"SUPERMAN" - REVIEW

Of all the superheroes in pop culture, Superman has never been my favorite. And yet, for some reason, I always look forward to a new Superman movie, no matter the results, because I always think and I hope, maybe this time…

There are things that I have enjoyed about each new iteration of Superman since I was born (I missed the Christopher Reeve/Richard Donner original by a couple years), but was ultimately underwhelmed by 2006’s languid, glazed-over SUPERMAN RETURNS (starring Brandon Routh and directed by Bryan Singer), and again by 2013’s jacked-up and mean-spirited MAN OF STEEL (starring Henry Cavill and directed by Zack Snyder). Each possessed moments of splendor, but left much to be desired as a whole.

Well… That loud crack you just heard? That was GUARDIANS OF THE GALAXY writer/director James Gunn cracking SUPERMAN. He did it.

How did Gunn and company do it? (In terms of plot details, I’ll only discuss the opening here, largely presented in the film’s first teaser trailer, and I’ll do my best to keep the spoilers minor.)

In this, a Superman for our polarizing times (and the flagship film for the newly minted DC Studios), we open with a brief prologue in onscreen text about the history of extraterrestrial metahumans, which includes how Kal-El came to be raised among Kansas farmers, and then we are dropped (that is, SLAMMED) right into the action, as you would be if you just picked up your first Superman comic and flipped it open. We have just enough knowledge, and we first meet this new Superman (a terrific David Corenswet, PEARL, TWISTERS) when he’s down, having just lost his first fight: bloody, battered, immobile. Superman has just enough strength to release a high-pitched whistle, which summons his superdog Krypto, here as a terrier/schnauzer mix who doesn’t know his own ample strength and who just wants to play. Krypto drags Superman by the cape to the Fortress of Solitude, where a pit crew-like team of robots help him into place so he can heal in the power of the sun, just enough to launch himself back into the battle, already in progress in Metropolis, with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult, NOSFERATU) literally at the controls.

What is so important about the opening of SUPERMAN is that, unlike recent holier-than-thou portrayals, it immediately puts the audience on Superman‘s side. The other two important elements that the opening sets up are 1) unlike 2006’s and 2013’s heavy-handed explorations of Superman being Christlike in merely sacrificial terms, here he is Christlike in that he is fully powerful and yet fully human, and his humanness here is the key; and 2) while the world has changed dramatically, Superman stays the same. Gone is the petty, ungrateful superiority of Snyder‘s vision (as well as the drab characterization of Singer’s vision), and here we get this fully powerful/fully human character who makes mistakes (and not just bumbling-Clark-Kent-sort-of mistakes), gets frustrated, is deeply passionate and compassionate, and then digs down deep within himself and, with the hope of the people who depend on him, perseveres. Gunn’s vision (which includes just the right amounts of that trademark James Gunn weirdness) restores Superman to a being who remains the same, even when the times change, even when they become more fraught, fear-based, and uncertain. Instead of denying the inherent hokeyness of the character, the film embraces it and us, and Corenswet (very handsome with something a little off and alien about him that works perfectly here) imbues this man of steel with a deep well of love (the opposite of fear), empathy, and boundless joy (and the true meaning of joy, which encompasses a lightness of spirit in the face of tumult and toil).

Very quickly, that joy becomes our joy. Gunn grips us in the film’s first 10 minutes and invites us to be thrilled (and for those who want to, to nerd out) for the following impeccably structured and paced two hours.

I’ve talked a lot about what Gunn and Corenswet have brought to the table, but what about everyone else? We get to meet a lot of old favorites as well as some deep-cut characters, all of whom are beautifully cast, and MOST of whom are given a lot of fun stuff to do.

