As a character, Superman remains a fascinating conundrum when it comes to cinematic depictions. No matter who the latest Clark Kent is on the silver screen, they will always be compared to Christopher Reeve, the legend behind the 1978 superhero classic film. And when a filmmaker like Zack Snyder brought an overbearing and serious tone to the franchise with his 2013 film, “Man of Steel,” the result was a failed cinematic universe.
With the latest reboot of the DC cinematic universe, “Superman” lies in the hands of a Twitter-brained director who loves monsters and silver age comics — otherwise known as James Gunn. He is now in charge of not just the “Last Son of Krypton,” but the entire DC Comics universe, along with producer Peter Safran.
Gunn’s “Superman” is undeniably his own; the film, which stars square-jawed TV actor David Corenswet as the titular character, is a love letter to a bygone era of comics with plenty of the referential humor that has defined Gunn’s work. While some of the themes lack a level of depth and subtlety present in other great superhero films, the movie is a delightful, well-casted romp.
Corenswet already has the perfect look for Superman and Clark Kent. He’s a do-gooder who convincingly says “gosh” and “shoot” in the way only an innocently lovable Superman could, and he captures the bumbling nature of Kent, who once again works as a reporter at The Daily Planet. This Superman is deeply human and has all the flaws of any other man — particularly his Kryptonian background, which comes under fire for not being as altruistic as he initially believes. He has to understand his past and try to find a way to move forward.
Accompanying Superman is the adorably aggressive dog Krypto, whose capture propels the hero into action. In line with Gunn’s love for featuring animals in his movies, Krypto has a truly wonderful chemistry with Corenswet, even he’s just a dog.
Kent’s co-worker and eventual lover, Lois Lane, gets the amazing performance treatment she deserves from Rachel Brosnahan of “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” fame. Brosnahan’s Lane perfectly matches wits with Superman, while also sustaining an unspoken confidence.
Rounding out the strong leads is Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor), an actor who has recently displayed his sense of range throughout very different three movies (“Juror No. 2,” “Nosferatu” and, now, “Superman”). Hoult captures Luthor for who he is: a petulant tech billionaire who is jealous of Superman. Luthor has a complex, hair-brained scheme that seems as superfluous and ridiculous as any villain’s plot from the Silver Age of comics. (This plots beats Jesse Eisenberg’s Luthor philosophizing about gods in “Batman v. Superman.”)
The one identifiable issue with Gunn’s latest film is the deeper look at what Luthor does to Superman. Luthor uses a conflict between two fictional countries — the more powerful and U.S.-allied Boravia and the weaker, more vulnerable Jarhanpur — to distract Superman and enrich himself. As part of this attack, Luthor uses misinformation on social media in an attempt to bring Superman down.
The Man of Steel prides himself on doing good for the sake of doing good. While the characters around him (especially Lois Lane) question his intentions and the consequences of his actions, Superman is for unambiguously doing the right thing.
Superman’s feelings on doing good are representative of how Gunn feels about what the character can represent; but there’s a disconnect in how Superman believes that the country of Jarhanpur is just a place to be saved. The intention from Superman (and Gunn) is well-meaning, but the country and its forced displacement of primarily POC citizens feels all too connected to real life, and not the subject matter of a goofy plea for fun in a superhero movie.
Ultimately, “Superman” can feel a little too silly and overly sincere for its own good. But the film strikes a balance between irreverence and sincerity, giving DC Comics fans hope that Gunn and Safran are the right ones to lead this new iteration of the cinematic universe.
Henry O’Brien is a contributor to CITY.
This article appears in Dec 1-31, 2024.
