(M) ★★★★
Director: James Gunn.
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, Wendell Pierce, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell.
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| "You know you're going to have to fix the sidewalk, right Mr Superman?" |
I have no idea if this is a controversial opinion, but this is the best live-action Superman film of the past 50 years.
Yes, the 1978 one is iconic and integral, with great performances and some effects that still hold up to this day, but it's silly by modern standards and features one of the worst retconning plot devices of all time. It's 1980 sequel is also strong, but suffers from a goofy tone. And the less said of Superman III and IV the better.
Superman Returns was solid but ultimately forgettable except for Kevin Spacey's Lex Luthor (which isn't something to crow about these days), while Man Of Steel was a dour boring mess unworthy of Henry Cavill.
Which brings us to this rollicking ride of superhero movie. While it doesn't feel as groundbreaking or all-time classic as The Dark Knight, Iron Man, or Gunn's own Guardians Of The Galaxy, Superman is a solidly plotted story that overcomes the key problem with Kal-El - that he's an unbeatable bore - and uncovers new depths to the character.
Wisely deciding against yet another origin tale (let's face it - we all know how that goes), Superman takes flight mid-story, with the Man of Steel (Corenswet) suffering a physical defeat in the wake of interfering in an international conflict without US government authorisation, handing Superman a diplomatic defeat to go with his literal wounds.
As Superman grapples with his place in the geo-political landscape, as well as his relationship with Lois Lane (Brosnahan), Lex Luthor (Hoult) is hard at work, plotting to destroy Superman from all angles.
Corenswet is a natural in the super-suit. We don't see him in Clark Kent mode a huge amount, but his Superman is a wonderfully well-rounded character, full of frustrations and fears, with a health dash of ego and humility, yet also fundamentally good in that special Superman kind of way. Gunn has written his Man of Steel to perfection, and Corenswet brings him to life in self-assured style.
Similarly, Lois Lane feels like a real person, unlike previous renditions, and ditto for Jimmy Olsen, which is again tribute to Gunn's script, but also the performances of Brosnahan and Gisondo. Lex Luthor is also great, and full points to Hoult and Gunn for making the character genuinely smart and genuinely dangerous. Luthor feels like a threat to Superman in more ways than one, and best of all, he thinks he's in the right, which is always the best way to write a villain.
The movie leans into its comic-book nerdiness, making good use of characters and situations that might not be so well known to the non-nerds, including Mr Terrific, Metamorpho, and the Guy Gardner version of the Green Lantern. Hawkgirl is sadly underwritten, but the rest are given enough depth to make them interesting beyond their powers.
Superman moves quickly - not quite like a speeding bullet - but its pace keeps it fun, never getting bogged down. Even the film's biggest character moment, in which Clark allows Lois to interview Superman, is full of tension and drama, making it a highlight scene amid the bombast and CG destruction.
The film could do with being funnier, as a few too many laughs fall flat, but it's an interesting and intelligent take on a character we've seen plenty of times in the past half a century. The DC Universe is in good hands with Gunn at the helm. To deliver the best Superman film to date is a superheroic feat.
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