’s Lex is a typical super villain. He’s using his money to only benefit himself, destroying Metropolis in the process. Lex is a bit more tech savvy this time around with strategy to take on Superman being entirely tied to the tech at his disposal. Still, the film is a perfect look at why their dynamic has always worked, including Clark saying that he thinks Lex’s obsession with him is getting a little weird.
But Superman takes his villainy one step forward and shows in real time how Superman’s symbol can inspire those who need it the most. When the leader of Boravia decides he wants to invade a neighboring country, we see just how far the evils of this world are willing to go to help themselves. But luckily, the innocent people tring to protect themselves and their country have Superman.
A perfect start to the DCU
Superman has been the leader of the Justice League alongside Batman and Wonder Woman for decades. The first appearance of the team was in The Brave and the Bold back in 1960. What we see in Superman is a “team” but it isn’t exactly the Justice League as we know them. Maybe that’s why Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) calls them the “Justice Gang.”
Guy, Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) are all attempting to work together, despite their differences, and make for quite the fun side quest for Superman. Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific steals every single scene that he is in and it truly is one of the best parts of Superman watching him do things just to annoy Guy.
I would be remiss if I did not bring up Krypto though. Superman’s Kryptonian friend is just as chaotic as the trailers made him out to be. He’s rambunctious, wild, but loyal. And even when he does bad things, he’s never done a thing wrong in his life.
This is still a love story
What made the Christopher Reeve’s Superman: The Movie so great was that Richard Donner allowed Lois (Margot Kidder) and Clark to have a real love story. James Gunn does the same. Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois is just as loud and brash as we’ve come to know (and love) her for but she also allows her relationship with Clark to grow.
We meet them a few months into them dating and getting to see Clark and Lois try to navigate their relationship with one another is cute. Typically, it is either rushed or starts right as the two meet but both Corenswet and Brosnahan let us see a Clark and Lois in their 30s trying to navigate what dating is like and I loved to see how they worked together and for one another.
It feels good to have hope again
One aspect of Superman I’ve been missing is what he stands for. Every Superman story shows the power that the red S on his chest can do and what makes Gunn’s take on the hero so special is that he always keeps that hope alive. Throughout the entire runtime of Superman, I just felt overjoyed and excited to see what a Justice League under this version of Superman would eventually look like.
There is so much to love in this movie that even when there is a lot all happening at once, you never are left in the dark. Gunn makes sure you’re following along with our Supes at every given moment and it is a beautiful journey from start to finish.
Superman hits theaters on July 11.
(featured image: Warner Bros.)
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