TMS Movie Review: Superman
(DC Studios / Warner Bros)
Even though I’ve never been an avid comic book reader or superhero fanatic, I’ve always loved Lois Lane & Clark Kent as an on-screen couple, probably because I’ve grown to enjoy the famous male+female journalist pairing in fiction. In fact, the pair is pretty much the only reason I was looking forward to James Gunn’s Superman, the latest film portrayal of the first and most iconic superhero. And for the most part, Lois & Clark’s scenes and chemistry deliver, especially thanks to co-stars David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan. Another good aspect is that Gunn completely skips through any meet-cutes or will-they-or-won’t-they tropes like past Superman projects would. This is a film that doesn’t need to tell audiences who Clark Kent or Superman is. It’s 2025, everyone knows baby Kal-El was shot down from his dying home planet Krypton to a farm in the middle of Kansas, not only for his biological parents to save their heir, but also for him to serve and protect humanity on Earth. In Gunn’s Superman, we’re already in Metropolis where Clark is dating his fellow newspaper reporter Lois and his alter-ego’s arch nemesis, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), is hellbent on taking down the world’s most powerful hero.
If you’re a built-in, longtime comic book or Superman fan, this new picture was definitely made for you. It looks and feels unapologetically like a live-action cartoon, particularly a lost episode of Warner Bros’ “Superman: The Animated Series” (1996-2000). Corny jokes, over the top action, colorful cinematography, nothing too graphic or offensive, any political or real-life metaphors are very surface level and/or broad. Not a terrible tactic for a popcorn blockbuster, especially in the age of ‘superhero fatigue.’
(DC Studios / Warner Bros)
There are also some legitimate subversions that might surprise viewers, such as how the usually wholesome, boyish Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) is now a reporter along with Lois and Clark, instead of The Daily Planet’s photographer, and even a reluctant ladies’ man. Clark’s glasses have a supernatural quality that can physically make people not recognize him out of his costume, and he has his own pet dog as a sidekick, Krypto. There’s a reveal about Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van’s (Angela Sarafyan) intentions with sending their son to earth in this iteration that might not fly with devoted fans, and I never really bought into portraying Ma and Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) as full-blown hicks this time. Each battle scene is essentially Superman getting his butt kicked and Lex proving it’s possible for him to be beaten. But while Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel (2013) made the mistake of having Clark/Kal-El viewing his calling as a chore and burden, Gunn’s and Corenswet’s Supes really is the good, old-fashioned hero with best intentions all the way through.
Despite some imperfections, including a couple scenes featuring so much lens flare J.J. Abrams probably would have advised dialing back on; there’s a genuine romance with love scenes in a major studio feature, the iconic supervillain is allowed to actually be evil, and the callback to an iconic John Williams franchise score works better in Gunn’s Superman than it did in Gareth Edwards’ Jurassic World: Rebirth last week.