James Gunn's "Superman" is for the modern day

I'll admit--Superman isn't a character I know (or care) much about. I haven't seen the Superman movies with Christopher Reeve in a while, nor have I dabbled in the other live action forms of Superman. To me, Batman is a much more interesting superhero, because he isn't really a superhero--he's a man. Superman is an alien. My most recent consumption of anything Superman-related was Zack Snyder's Man of Steel, which I watched a little over two years ago, in preparation for The Flash. Suffice to say, Superman isn't my favorite superhero ever.

However, learning the news that James Gunn and Peter Safran had taken over DC Studios following the disaster that was the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), I had my hopes up for Superman--especially considering that Superman would be Gunn's first priority, And, my goodness, did he deliver. 

David Corenswet plays a young and naïve Superman as he navigates a plethora of challenges.

In James Gunn's Superman, Superman (David Corenswet) is three years into being Metropolis' (and the world's) well-respected superhero. People love him, as he's just...awesome. But he's incredibly naive, and that's what Gunn wanted Superman to be about: a naive superhero who trusts too much, which is what leads to his friends getting hurt. Superman's flaws in this film are incredibly human: he always wants to do the right thing, but doesn't like it when people question him. He believes that everybody, regardless of their place in the world, knows what the right thing is--but unfortunately, they do not. 

Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is obsessed with taking down Superman for his own self-gain. He sees Superman as a threat to his business, and will do anything in his power to take him down. Lex is a powerful business owner, and has money to negotiate deals with foreign countries in order to preserve his own interests. In addition, he has money to hire a crew of tech-savvy people who are able to do pretty out-of-this-world things for him. Lex's main motivation for taking out Superman is the fact that Superman is the only person he views in the world as a threat. So, Lex does everything in his power to physically, mentally, and emotionally break Superman. He weakens him with Kryptonite, he turns the public against him, and even uncovers the latter half of his parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara's (Angela Sarafyan) message to him, which states that he must try and breed with as many women as possible, so that the Kryptonian legacy can live on. 

Superman's rivalry with Lex Luthor is one of the film's highlights.

Lex's breaking of Superman doesn't work until Superman's dog, Krypto, is kidnapped, which is what leads to Superman giving himself up in order to find his beloved four-legged companion. 

But amidst the bitter Superman v. Lex rivalry is Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Superman's secret girlfriend and co-worker. Lois is tough and firm with Superman, as she questions him as if she shared the public's opinion of him, much to the chagrin of Superman. Yet, Lois loves Superman/Clark Kent, as she does whatever in her power to save him--even attempting to team up with the likes of the Justice Gang, although Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), is the only one who actually helps her. 

While on the topic of Lois, I'd also like to discuss one of my favorite characters in the film--Clark and Lois' coworker and friend, Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo). At first Jimmy doesn't provide much insight, but after Superman gives himself up and disappears from Earth, Jimmy uses his connection to Lex's selfie-obsessed girlfriend, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) to gain information from her. From then on, Jimmy and Eve have a very funny one-sided back and forth, where Eve cannot get over how much she loves Jimmy, despite the fact that Jimmy finds her obnoxious and annoying. After Lex throws a pencil at Eve in rage, Eve sends all the "blackmail" she has on Lex to Jimmy, which is a collection of selfies that don't seem of much importance. However, the selfies are actually important, as they highlight all of Lex's plans, thanks to the backgrounds of the selfies. 

Jimmy Olsen steals the spotlight as one of the film’s comedic highlights, all while playing a surprisingly pivotal role in the unfolding story.

There are additional characters in Superman that are really well-balanced within the scope of the story like Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Perry White (Wendell Pierce), who contribute a lot to the overall narrative, albeit their limited screen time in a movie called Superman. 

Despite all of those fantastic elements about Superman, by far my favorite element of it was its themes of displacement, humanity, and kindness. 

Superman isn't a human--and this film makes that very clear. It is because Superman is an alien that people (like Lex) see Superman as a grave threat to the world. Superman has the ability to destroy the world, but chooses not to. Yet, he maintains that power, which is why some are afraid of him. He is very much an immigrant within Earth, yearning to use his powers for good. Despite his powers, he doesn't see himself any different than anyone else. Instead, he sees himself as a human, whose purpose on Earth is to help people. His entire internal arc throughout this film is accepting who he is as a person, especially with the revelation that his parents didn't exactly have the best intentions for him on Earth. It is by the end of the film that he confesses to Lex that while he may be from another planet, he still feels human emotions--something Lex refuses to accept. 

Despite their flaws and occasional self-interest, the Justice Gang proves essential to Superman’s triumph, playing a critical role when it matters most.

Speaking of Lex, his character is probably my biggest critique of this film. While I do believe that Nicholas Hoult did a fantastic job portraying the character, I felt that the writing for Lex's character was a bit too much. Lex explained himself a lot in this film, which is something that villians tend to do in James Gunn's films. While Lex didn't explain much of his backstory, he did explain his motivations a lot--which was a bit tiring. 

Another critique about Superman is how grandiose and big it is. It definitely isn't a grounded film, which is fine; however, so much happens in the film that it is easy to forget important aspects. The biggest aspect of the film that went right over my head was the entire Boravia and Jarhanpur conflict. The details surrounding that conflict were a bit foggy to me, which was unfortunate, because it served a major role in the story.

From a filmmaking perspective, Superman is a visual and emotional triumph, packed with craftsmanship and storytelling flair that make it a standout cinematic experience.

However, despite its flaws, James Gunn's Superman is worthy of a lot of praise. It is a fun and entertaining film with a modern take on Superman. James Gunn is doing something different with the character--and I'm here for it. With that said, I'm looking forward to seeing more work from DC Studios in the future.

I would rate Superman a solid four out of five stars.