Superman Review
David Corenswet is a fantastic Superman, but James Gunn’s new take on the iconic hero is a chaotic mess - filled to the brim with overstuffed plot, deeply unsubtle political allegories and a heap of middling CGI. The new Superman lacks the emotional depth to make any of it land.
Superman (David Corenswet) is in strife with the US government for stopping one sovereign nation from invading another. Amidst this backdrop, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) hatches a plan to kill the metahuman from another planet; one involving government coercion, his own super-powered team, and an interdimensional rift.
James Gunn’s Superman has more riding on it than just one film. The man who has been helmed with returning the DCU to something of pride, this movie needs to make the case that his take on the DCU is better than what has come before. And honestly? It doesn’t come close.
There are some highlights. Firstly, the casting for the most part. David Corenswet feels born to play this character, he is absolutely fantastic as the titular hero. He’s ably matched by Rachael Brosnahan who is a wonderful Lois Lane - the best interpretation of that character so far. I really enjoyed also Edi Gathegi as Mr Terrific, and Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen (as well as Eve Teschmacher as his freaky-toed on-again-off-again girlfriend). Some of the casting, however, didn’t hit at all - looking at you Beck Bennett.
There’s also something just joyous about this movie in the celebration of the classic Superman vibes of old. The sentiment is undoubtedly lovely, and the swelling score when it comes in (and it comes in often), never fails to hit. Couple that with a beautiful bright tone to the cinematography, and occasionally great hero shots, and you have a bunch of strong elements.
The problems start with the story itself. This plot is WAY overstuffed. From the Justice Gang to Lex and his plan, to two countries going to war, a pocket universe and a clone, there is just way too much going on and none of it is given the time, nuance or emotional heft it deserves.
The political stuff between the two warring countries is so glaringly on the nose that it is off putting, because it’s done in such a generic, haphazard and disrespectful way. The comically one-dimensional portrayals of these two rivals feels way too current topically to be dealt with in such broadstroke, cartoonish villainy (on both the side of the aggressor and the victim).
When clone Superman shows up, you know that this movie has gone off the rails. Not only because Gunn has now seemingly stuffed every device known to man into this plot to try and keep it going, but because the reveal means absolutely nothing to us as an audience. And that is emblematic of the entire film, because this is a movie where nothing matters (Metropolis’ destruction, a multiversal chasm, an interstellar prison - all swept under the rug), and where nothing that matters ever feels like it does.
The perfect example of that are Clark’s parents. After a failure, Clark returns to his parents to recuperate, and sits with his father on a bench, looking out over their farm. The father gives a speech about how proud he is of Clark, and it … falls entirely flat. Perhaps that’s because this is pretty much the first scene we have of them together! And we’re meant to feel anything?
Superman is determined to wipe the slate clean, to be a different type of superhero movie; one that hews closer to the comics in its fantastical nature, it’s less serious tone, and it’s desire to not constantly rehash origin stories. But what it forgets in the meantime is character development, and it means that all of the big emotional moments in this movie falls deafeningly flat. And that’s a problem not even Superman can solve.
