James Gunn helming DC gave me hope for the future of the company that hasn’t made anything of note since Christopher Nolan’s Dark Knight instalments but is Superman a turning point for the company going forward? Let’s find out.
The latest Superman instalment since 2013’s Man of Steel as this particular version of Superman is unlike any we’ve seen before, the film is bright and colourful (makes a change for DC) in appearance as it is in tone with more humour injected throughout giving Superman a more endearing and relatable quality despite being a meta human from another planet.
With a colour palette lifted straight out of a comic book there’s a real Richard Donner (70’s Superman director) feel about this movie which is certainly a compliment of the highest order but it isn’t all plain sailing.
Shunning an origins story Superman is already grown and established and this entire process is fast-forwarded within the opening 20 seconds of the movie which I actually appreciated as it skips over the fluff we should already know by now if you’ve seen any Superman film, ever.
We’re already starting the film firmly in the action and it never really lets its foot off the gas despite it times probably needing to.
At a 2 hour runtime Superman flies by (see what I did there?) as the plot races through the script pages at break-neck speed.
There’s just enough time to slow down for an interview between Lois Lane and Superman in an apartment but still not enough time to really explore the dynamic between them other than firmly lying dormant in ‘situationship’.
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor and other characters certainly have me scratching my head when it comes to casting choices but David Corenswet smashed it as Superman, whilst never reaching the heights of Christopher Reeves (an impossible task) David tackles the role well and brings a new dynamic to the character we haven’t seen before as James Gunn endears us all with humour and quips throughout.
I personally felt both Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane) and Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor) were under-utilised in terms of a character exploration aspect but they delivered their performances with such pizazz.
With Lex’s character there never felt like there was any danger there for Superman, there was no real threat or genuine moment where Superman ever looked in trouble despite an early setback in the beginning.
This lack of urgency or dilemma really didn’t allow me to emotionally involve myself in Superman’s fate because it was very clearly portrayed throughout the entire movie that despite some self-doubt and some moral dilemmas and the end of the day ‘he’s got this’.
It’s good that James Gunn understands the character but sadly there are certain bars set in history that really are quite impossible to reach no matter who steps into those red boots.
Whilst a solid attempt and a unique perspective on the man of steel, Superman will still and forever always be, punching but keeping it simple is certainly an acceptable toe-dip into what seems to be a very unique future for DC.
Also, was there any need for Krypto? I felt like this was the DC equivalent of Baby Groot where a cute character is introduced just to drive some sort of fandom or attachment to the film, the dog was utterly pointless in terms of story contribution, all bark and not bite in that department I’m afraid.
In one last note, I want to give a special mention to Odeon because walking into my local cinema in Stoke we’re not used to fancy popcorn buckets or drinks, that’s usually saved for the big cities or the Odeon Luxe cinemas but oh no, we had these two glorious additions fully stocked at our local cinema.
How cool are these?!
I’ll ignore the price (think £30 and then some for the combo) as they’re astronomical, slap you twice around the face with a Kryptonian crystal and then again on a Tuesday sort of prices but they are SOOOO cool!
Our Rating
Summary
Whilst a solid attempt and a unique perspective on the man of steel, Superman will still and forever always be, punching but keeping it simple is certainly an acceptable toe-dip into what seems to be a very unique future for DC.