James Gunn’s wonderfully sincere, unapologetically goofy love-letter to the silver age of comics is a sci-fi fantasy blast with a heart – and at its centre is a Superman for our times: unsure, overwhelmed, but never, ever giving up.
★★★★
Once upon a time, we had the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. More recently, we had Henry Cavill in Zack Snyder’s Superman films. Before, during, and after, we’ve had a slew of animated adaptations. And some fondly recall George Reeves as the original live-action Man of Steel. Now, James Gunn, having jumped ship from Marvel’s Guardians of the Galaxy franchise, brings us David Corenswet as the Big Blue Boy Scout. But is Kal-El now yesterday’s news, or could he still be the Man of Tomorrow?
I’ll cut to the chase: this is the best Superman movie in 45 years. Since Superman II (1980), in fact.
After a few title cards breezily run through 3,000 years of metahuman history on Earth, we’re thrown straight into the action: Superman (David Corenswet) loses a fight for the first time, crashing down into the Arctic. His opponent? The Hammer of Boravia, a representative of a aggressor nation whose army Superman recently prevented from invading its neighbour Jarhanpur. The armoured Hammer is here to put Superman back in his place.
The real question, though, is how Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult, delicious) is involved, flanked by the nanobot-infused cyborg Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and the mysteriously silent masked thug known only as Ultraman. We’ll see exactly what’s under that mask before the credits roll. By the time Lex’s true plan is revealed, Superman is left wondering if his fellow metahumans will have his back – the belligerent Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), spiky tech genius Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and the winged Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).
Corenswet is a delight. Right down to his final, post-credits line, this is a Superman who doubts himself, wrestles with morality, but is passionately committed to doing the right thing. He struggles with connection and always feeling like an outsider – with other members of the metahuman community considering him hopelessly naive. He saves squirrels from becoming collateral damage and tries to safely remove a kaiju from Metropolis while everyone else with even a hint of a superpower is content to just straight-up kill it. His relationship with Lois Lane is also smartly drawn. She’s an ex-punk with a sharp eye for the truth, fully aware that Clark and Superman are one and the same. When Superman overconfidently consents to an interview, she quickly cuts through his naivety and leaves him struggling to explain himself. Yet his fundamental goodness is never in doubt.
The real highlights, though, are the envious, self-centred Lex Luthor, the dry, deadpan superiority of Mr Terrific, and the most steadfast companion of all: Krypto the Superdog. Yes, the super-powered mutt is in full force, as Gunn leans heavily on the goofier, sci-fi Silver Age of Superman comics: pocket universes, advanced tech, and cosmic weirdness abound.
Yes, there’s a fair bit of CGI noise to contend with – par for the course in this kind of full-throttle fantasy blockbuster. But I embraced its heart and sincerity. After endless pseudo-Christ spins on the character, I loved this thoroughly demythologised characterisation of Superman. And if DC Studios are worried about hooking a new generation of fans, I have good news. My 14-year-old guest, previously fixated on Marvel’s upcoming Fantastic Four, declared this “the ultimate Superman movie.” He found Superman unexpectedly relatable, and Guy Gardner’s irritable snark proved a true highlight. His only stipulation for future films?
“They gotta have a Batman soon.”
Gunn, it’s over to you.
Superman is in cinemas from Friday, 11 July.
Whitlock&Pope 