SUPERMAN Reviewed by GREG KING
Director: James Gunn
Stars: David Corenswet, Nicholas Hoult, Rachel Brosnahan, Skyler Gisondo, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, Isabela Merced, Sara Sampaio, Zhatko Buric, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Frank Grillo, John Cena, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Alan Tudyk, Wendell Pierce, Bradley Cooper, Milly Alcock.
Do we really need another superhero movie?
James Gunn is one of the few filmmakers to have traversed both the Marvel Cinematic Universe and the DC cinematic universe. But, as he did with his Guardians Of The Galaxy trilogy, he brings an appreciably lighter and brighter touch to the DC comic verse, which makes for a marked contrast with the darker, dour and joyless vision of Zack Snyder. But still this take on the iconic Superman is a confused film, overcrowded with subplots and a surfeit of villains and superheroes. One subplot involves an attempt to start a war between two fictitious Middle Eastern countries. Superman is intended to kick start a new chapter in the DC cinematic universe, but it does get the concept off to a bit of a rocky start.
Gunn skips the obligatory backstory of how Superman arrived on Earth and treats this as a stand-alone film that has no connection to those other DC films including the recent Man Of Steel. Rather he jumps straight into the action with Superman (played here by David Corenswet, from Twisters, etc) in the middle of a brutal fight with “the Hammer of Borovia”, a giant metahuman (supposedly alien creatures that arrived on Earth millennia ago). Badly pummeled and losing the fight, Superman repairs to his Arctic fortress of solitude where his wounds are healed by his loyal wise-cracking robot servants. Then it is back to the fray.
Arch nemesis Lex Luthor (played here by Nicholas Hoult) is an Elon Musk-like tech billionaire who is trying to persuade the Pentagon and the American people that Superman is a dangerous alien who poses a threat to the planet and should be locked up. But he comes across more like an angry, jealous, obsessive, petty and overly nerdy company executive. He uses nanotechnology and centuries old creatures known as metahumans to try and destroy Superman. He has working for him a small army of computer geeks and nerdy gamers who control these metahumans and direct them in a way to defeat Superman. Luthor has also created a portal to something called a “pocket universe” in which he has trapped people and aliens. Luthor is also trying to start a war between the fictional neighbouring countries of Borovia and Jarhanpur in the hopes of obtaining access to rich mineral resources. But this subplot reveals Gunn’s simplistic approach to complex geopolitics. The script also takes potshots at the pervasive nature of social media and influencers, and Trumpian politics.
In trying to restore his reputation and expose Luthor, Superman receives some help from Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan, from tv series The Marvelous Mrs Maisel, etc), cub reporter Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo, from Licorice Pizza, etc); a metahuman known as Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan, from the tv series Barry, etc), who can transmute elements in his body into various forms; and a trio of B-grade superheroes operating under the umbrella of the Justice Gang, a subpar variation on the better known Justice League. This trio features Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion, with a goofy haircut and arrogant attitude), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced, from the dire Madame Web, etc) and Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi, from the tv series House, etc).
Superman overdoses on a wealth of special effects, and as with most other comic book adaptations from both the Marvel and DC playbook, the film finishes with a climactic CGI heavy and destructive sequence in which half of Metropolis is almost destroyed. This is a CGI-heavy scene that we have seen numerous times before, and it seems to have lost its cachet. The film has been nicely shot by Gunn’s regular cinematographer Henry Braham.
And while Gunn brings a lighter touch to the comic book material there is one disturbingly graphic and unpleasantly darker moment in which Luthor cold bloodedly executes a man because he talked with Superman.
Gunn has followed the tradition of casting little known actors as the eponymous superhero. The little known Corenswet lacks the charisma and steely presence that Christopher Reeve brought to the role. Here he comes across as a flawed Superman who undergoes something of an existential crisis here, and he imbues the character with a rare vulnerability and insecurity. However, he and Brosnahan do create a combustible chemistry and they create sexual tension. Brosnahan brings a more feisty quality to her performance as Lois Lane. As arch villain Luthor though Hoult pales in comparison to the memorable presence and aggressive humour that the late, great Gene Hackman brought to the character, a performance that still resonates some fifty years later.
Fillion makes for a comically awful and arrogant Green Lantern and his performance here makes us yearn for a return of Ryan Reynolds to the role with his self-deprecating sense of humour, charm and droll wit. Wendell Pierce is given little to do and is wasted as Perry White, the gruff, cigar chomping editor of the Daily Planet. Alan Tudyk brings humour to his role as a robot known as 4, and he has a C3PO-like presence. Bradley Cooper contributes a small cameo as Jor-el, Superman’s father on Krypton. AndAustralian actress Milly Alcock (from tv series Upright, etc) contributes a brief appearance as Supergirl ahead of her own spin-off feature due to hit cinemas in 2026. Pruitt Taylor Vince (from Heavy, etc) and Neva Howell play Jonathan and Martha Kent, Superman’s compassionate and wise earthly parents in Smallville.
But you know your film is in trouble when the best character is a cute dog – Krypto, the superdog who is annoyingly eager to please and who effortlessly steals scenes and provides the film with most of its best comic moments. Krypto deserves his own film!
★★★
