Superman as a character has always been somewhat divisive despite his rather straight forward, boy scout do-gooder nature. So it should come as no surprise that most of the discourse surrounding James Gunn‘s latest “Superman” film creates a rift as wide as the real world one that permeates every single discussion ever – valid or not. This film particularly sparks those debates because it comes from someone who has always been very clear about his stances, intentions, and love of the actual lore itself. “Superman” stands for good, hope, kindness, and humanity – all things that feel lost in the current state of things and sends people of a certain alignment into irrational tiffs and tantrums when they see their own shortcomings displayed across the screen. As much as I’d love to completely bypass these asinine takes, it does have a lot of it on its mind and holds a mirror up to the worst of us, which is probably why they hate it so much.
Most of those types of criticisms like “Superwoke” or “woke” are all exactly who Gunn targets without a shred of subtly. And while we won’t spend too much time on them (because frankly none of them deserve even the slightest of indulgence) we simply can’t talk about the film on a thematic level without addressing them somewhat. Yes, “Superman” is anti-ICE, anti-paramilitary, anti-invasion, anti-genocide, anti-billionaire, anti-nationalist, anti-gamer and social media incel troll, and anti-isolationism. Gunn takes a sledgehammer to all of these ideologies while never really being too overt about them and injects the current landscape surrounding immigration into the heart of the story. He’s not the first to do this, either. Most of runs of Superman usually terraform him to match the times which is why he’s endured for so long across so many decades and world changing events. All of these themes are only a deterrent if you’re on the wrong side of history, and the notion that Superman hasn’t ALWAYS stood against these ideals and for the opposite of all of them is invalid and a revisionist history of the character entirely. You’re all crying crocodile tears, and don’t deserve “Superman” if that’s what you’re going to cry about. Yes, you too Synderbros.
Despite all of these heavy themes that exists in “Superman,” is it first and foremost a comic book movie in its truest form. A corny, cheesy, vibrant, silly, cartoonish comic book movie brought to the life through a messy, overstuffed narrative bursting with hope and fun. “Superman” is a lot of things at once, but despite many of those flaws it is consistently entertaining, a true to form return to goodness for the Man of Steel and the kind of blockbuster excitement that feels absent this summer season. It gets the things it needs to right and rest doesn’t really matter. It’s obvious to a fault that Gunn is a comic book fan, and you can feel his sincerity across “Superman” and his genuine love for the characters. It’s the core of the film and the glue that holds the rest of it together. Many of the aforementioned shots taken at bad criticisms (which is wholly deserved and I’ll stand on business with them) aren’t worth your time, but the messiness and overstuffed world building Gunn attempts here may not work for everyone.
You’re right to be put off by how much movie “Superman” is, especially if you’re not a hardcore fan of the character to begin with. Written and directed by James Gunn to launch DC Studios from Warner Bros. Pictures, “Superman” attempts to set up everything at once while also trying to remained contained to the world at hand. I kind of have to applaud Gunn for this even if I’m critical of his ambitious effort. Very few movies – even fewer comic book movies – attempt to tell a contained story. All of them always seem to exist solely to be a 2 hour trailer for whatever comes next, and it is refreshing to see this film try to keep itself together and only tell the story we’re watching. For the plethora of characters, both heroes and villains, none of their inclusions ever feel like they exist to build a spin off franchise on. Of course they very well may do that, but “Superman” never serves as a direct catalyst to do so. Some may find that to be a detriment, but I found it to be part of the film’s charm. It’s incredibly busy and may be trying to do too much, but those overextended threads never stretch beyond the film we came to see.
Gunn smartly skips over the original story and drops right into an existing world in which meta-humans have existed for decades and Superman (David Corenswet) “arrived” 3 years before the film takes place. This allows Gunn to not have to explain why everyone is ok with an all powerful being in red tights flying around the city saving people, and allows him to add plenty of friends and foes and monsters without having to justify every single inclusion. Superman’s arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (an absolute over the top and despicable Nicholas Hoult) will stop at nothing to bring Superman down, and hatches a very complicated plan to destroy him. Along for the ride are the Justice Gang, comprised of Green Latern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific (scene stealing Edi Gathegi) who occasionally team up with Superman and function much more like the corporate, military pawns we’re used to. Yes, this is a direct dig at the way the MCU treats most of its heroes, and Gunn’s subtle middle finger to that conception is not lost on me.
There’s a lot that happens in “Superman” with that simple outline, more than I think the outline can withstand. Corenswet is an excellent Superman. He feels natural in the role and believable in his unyielding moral compass. Hoult’s Luther is delightfully unhinged, a cartoonish villain who constantly pontificates and monologues and unravels at the slightest inconvenience. Rachel Brosnahan actually does something with Lois Lane, giving her an identity and purpose missing from most other film iterations including “Man of Steel.” It’s Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific and Krypto that steal the show.
Gunn clearly owns a dog, and I don’t care how manipulative you may find it to include a lovable superpowered animal, I own an unruly puppy and Krypto is EXACTLY like my dog without the superpowers. He also gives some much needed redemption to Gathegi, and basically told him “I’m going to make you the coolest person in the movie” then gave him the vehicle to be the coolest mother shut your mouth in a “Superman” movie.
With so much going on, “Superman” can feel overwhelming. The climax has about 6 different conflicts all happening simultaneously and they’re not all created equal. Gunn’s bold swing could use some fine tuning as it hurdles towards its busy third act, and would probably hit harder with a little bit more focus. I don’t know that anyone needs proof that Gunn has read all of the comics, but the film bogs itself down under its own weight sometimes. It is also really fun, and isn’t that what matters? It’s bright and colorful and always hopeful, and these are the things that “Superman” does best so framing him that way is the right thing to do. There’s bit of a choose your own adventure to it all – how you choose to approach it and what you want out of it is exactly what you’ll get. If you’re a diehard synderbro who inexplicably thinks “Man of Steel” is the one true Superman, then ya you’ll probably be pretty out on this one.
If you want this to be comic book-accurate and be able to use your collection as a storyboard, well Gunn has you covered. If you want it be more of the same slop we’ve been getting for 25 years and need everything to be a franchise, then yes this will probably leave you wanting. If you’ve pinned all your hopes and dreams of all superhero movies ever on this one, single film, then you’ll probably be upset that Darkseid doesn’t show up in the end to lead immediately into yet ANOTHER version of the Justice League. Of course, if you’re on the wrong side of history ideologically in just about every aspect of current events, Superwoke (this is not a real thing by the way) “Superman” isn’t for you and you can go watch whatever the equivalent is on The Daily Wire. Most importantly though, if you come wanting to have a good time, see the character in his truest, brightest colors, watch some cool superhero action, and leave feeling hopeful and moved the way the character was always meant to be and instill in us, then it is for you.
There’s a lot more to say about “Superman” because there’s simply a lot to talk about, and I probably haven’t even captured all of it here. But i can say that I had a good time at the movies, and for the first time in a long time a blockbuster was able to lean into its strengths enough to overshadow its flaws.
It is is overly ambitious, overstuffed, and quite messy most of the time. But it’s also consistently entertaining, delivering the kind of hopeful hero we’ve long been waiting to see on the big screen. It’s bursting with hope and humanity, and I can’t think of anything we need more of in the world right now than that.
Rating: 4 out of 5 Stars
“Superman” is now playing in theaters. You can watch the trailer below.
