I’ve written in the past about the influence of the superhero genre on my movie upbringing. Year after year, Viraj and I would recruit massive coalitions of eager high schoolers to mob the Redwood City Century 20 after classes. And no showing ever drew a bigger crowd than Marvel’s latest.
It truly didn’t matter who was on the poster either. After Avengers changed the game in 2012, just about everything Marvel touched turned to gold. And nothing exemplified this fact more than 2014’s Guardians of the Galaxy. Who the hell is Star Lord? Or Drax? Or Gamora? Am I saying real words anymore? And wait, there’s a gun-toting raccoon who sounds like Bradley Cooper too?
The question we should have been asking was a bit more grounded; who is this James Gunn guy directing it all? We soon found out; Gunn is the man responsible for the aforementioned Guardians launching a franchise within a franchise and making characters like a talking tree named Groot household names. Gunn’s explosive breakout lost zero momentum over the next 10 years, as he sharpened a comic-book ready arsenal of stylistic tropes and aesthetics across subsequent Guardians sequels and The Suicide Squad, another way-too-fun, why-does-this-actually-work entrant in the ever-expanding comic book movie landscape.
Nowadays, we know Gunn well. Love him or hate him, he’s made his hay in the blockbuster world by promising each and every one of his movies is made with the same key ingredients; audiovisual insanity, hyper-stylized fight sequences (often set to gleeful needle drop song choices), plenty of humor, and most importantly, commitment to the bit. Gunn’s strongest trait is constructing movies that look, feel, and behave like actual comic books. Everything is a little more whimsical, and if you buy in, you can have a damn good time with it.
Gunn was tapped by DC to reboot their cinematic universe, and I see why they went that route. After an era of muddled Snyder outputs that tried their hardest to emulate Nolan’s gritty Dark Knight outputs with little success, Gunn’s unflinching approach to comic book filmmaking is a refreshing dose of clarity. And kicking things off with Superman, he definitely understood the assignment, subsequently delivering the most James Gunn thing anyone’s ever seen.
This movie is bonkers. The visual insanity Gunn refined over three Guardians entries is in full effect here. There are sequences where it really works, and sequences where it definitely does not. Superman soaring between the buildings of metropolis while he does battle with a giant crazy monster? Brilliant. The Gunn aesthetic clearly managed to go up a level, and I have to praise the movie’s visual high points. There’s an addicting sort of clarity to a lot of it, presenting images that are equal parts sharply realized and perfect lean-ins to the premise’s comic book insanity.
Consistency is not one of this movie’s strong suits though. For every wow-worthy movie moment across the runtime, there’s something absurd that took me out of it. There’s a kooky pocket dimension setpiece complete with a rainbow river and a black hole (and also an unrecognizably CGI’d Anthony Carrigan of Barry fame) that takes up way too much screen time. There’s a heartfelt character moment between Superman and Lois t completely undercut by a funny but unnecessary fight sequence happening in the background. There’s even a Nathan Fillion bowl cut, exemplifying the fact that not all character designs are created equal here.
All these moments of overstimulation are an expected distraction. After all, the movie’s saddled with the weight of launching a brand-new DC Universe™. Every time a new superhero graces the screen, you can’t help but wonder what limited series or phase 3 movie they’ll eventually star in. All this is bundled up in a James Gunn stylistic schtick that plays all its hits and rarely elaborates. I’d say on a personal level, my enjoyment for Gunn’s filmmaking peaked a couple years back, and the same old tricks he uses can get kind of tiring.
All of this is ultimately a lot of noise surrounding what is at its core a pretty sturdy interpretation of the Superman character himself. David Corenswet does an admirable job here, lending a fair bit of heart and presence to the iconic character. It’s a take on Superman that isn’t doing anything radically new, but refurbishing something that’s worked for decades. The movie spends a lot of time on his earth upbringing and the morals it imbued him with, which is definitely the strongest element of the whole film. His parents are delightful human beings who made me smile every time they were onscreen, and it was a strong emotional core to help ground the viewing experience as so much else was hurled at us.
I’ll also give props to the pieces that surrounded the Superman character, which sometimes even outdid the man himself. The Fortress of Solitude is awesomely designed. His dog Krypto, a near-constant menace to Superman and society at large, blesses the movie with way more screentime than we deserved. But for my money, Nicolas Hoult’s Lex Luthor takes the cake here. I couldn’t help but stifle a laugh every time he made a face like
Or every time he started monologuing in a flavor that was cartoonishly, unabashedly EVIL. Superman is only as good as his Lex Luthor, a fact both Gunn and Hoult clearly understood. There’s plenty of creative inventions and plot devices that go a long way towards building him up as a formidable opponent, and the movie’s biggest moments feel a lot more earned because of it. Plus, I mean c’mon LOOK AT THIS MAN
Ultimately Superman feels like textbook execution on the strongest bet DC could have made to start their new franchise. Bring back one of pop culture’s biggest superhero icons. Turbocharge him through the love and care of Hollywood’s most stylish auteur of the superhero genre. Profit. It’s a swig of mouthwash to clean out DC’s older “dark and brooding” era. For me personally, I may be too burnt out on Gunn and superheroes oversaturating everything to regress fully back to loyal fanhood. But I absolutely see the appeal, and had no problems coming along for the ride.
Verdict: 3.5/5