Christian Peterson
Columnist
Introduction:
"Superman" was released to American audiences on Friday, July 11. It is the first film in the DC Universe and the second reboot of the Superman films. The movie was directed and written by James Gunn and stars an extensive cast. The film follows Clark Kent (David Corenswet), who has been operating as Superman, the most powerful metahuman on Earth, for three years. He works as a reporter for the Daily Planet and is dating his coworker, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). Controversy arises around him as he gets involved in a geopolitical conflict in the fictional country of Boravia.
Meanwhile, his archenemy, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), is working behind the scenes, alongside Ultraman (redacted for spoilers) and the Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria), in an attempt to bring down Superman. What ensues is a fun, brightly colored, passionate, action-packed trip through the DC Universe, introducing us to the world of Superman and other metahumans, such as Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Be aware, there are SPOILERS in the following review.
The good:
Superman is a timeless character, beloved for decades. Everyone has their own preferred version of Superman; for some, it's Henry Cavill, while others prefer Christopher Reeve, Dean Cain and many more. However, a new Superman has arrived, and a new generation is ready to meet their new hero in David Corenswet. I want to start with Corenswet's performance. I thought he did phenomenally bringing life to this character. While I am partial to Cavill, myself, I still enjoyed Corenswet's performance. He brought a lot of passion and heart to a character that needs it. His love for saving people and protecting others was evident and enjoyable.
Other members of the cast were also outstanding. Hoult's performance as Lex was splendid. He was a petulant, obnoxious, brilliant child in a grown man's body. He was evil almost to the point of caricature, and did phenomenally. Other standouts include Fillion as Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, whose jerk-of-a-character was a funny and enjoyable addition. Gathegi as Mr. Terrific was also a surprisingly fun character. He was a great character, which I had never heard of before this movie, and he was entertaining with his deadpan comedic style. Brosnahan did great, portraying a character struggling to come to terms with the person she is dating, as well as her role in his life as both a reporter and girlfriend. Finally, the other standout to me was Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen; he has only a few scenes, but he makes them work. He is hilarious and an integral character to the movie.
Of course, the performances are not the only good part of the movie. The costumes deserve a mention; there are some clear overarching themes in the costumes that connect them all. However, Superman's costume is unique to the franchise, bringing back some fan-favorite aspects, such as the trunks. Ultraman, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and the Engineer also have some interesting costumes. The standout to me, though, was Mr. Terffic's costume; it was fun, classy and cool, and I loved it. The Computer Graphics (CG) for the movie were perfectly fine; at no point did I feel pulled out of it due to bad CG. The story was interesting, and this is a very comic book movie. It's ridiculous and absolutely fun, with all kinds of crazy things, from pocket universes and black holes to reality-tearing crevices that tear apart cities, and even cloning. I should also give a shoutout to the comedy. Many people complained about the jokes throughout the entire movie, but I enjoyed them. Ultimately, though, there was one particular aspect of the movie that stood out to me the most: the soundtrack was phenomenal! It was so good I listened to it on the drive home and on the way to work the next morning. It fits the movie very well, and both composers, David Fleming and John Murphy, deserve a shoutout for nailing the soundtrack perfectly.
The bad:
I enjoyed this movie quite a bit. I laughed out loud many times, felt a tug on my heartstrings, and generally enjoyed the experience. However, no movie is flawless or perfect. This movie does have some flaws, with the most obvious being its pacing. This movie starts with a fight, maintains that pace, then randomly slows down. One second you are watching Superman fight, then, very abruptly, he is Clark Kent, a reporter. Was the fight really concluded? Not really, but the story must move on, so the movie moves on. This happens a few times, where the movie implies there is a time-sensitive matter and then kind of just dilly-dallies. Then, when there isn't a time-sensitive manner, it's very serious and must be handled immediately. There is a moment in the third act where one of the heroes could be doing something, and the story kind of forgets about him until it needs him for a joke.
The second most obvious problem the movie struggles with is being inundated with characters. The film features a total of five heroes and four villains. That is just the superpowered characters; in total, 13 characters are either leads, features or supporting. In fact, Hawkgirl, for example, can be removed entirely from the movie, and nothing would change. The Engineer, while fun like Hawkgirl, is unnecessary. You could probably cut out half of the characters and accomplish the same goal.
My final general complaint is with the script. It feels clunky at times, even more ridiculous once you get into the sci-fi aspects of the story. A visit to the pocket dimension in the world proves this the most, as the movie pushes you to the extreme of what you could believe.
The ugly:
As usual, I will use this section for some parental warnings. There is some light language in the movie, but nothing worse than b****. There are also some fairly prominent middle finger gestures in the third act. There's some violence, but it's fantastical. A man loses some teeth, and blood appears from time to time; however, I will say it doesn't seem there is a single death in the movie. Finally, although it isn't offensive, there is quite a bit of kissing and a discussion of harems at one point.
Conclusion:
I really enjoyed this movie. I got lucky and was able to see it a day early with my dad, and we had a great time. We laughed and both stated our enjoyment after the movie. I would be more than happy to rewatch it when it becomes available on streaming. It's fun, bright, action-packed, hilarious and all around a good time. It reminds us of the good and the joy that can be found in someone who always does what is right. In total, I give this movie an 8 out of 10 gator tails, making it a recommendation from me.