Despite being a story centred around the extraordinary life of an alien, James Gunn’s SUPERMAN delivers an impactful, weighted story about the importance of maintaining our humanity when the world appears hell-bent on forcing us to let it slip.
Score: 4.5 / 5
Special thanks to our friends at Warner Bros. UK for the opportunity to attend the multimedia screening.
When the announcement came that industry veteran James Gunn was to be taking over the DC Cinematic Universe (then called the “DCEU”), there was understandably a degree of curiosity and reluctance from fans. His overhaul of the franchise meant a hard reboot of all that came before – no more Cavill, a farewell to Affleck and – perhaps less regrettably – no more eyesore CGI Ezra Millers running around.
Even with a rough reputation, the DCEU was still a preposterously large franchise and the boots to fill were enormous. SUPERMAN is the first theatrical movie in the new regime, and as a superfan (no pun intended) of this franchise, I am above all relieved to report that the movie soars above expectations. It balances a necessary task of establishing a completely new world and the ability to provide its audience with a deeply moving story about both the beauty and flaws of humanity and our nature.
Our new man in the tights David Corenswet is exceptional in the titular role, best compared to Christopher Reeve’s cinematic take back in 1978. He retains all the well-meaning qualities a Superman would need and plays off the Clark Kent/Superman lifestyle flawlessly (even if I wish we got to see more of him as the former). Rachel Brosnahan brings a life and personality to Lois Lane that we haven’t seen quite so well-performed in many interpretations gone by. We understand her needs perfectly and still feel for her when her complications with Clark begin to show.
However, I would argue that Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor is not only the best performance in the film, not only the best Lex we’ve seen on-screen, but may also be one of the greatest villain performances in a Comic Book movie of all-time. He is deliciously evil, manipulative and cynical, and Hoult gives it his absolute all to make him out as the most deplorable man in the world. Utterly and completely stand-out.
The cinematography and CGI were stellar – it’s a gorgeous movie that is incredibly creative with the camera. Political messaging is present throughout and makes it very clear that the movie is representing real conflict happening in the world right now: it really is a movie that feels like it came at exactly the right time. Side-characters like the Justice Gang were nice inclusions, with Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific having one particular scene that feels character-defining, legendary even. The score throughout is exceptionally well done – I found myself tearing up every time the iconic John Williams leitmotif played.
Despite having a few pacing issues and an initial struggle settling into its main story, SUPERMAN is overall sublime. A joyous, emotional tribute to the Man of Steel’s legacy and a remarkable glimpse toward Gunn’s vision for this all-new DC Studios Universe. Go see it on July 11!
