For more than a decade, DC’s cinematic universe floundered until the plug was pulled and James Gunn was brought in to steer the brand in a new direction, a decision that proved wise with “Superman.”
Released on July 11, the movie is the theatrical kickoff to the new DC Universe (DCU) and had some big, red boots to fill.
Unlike almost every superhero film, “Superman” skips the titular hero’s origin story (pick up a comic if you don’t already know it), preferring to move on from retreaded ground and tell a new story with the biggest boy scout in comics.
The film starts right in the middle of things, both in terms of the action and in the universe as a whole. Superheroes like Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) already protect the world and Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet) is three years into his career as a crimefighter in Metropolis and reporter at the Daily Planet.
Following Superman’s intervention in the invasion of the fictional country of Jarhanpur by the equally fictitious Boravia, the hero is deemed a threat by the American government, which outsources his containment and neutralization to ‘Planetwatch,’ a superpowered security force owned by tech billionaire and genius Lex Luthor.
Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is all too happy to kill Superman and fulfill his obsessive crusade against the Man of Steel for outshining humanity with his superpowers and is willing to cause immense destruction and kill thousands to get what he wants.
Even with Luthor having him outgunned, Superman and his allies must do whatever they can to save lives and stop Luthor.
Luthor’s characterization as an incredibly petty and absolutely irredeemable villain is one of the best parts of “Superman” and is only strengthened further by a phenomenal performance by Hoult.
Equal in talent and opposite in morality, Corenswet’s Superman perfectly captures everything about the character from the first seconds of the movie. He’s cheery, cracks the occasional joke and can be intimidating when serious. But most importantly, he tries to save everyone (even a squirrel is protected by him at one point!) and do as much good as possible.
Unfortunately, Corenswet doesn’t get much time to be plain old Clark Kent, even though he nails that identity too. However, there is a good reason for the lack of scenes focusing on Superman’s secret identity: he has a girlfriend.
Clark Kent and Lois Lane are one of the most iconic couples in comic book history, but their dynamic has often been centered around Lane getting in trouble and needing Superman to come to the rescue, or Kent lying to Lane about his heroic alter-ego.
Thankfully, “Superman” falls into neither of those tropes and does its best to show a new dynamic in the pair’s relationship. Lane, fantastically played by Rachel Brosnahan, is a snarky punk-rocker unafraid to face danger to get the truth out.
The film also gives Lane much more agency than prior renditions and has her do just as much for the plot as Superman, finally ditching the damsel-in-distress trope tied to her character.
Additionally, “Superman” skips the awkward stages of Kent and Lane’s relationship and instead starts at a point where the two have been dating for three months and Kent’s costumed life is no secret.
Although the movie lacks the secret-filled slowburn between the journalists, the incredible chemistry between Corenswet and Brosnahan sells the relationship instantly.
Practically every other relationship between characters in “Superman” feels natural and storied despite this film being the audience’s first glimpse into the DCU.
Hawkgirl, Green Lantern and Mr. Terrific, the members of the ‘Justice Gang’ bicker and crack jokes like coworkers would, and Lane and the staff of the Daily Planet acts just like a real, tight-knit newspaper trying to spread the truth.
The characters’ personalities aren’t the only realistic aspects of “Superman,” however. The film also contains a great deal of political commentary with Luthor’s involvement with the government criticizing how the rich are entangled in the political landscape of America and how money can often lead to a blind eye being turned to shady dealings of corporations.
Additionally, the fictitious invasion of Jarhanpur by Boravia is clearly intended to represent the conflict between the very real conflict between Palestine and Israel and condemn the actions of the Israeli military.
This comes as no surprise since director James Gunn has no qualms about being vocal about his progressive views, leading some moviegoers to dub the film “Superwoke” and boycott it.
If they did watch the movie, they’d find that they aren’t beaten over the head with politics, and the commentary only serves to strengthen the core message of every Superman story: be kind.
Another controversial aspect of “Superman” is how it puts the final nail in the coffin for the previous DC cinematic universe led by Zack Snyder, which fans dubbed the Snyderverse. Diehard fans of Snyder’s work for DC have opposed “Superman” since it was first announced and demanded the return of Henry Cavill as the superhero.
Both Cavill and Corenswet put on great performances as the Man of Steel, but Gunn has a much better understanding of Superman as a character than Snyder ever did. Snyder focused on what put Superman above the rest of humanity and made him ‘super,’ but Gunn shows the audience that Clark Kent is as human as anyone else, and that his real superpower is simply doing what’s right.
And like Kent said in the film, “maybe that’s the real punk rock after all.”