REVIEW: 'Superman' Is The First Movie To understand The Character In Ages

Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.

Folks, this is why we go to the movies. This flick a big time victory on two fronts. 

1. Anyone can love this. It’s an easily digestible blockbuster that can appeal to anybody, even those who aren’t a fan of superhero 1A. 

2. This is a FANTASTIC Superman movie. 

Story: The thing I’m most impressed by is that Gunn’s screenplay simply lets Superman be Superman. This is a character that we have seen a million times and is sort of hamstrung by his do-gooder personality. That lack of edge is countered by the added metahumans and a well-written Lois Lane which give this movie a ton of texture and personality while letting Superman be exactly what he should be: A corny, handsome, super-powered boy scout. It’s got laughs, it’s has good action and it does such a damn good job at making you feel like a kid again. Seeing Superman be the beacon of hope while that classic symbol flashes in heroic glory just means something different. No other superhero can even come close to replicating that aura and I’m happy Gunn was able to coax that out of the character for the first time in forever. 

Acting: Corenswet is a very natural fit, especially for supe part of the Superman/Clark Kent performance. He and Brosnahan‘s chemistry is off the charts and she is a perfect Lois Lane. Hoult is another stellar casting, crushing every moment he gets on screen. One last performance I really want to shout out is Edi Gathegi. This guy got absolutely fucked by X-Men: First Class and came back with a vengeance here. Phenomenal work. Oh, and shoutout to whoever had the bright idea to cast people that actually pass as farm town parents as Ma and Pa Kent.

Production Value: This is an area I was a little concerned with after the trailers. Thankfully, it’s pretty much all great. Krypto, Kaiju’s and all the creatures look really solid. You can see a clear preference to keep sets practical when possible which I appreciate. Most importantly, both the fight and flight scenes rock. 

Score: Following up John Williams and Hans Zimmer is about as daunting a task as you can ask anybody. I think David Fleming do great work paying homage to the original theme while blazing their own trail. Their score was particularly strong in adding an emotional punch to the classically heroic moments. 

I feel like I’m presenting this as a perfect movie which it certainly isn’t. It’s a little bloated and the story could have been simplified without a doubt. And there are some moments that border on the slop, especially in the pocket universe world. Honestly, though, I don’t really care. The most famous and important superhero was finally done right for the first time in nearly half a decade and that means a lot. Especially in a period where superhero fatigue is at its peak. 

I think my closing thought is that I’m now pumped for what Gunn does with the DCU. I might have to see how a project he supervises instead of directs turns out before I’m fully bought in, but I’m now sold that he has a direct hand in on this side of the pond.