SUPERMAN -- Back to Basics

Review by Adam Donato

The superhero genre has gone through a lot since the last Superman solo film. Marvel fatigue and DC’s reset button have had people questioning the future of the genre. James Gunn is now becoming a main character in the history of modern superhero movies. From the surprise hit of the Guardians of the Galaxy to the firing over insensitive tweets to joining the opposition with The Suicide Squad. After Gunn was allowed to finish his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, he was given the keys to the DC castle. His first big move being a solo Superman film written and directed by himself. There’s a ton of pressure on Gunn to deliver here. The future of the superhero genre hinges on the success of Superman. May God have mercy on our souls. 

Superman is a home run of a film. It perfectly captures the essence of the character that Christopher Reeve brought, but with the new age special effects of Snyder Superman. It’s crazy how the reaction to both iterations is inherently baked into the new movie that we got today. This movie is shorter and more action heavy than the Reeve Superman. It’s also more fun and relatable than Snyder's Superman. It really feels like the perfect balance was struck here. While Marvel feels like they’re scraping the bottom of the barrel this year with a successor Captain America and a new Avengers lineup solely made up of super soldiers with depression, Superman is a glowing reminder of what the foundation of superhero movies are. After a dark and gritty Superman in the DCEU, Gunn needed to deliver something fun and likable, which he delivers in droves. 

The cast is wonderful. David Corenswet will undoubtedly replace Reeve as their Superman for some people. He’s vulnerable and above all, human. He’s funny in a dork boy kind of way. His costume pops and is very bright. It’s similar to The Batman in that since this movie focuses mainly on the superhero side of the alter ego, we don’t get to spend much time with the standard human counterpart. What scenes we do get of Clark Kent are cute, but we’re not too worried about fleshing out that side of him here. This Superman feels straight out of the cartoons and comics. People come to these movies to see super-powered characters in cool costumes fighting bad guys. That’s all this movie is.

Rachel Brosnahan slips into the Lois Lane role perfectly. Her private moments with Superman are some of the best stuff in the movie. She’s very headstrong and beautiful in the way that the character should be. There’s a great chemistry between Brosnahan and Corenswet that adds a steamy layer of romance to this fun popcorn flick. Nicholas Hoult also has a featured role as Lex Luthor. He’s not as nutty as Jesse Eisenberg, not as whimsical as Gene Hackman, but more active than Kevin Spacey. He’s got this cartoonish intensity to him the whole time. Since the world is more lived in at this point, his villainous plans are more in depth. There’s sequences where he’s fighting Superman like he’s playing a video game. He’s shouting combo moves for his goons to control the super powered monster Lex has created. The more unhinged he gets as the movie goes along, the better his performance is for it. 

A couple standout side characters to note are Mr. Terrific and Jimmy Olsen. Mr. Terrific is played by Edi Gathegi, who previously got his role in X-men: First Class totally shafted now gets a second chance. He has a featured fight sequence that feels like the most Gunn sequence in the movie. It’s clear that Gunn was trying to limit the usage of needle drops, but when he does utilize it then it’s a lot of fun. The character of Mr. Terrific has a cool costume, fun personality, and is one of the more proactive characters in the movie. Speaking of proactive, Jimmy Olsen has never been more important. Skyler Gisondo really makes the character his own. It’s such a great choice as he’s been one of the thriving comedic character actors as of late. Olsen’s relationship with Luthor’s ditsy squeeze Eve Teschmacher is one of the funnier bits in the movie. Also, shoutout to Wendell Pierce, Isabela Merced, and Nathan Fillion. All very fun roles to fill out this new universe. 

Gunn clearly has his finger on the pulse of this character and universe. Superman is the savior that the genre needed. These renditions of these characters are set to rival the best that the genre has to offer. This is sure to be the movie of the summer. An absolute home run. Out of the park. Be sure to catch this in a theater on the biggest screen possible. 

Superman will be in theaters on July 11.

Rating: 5/5