Superman Review – A Hopeful Start To The DCU

The world is a bleak place. There seems to be conflict no matter where you go, and the future looks grim. Cynicism is the go-to feeling towards others, and no one really wants to help each other. Even when someone does do the right thing and helps those in need, it’s frowned upon and criticised to no end, making everyone all the more bitter and unwilling to do what’s right.

That’s the world according to 2013’s Man of Steel. The last time Superman had a solo outing, while it reviewed well and turned a profit, it, and all of the other movies featured in Zack Snyder’s DCEU, have become more and more polarising as time has passed. Man of Steel, in particular, has aged like milk, with the dour tone and portrayal of Superman becoming worse and worse in hindsight.

For a character who serves as a symbol of hope for all, Snyder’s Superman is Superman in name only. Yes, Cavill’s take on the character has its acolytes who will still mourn the death of Snyder’s vision for a sprawling DC Comics cinematic universe. Still, the withering critical and commercial success of his films meant that it was time for a change.

The Latest Take on Superman

Enter James Gunn and Warner Bros.’ latest attempt at a Superman film, simply titled Superman. It has a lot riding on its shoulders, probably more so than Man of Steel. At the very least, Man of Steel was coming right after the conclusion of Christopher Nolan’s Batman trilogy, so there was some momentum going in its favour. The state of DC films is far different now. Interest in superhero films is at an all-time low, and most of the major DC projects in the 2020s have either been box office failures or disappointments. And now James Gunn is here to do the impossible and turn DC’s fortunes around. Does he succeed? In most regards, yes he does.

Superman spends only a few seconds making sure the audience knows Superman’s origins. At this point, it’s so ingrained in pop culture that Gunn was wise enough to forgo spending any of the film’s two-hour and nine-minute runtime rehashing who Superman is. Instead, Superman (David Corenswet) is already an established figure and is currently dealing with a PR crisis over his intervention in a hostile military invasion between two foreign countries. He defends the underdeveloped Jarhanpur from the aggressive Boravia, a country that is being backed by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), which leads to Luthor orchestrating a large operation to discredit Superman and leave him open for attack from his own forces, like the enigmatic Ultraman and nanobot-infused Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria).

One of the most striking things about Superman is how optimistic it is. Sure, the film still has its darker moments, but it nails making Superman feel like this larger-than-life and hopeful symbol. There’s always a question when making a Superman story about whether the story should focus more on Superman or Clark Kent, but while the film is primarily focused on Superman as a figure, this is the most human that he’s ever felt. He’s young and charming, coming across like a real person. He can get frustrated. He can crack a joke. He can have a bad day. He can feel all of these things because the film makes it abundantly clear that Superman is a person, just like me and you. It’s the most accessible he’s ever been.

That approachability is present throughout most of the film. The tone is light, and outside of the first scene, which starts in media res and can take a bit for the viewer to catch up with what’s happening, it’s not too hard to follow what’s going on. That’s not to say that the film isn’t overtly complicated, because if there’s one big criticism to throw at Superman, it’s how overstuffed it is.

The Future of DC Under James Gunn

One would think that the film is as bloated as it is because it’s establishing an entire cinematic universe, but that isn’t really the case. There are a few seeds planted for future films to explore, but everything here is remarkably self-contained. No, the film struggles to establish its cast of characters because of just how many there are. You obviously have to core characters like Superman, Luthor, and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), but then there’s the members of Planetwatch, Luthor’s allies both in and out of Luthorcorp, Clark’s co-workers at the Daily Planet, the members of the Justice Gang, and politicians in the US government. Those are just the characters that are a part of some group or organization, not even factoring in one-off characters like Ma and Pa Kent and Maxwell Lord.

So many characters are introduced in such quick succession that it’s hard to keep track of what’s going on. It’s because of this that the first act feels somewhat aimless as you’re trying to figure out what the main focus of the film is. It eventually settles down, and we get a more straightforward story, and the characters more organically fit into each of the major set pieces. It starts rough, but the film really does get better the longer it goes on.

Like I said before, the film just oozes hope and optimism to the point where it feels strange to actually talk about how fun scenes are. Any scene involving Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner or Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific is great, and Nicholas Hoult is having the time of his life playing Lex Luthor. As for Corenswet, while it’s still way too soon to tell how his performance fares compared to other actors like Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill, and even Tyler Hoechlin, he brings an energy that’s entirely unique to himself. He still says corny things like “golly” and has a bit of a temper to him, especially regarding Krypto, but it’s so different from the perfect and polished image of the character we’ve seen in other Superman outings. Like I said before, David Corenswet makes Superman feel human, and you’re either going to love that or hate that we don’t have the god-like Superman portrayed by Henry Cavill.

Staying True or Mass Appeal?

If you’re a more in-depth comic book fan, you may find some minor gripes with the film and how accurate it is to the comics, but none of those should interfere with your enjoyment of Superman. No, I don’t know why Lexcorp is now Luthorcorp or why Stormwatch is now Planetwatch. Does it change anything about the film in the slightest? Nope, so don’t let any diehard comic fan say that the film is awful because it’s not accurate to the comics. Enjoy it for what it is as a light superhero action movie that’s bursting with energy and fun.

And that’s really all there is to Superman if I’m being honest. Is it the greatest superhero movie of all time? No, but it’s a fun one. In an age where comic book films are always thinking about what’s next and trying to establish or connect as many plot points as possible, Superman doesn’t pretend to care about it. Even its post-credit scenes are meant to be throwaway fun little moments. Conversely, Superman doesn’t reach the emotional stakes that other superhero movies do, but I can’t deny that when I saw Superman save a woman from a falling building and the Superman theme started to kick in, I had a giant grin on my face. I was having a blast, even if it wasn’t this genre-defining masterpiece.

But not every movie needs to be this 10/10 perfect encapsulation of its genre. A film can simply focus on being fun for everyone, and that’s what Superman is. It’s a universally appealing movie you can put in front of anyone, and unless they’re cynical and grumpy about nebulous nitpicks that ultimately don’t matter, they’ll find something to like about it. It is a bit overstuffed at points and takes a while for everything to click together, but when it does, it’s a great summer blockbuster that will fill you with hope and joy.

Superman is now screening in cinemas globally.