Anyone who plays Lex Luthor stands in the long shadow of the late Gene Hackman, but Hoult does a fine job presenting Luthor here as a toxic, conniving and manipulative wheeler-dealer, with just the right amount of logic (and resources) to convince the government to let him do what he wants, and a master plan that eerily echoes the sentiments of our current administration (some viewers may wish that Hoult’s portrayal was a little more intimidating, but for the story Gunn is telling, I think it works just fine). For the first time since Margot Kidder, we are given a worn-to-perfection Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan, HOUSE OF CARDS, THE MARVELOUS MS. MAISEL), whose scrappy mentality and journalistic integrity is at the forefront at all times, and whose chemistry (both romantic and combative) with Superman/Clark is off the charts. As for the Daily Planet, it’s always a pleasure to see Skyler Gisondo (BOOKSMART, LICORICE PIZZA), and he is a real treat as Jimmy Olsen, as is Wendell Pierce (who I was hoping would say his signature elongated expletive that he uses in Spike Lee movies – IYKYK) as Perry White, and SNL alum Beck Bennett as bonehead sports writer Steve Lombard. As the corporate superheroes that operate under the working title of “The Justice Gang,” we get a delightful trio of oddballs: the ever-capable and charismatic Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi, THE HARDER THEY FALL), the cocky Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion in a terrible Lloyd Christmas haircut and channeling his DR. HORRIBLE’S SING-ALONG BLOG character) and the powerful Hawk Girl (Isabela Merced, SICARIO: DAY OF THE SOLDADO). We are also given a couple of other formidable metahumans in the form of The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), who bends and shifts to take down her prey; and Metamorpho (an unrecognizable Anthony Carrigan, who was Noho Hank on BARRY), another shapeshifter who sadly bends to the will of Lex Luthor for fear-based personal reasons. It’s also fun to see Zlatko Buric (the Russian fertilizer magnate from Ruben Östlund’s satire TRIANGLE OF SADNESS) as the president of the fictional Boravia. Last but not least, we get Superman’s parents (and not just the surprise Kryptonian ones, which I won’t spoil here): Pa and Ma Kent, played with a tender warmth and charming rural simplicity (but not as rural caricatures) by the great Pruitt Taylor Vince (HEAVY) and Neva Howell (GREEDY PEOPLE). That seems like a lot of characters, sure, but by and large, Gunn balances their functions within the story magnificently while giving them all a chance to shine. And we get Krypto, who, like the movie he’s in, just wants to play.

Of course, there will be haters. There will be those who think that this is all a bit too political. There will be those who think that this is all a bit too goofy (but to be fair, nothing in this movie is as goofy as Ned Beatty’s Otis in 1978). There may also be those who think that this is all a bit too, I dunno… fun? Additionally, a few of the women are sadly underwritten, like Luthor’s moll, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampio, who does her best to make a meal out of her role as a bubbleheaded selfie-snapper), and journalist Cat Grant (played by Mikaela Hoover, a Gunn regular given very little to do here except look gorgeous and share one dialogue scene with Lois which immediately fails the Bechdel test).

Happily, the positives greatly surpass the nitpicks. It is refreshing to see a DC film that isn’t as serious as a heart attack, weary with a heaviness of the world, and soaked in rain and near-impenetrable darkness (the kinda thing 2017’s THE LEGO BATMAN MOVIE ripped to shreds in its prologue). It’s equally refreshing that, while there are a few nods to existing DC properties, it succeeds as a standalone adventure, and a confident reminder that a good story well told should not feel like the start of a lot of mental math, but invite you to just enjoy the ride while you’re on it.

In short, this is the best Superman movie since 1978: one in which the character remains steadfast in our rapidly changing times, which doesn’t deny the struggles (and certainly, when compared to the Snyderverse, doesn’t wallow in them), and remembers to have fun while doing it. It’s bright, colorful, and hopeful, it’ll thrill you, make you laugh and make you cry. It is the movie of the summer, and all you would want in a summer movie.

Look up. And go see it.

SUPERMAN opens Thursday night in theaters everywhere . (Also, stay for the two mid/post-credit scenes)

#moviefriend

#thezlistwithzachhammill

#superman

#dcstudios

#jamesgunn

#davidcorenswet

#rachelbrosnahan

#nicholashoult

#skylergisondo

#edigathegi

#nathanfillion

#isabelamerced

#wendellpierce

#beckbennett

#anthonycarrigan

#MaríaGabrieladeFaría

#lookup

#IMAX

Zach is a proud member of the Minnesota Film Critics Association (MNFCA). For more info about Zach, the organization, or to read other great reviews from other great Minnesota-based film critics, click here: https://mnfilmcriticalliance.wordpress.com/