Banner image courtesy of Jessica Miglio
This summer, writer, director, and CEO of DC Studios James Gunn delivers a Superman movie that embraces the character’s campy comic book roots. Yet, tonal troubles and a skin-deep probe into its core themes mean that the Man of Steel’s latest outing doesn’t amount to much more than a fun ride.
This isn’t an origin story. Thankfully, Gunn doesn’t subject us to more montages of the young Kryptonian bounding through Kansas cornfields or testing his wings like a fledgling goose. Instead, we meet Superman (David Corenswet) three years into his crime-fighting career. He’s not a complete newbie, but he’s far from the self-assured figure we’ve seen in other iterations. On the civilian front, Clark Kent is an established reporter for the Daily Planet and has already revealed his alter ego to his early-stage girlfriend, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan).
When the film opens, we learn that Supes has landed in hot water after intervening in a foreign conflict between two fictional nations. This leads to a confrontation with one of their ostensibly state-sponsored heroes – an armour-clad bruiser named the Hammer of Boravia – which Superman subsequently loses. However, it’s quickly revealed that behind this mysterious brute isn’t a Vulgaria-style Eastern European nation, but the uber-rich, uber-smart Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), sowing seeds of political discontent.
Beyond this, it’s difficult to illustrate the plot’s overall direction. Not because we’re worried about spoilers, but because it’s pretty directionless. Over the next two hours, we watch Superman fumble his way through a series of predicaments orchestrated by Hoult’s fresh-faced Luthor, who’s essentially having a temper tantrum over how much attention his nemesis is getting.
We say ‘fumble’ not just because Gunn and Corenswet’s Superman is a naive hero finding his feet, but because he seems uniquely baffled at all times, whether contending with online trolls or fire-breathing kaijus. Corenswet is likeable, showing promise in the comedic moments, and he certainly looks the part (or has ‘Superman face’, as James Gunn puts it). But he struggles to mould a commanding performance from a script that insists he’s a soulless, platitude-spouting dumb-dumb.
We know that quick-wittedness isn’t always one of Superman’s strengths. Still, Gunn goes so far with the simpleton act that the movie’s biggest mystery ends up being how a dope like Clark Kent scored a writing job at Metropolis’ premier newspaper. And Brosnahan’s tenacious and inquisitive Lois Lane – which, again, is far from the most interesting iteration of the character we’ve seen – comes off feeling less like his girlfriend and more like his mother.
That’s not to say that Superman isn’t entertaining. The action is well-choreographed and commendably captured in Gunn’s panoramic style. The flying sequences are probably the best to date, even though some look as if Superman has a GoPro strapped to his head. And there’s a scuffle between Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi), one of the handful of supporting superheroes, and a bunch of Luthorcorp thugs that’s as dynamic as anything in the Guardians trilogy.
In stark contrast to Zach Snyder’s approach in Man of Steel, Gunn giddily leans into the character’s goofier side. It’s certainly the funniest Superman film, and, perhaps more than any superhero flick in recent memory, it’s not embarrassed about its comic book origins, particularly the sillier, more fantastical elements from the source material’s Silver Age, including a completely CGI Krypto the flying dog.
Also in the cinematic stew is a hefty pinch of Gunn’s trademark absurdism, but it’s used to mixed effect. The wisecracking automatons in Superman’s Fortress of Solitude are charming, if in an unoriginal way, but some of the more ludicrous elements feel grossly misplaced. There’s literally a moment where Luthor reveals that he’s employed an army of technologically-enhanced monkeys to spread sh*t about Superman online. This brand of wackiness has proved effective in fringe franchises like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad, but it feels ill-fitting in what’s presumably meant to be the DCU’s mainstream superhero offering.
This Superman outing does have its serious side, though. Gunn positions the Big Blue Boy Scout and his unwavering quest to preserve human life against sceptical utilitarians like Lane and outright murderers like Luthor. The aim is to demonstrate that, in a world filled with cynicism, greed, deceit, and apathy, the most radical thing you can be is good (though exactly what ‘good’ means in this context is rather ambiguous). However, the filmmakers fail to prove this thesis in a satisfying or original way, instead letting the plot crescendo to a typical super-powered punch-up that answers none of the vague moral questions posed in the front half.
If all these spinning plates weren’t enough, Gunn throws in an overstuffed cast of characters, including nascent Justice League members Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), plus too many Daily Planet staffers to keep count of. As a result, Superman struggles to merge its many elements into a coherent whole. And despite the world-threatening stakes, it’s missing the grand, almost mythic aspect that, for its faults, Man of Steel did so well. Instead of being the making of the world’s greatest superhero (because, let’s not forget, that’s what he is), this adventure feels more like some things that happened to a guy in a Superman suit that one time.
Superman is in UK cinemas on 11th July.
Are you going to watch Superman? Or have you already seen it? If so, we’d love to hear from you in the comments below.