The Silver Age on the Silver Screen.
DC Studios has been playing what feels like an incredibly long game of catch-up with their spiritual rivals over at Marvel. After a failed expansive universe launch several years ago it’s felt like DC has been on a very wobbly tight-rope walk. They’ve had some massive hits with mostly stand-alone stories in The Batman, Joker, and most recently The Creature Commandos animated series. However, with the release of James Gunn’s Superman, it appears that DC is finally set on a path with more focused direction and, optimistically, a more consistent quality.
James Gunn’s Superman is the Silver Age comic book film that Superman fans have been craving for years. Whilst I would’ve liked to see this universe receive a bit more set-up, as this film essentially serves as the launch of the new DC universe, the story itself benefits greatly from a world that feels like it’s already been lived in. The film might show a young and inexperienced Superman, but this is by no means an origin film. This world comes preowned as heroes, villains, gods, and monsters have been a part of this world for centuries.
The film separates itself immediately from the complaints of its predecessor, and gives us a vibrant, warm, optimistic, and colourful entry for the Man of Steel and it wastes no time dropping you right into the action. Superman doesn’t shy away from political commentary, making some very poignant and relevant political remarks, but Gunn does seem to understand greatly who this character is and what they have always stood for when handling these political statements with the character. Many things the character does I’d question on if it was the right call, but that’s the world of Superman, he doesn’t do shades of grey he only does life or death and that’s who this Superman is first a saviour, not a fighter. When presented with fighting an enormous monster we see Superman spend more time saving civilians, even so much as the life of a small squirrel.
Now this is the part where my Superman-loving boss might get cranky with me. (Sorry Doc).
Whilst the story is fun and lighthearted hearted it does suffer greatly from the age-old issue of “if you have seen the trailer, you have seen the movie” as nearly nothing in the film felt overly surprising to me as someone who followed the media moderately closely. But the film is still greatly enjoyable, it’s a fun and hope-filled day at the movies, and absolutely worth seeing. The cinematography is gorgeous and full of colour, the score is nostalgic of the original Christoper Reeves films, and the entire cast is perfect. Corenswet and Brosnhan have incredible chemistry and complexity as Clark Kent and Lois Lane, but personally, Edi Gathegi’s, Mr. Terrific, is the scene stealer of the film.
But all this aside my one key criticism is, even though this film is the perfect comic adaptation of Superman to film, I personally felt like it had too many similarities to your classic MCU film, upon leaving the theatre to me I thought the movie was a mash of Captain America the First Avenger and Guardians of the Galaxy 2. If you had taken this film and told me it was made by Disney Marvel and is in the MCU I sadly would believe you as it felt like it followed the same tropes as many Marvel films had before. It’s a great film and you should see it, but for the universe starting cape-flick, I felt myself wanting more.
Whilst I did find myself slightly wanting more from a universe beginning film entry, what this movie is, is the most accurate depiction of the comic book Superman, it’s Clark Kent of All-Star Superman. It is a fun, action-packed, campy, and warm time and I greatly look forward to seeing where the future is headed both for DC and David Corenswets Superman.
Krypto is best boy.
7.6/10 – Creechy
10/10 – Doc
