Writer-Director James Gunn’s take on the Man of Steel arrives with a hefty weight on its shoulders. Bearing the responsibility of ushering in a rebooted DC universe while promising a fresh spin on the beloved character amidst growing superhero fatigue is no easy feat. As though to assure audiences of this, the movie forgoes the origin story we have seen in previous renditions to place us right in the middle of the action.
This is a world where Kal-El (David Corenswet) is already known as Superman to the world amongst other metahumans, is already dating Lois Lane while working at the Daily Planet as Clark Kent and has recently stopped the fictional nation of Boravia from invading the fictional nation of Jarhanpur breaking out between two neighbouring countries before suffering his first defeat. This is all told to us in a Star-Wars style screen crawl in the opening scene and this feeling of playing catch up leads to an uneasy set up where we feel as though we have already missed some of the crucial action that would lend some much-needed gravitas to the character.
This doesn’t mean we needed a retreading of his origin story, but the detachment we feel for who Kal-EL was before donning the cape and losing his first battle is one that is hard to shake off. However, the movie makes amends in one of the earlier scenes with Lois coming home to her apartment to find Clark cooking her a meal for her birthday. They’re at an awkward but still sweet stage of their relationship with Lois unsure of commitment and it leads to Clark agreeing to give an on-the-record interview as Superman. It’s a well written and passionate exchange where Lois questions Superman on the ethics of stopping the invasion of one of the countries without considering the political consequences. The chemistry between Corenswet and Brosnahan is electric and highlights the earnestness which is at the heart of Corenswet’s portrayal of Superman. “People were going to die!” he exclaims in retort to the geopolitical considerations of his intervention, a perfect summary of his character.
The performances are solid across the board, bolstered by Gunn’s talent at crafting distinct vibrant personalities for all his characters. Corenswet conveys the pure heartedness of Superman throughout the film while Brosnahan plays the passionate investigative journalist with equal parts wit and warmth. Elsewhere, Natan Fillion amuses as the cocky Green Lantern, leader of the ‘Justice Gang’ who frequently work with Superman, doing a fine job at balancing the egotistical tendencies of his character with his duty to serve as a superhero. Edi Gathegi whose Mister Terrific is a member of the team is also a welcome addition, with his no-nonsense approach being both funny and refreshingly unique.
However, the performance I enjoyed the most may have been Nicholas Hoult’s deliciously envious Lex Luthor, the big bad of the movie. The hatred Hoult injects his character with is palpable in every scene he occupies as he schemes, seethes and screams his way to engineering Superman’s downfall. He detests that Superman is an alien that has won the heart of so many people around the world and he’ll use every piece of conniving trickery along with genuine ruthlessness, that hammers in just how much his hatred consumes him. He embodies the classic supervillain that you love-to-hate, so it is a shame, then, that Hoult has to cover for a script that often lacks refinement, resorting to monologuing and contrived coincidences to explain his actions.
The film also falls prey to the dreaded out of place humour that plagues this generation of comic-book films, undercutting the sincerity of scenes that really should have been given time to breath. While the pacing never really drags, Gunn’s scattershot approach to introducing the world, threats and characters threatens to dilute the vibrant energy which makes this outing so charming. There’s just so many characters and plot threads that the film can’t help but feel overstuffed, with the narrative falling into the trap of rushing from one event to the next – not because everything happening is consequential, but rather that it is required to get from point A to B. Several events transpire that strain credulity by feeling too goofy and unrealistic, even when considering that Gunn is translating the exaggerated, hyperactive style of a comic book to the screen.
The action set-pieces, for the most part, are well choregraphed and offer up the spectacle we’d expect of a film of this calibre. I’m also glad that this new age of DC films seems to be moving on from the dreary lifeless colour pallet to a more vibrant one, despite the CGI in some scenes being jarring enough to break the immersion, with one fight in a pocket-universe feeling far too cartoony to hold any real weight.
It is when the film takes a step back from the mayhem that it really shines. The scenes with Ma and Pa Ken offer a touching glimpse of the country boy from Kansas having to reconcile his humble beginnings with the immense weight of responsibility. The love his Earth parents raised him with is present in every action he takes as Superman, whether its suggesting a breathing exercise to someone he’s just had to fly away to remembering the name of a street-vendor he saved in the past. The philosophy of kindness and empathy Corenswet embodies ground the character to make him just that more relatable.
Though Superman doesn’t soar as high as it aims, James Gunn’s signature serving of abundant entertainment and genuine heartfelt moments still delights. The storytelling is unwieldy at times with stakes that feel far too airy, but it keeps its core hero in sight through Corenswet’s assured portrayal of the Man of Steel. It is refreshing to see a movie so unabashedly hopeful, and its charm will no doubt winning over a new generation of audiences. If this is the foundation of DC movies to come, then it seems that hope is warranted.
