“Superman,” DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.
What We Thought:
I saw Superman a few days ago and I’ve been trying to figure out what I wanted to say about it. The best I could come up with is “I didn’t like it”. It’s that simple. I didn’t find it entertaining or fun. If this is the start to the new generation of DC superhero movies, I’m already not interested.
The two biggest issues I had with it is that it doesn’t feel like a Superman film nor does it feel like a James Gunn film. I’ve been a fan of Gunn’s since his Troma days. I own Slither and Super and I think his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy are three of the best MCU films to date. Gunn is an edgy director who uses music brilliantly and mixes humor with huge emotional swings. I didn’t get any of that here. His signature music styling is lacking which is shocking because Superman films NEED the Superman music. Most of the comedic elements are used on Krypto or Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner/Green Lantern. Fillion is a Gunn staple and somehow there was a lack of chemistry there. I understand Gunn is taking over DC, but this was still his film. Had I not known James Gunn directed this I would have never thought he was involved. Those expecting the quirkiness of Guardians will be disappointed. It’s the least “James Gunn” film of James Gunn’s career.
I also said it doesn’t feel like a Superman film because there are too many characters. The MCU kicked off with individual character films that then lead to The Avengers. I expected this to be a standalone Superman film, but it’s filled to the brim with characters. Along with Green Lantern you get Hawkgirl, Ultraman, Mister Terrific, Metamorpho, The Engineer and more. Lex Luthor is the main bad guy as it should be in a Superman film, but it’s bogged down with too many characters. Give me Clark Kent, Lex, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and a few regulars from Smallville and Metropolis and that’s it. I don’t need half of the Justice League in a standalone Superman film.
Superman as a movie also didn’t work for me because it’s not a version of Superman, the character, that should be made. People can claim Superman as a character can be boring because he’s a god-like creature who wins all the time and saves the day with ease, but that’s also why he’s a beloved character. In a previous movie he used his body to replace broken train rails to save the day because he’s not human. Gunn tries to humanize him and give him emotions and it feels weird. He bleeds and gets beaten up in this movie. No, that’s what Batman is for. The entire movie is about how Superman can’t be trusted because he’s from another planet yet this version of the character is probably the most human we’ve seen before. I know Gunn is trying to make a political statement (and has said so repeatedly promoting the movie), but if you are trying to kick off a new cinematic universe, give the fans the character they like.
About the only positive with Superman is that they don’t retell the entire Clark Kent/Superman story yet again. For whatever reason every time we get a new Batman they have to kill Bruce Wayne’s parents so I respect Gunn for not retelling the story of Krypton being destroyed and Kal-El being sent to Earth. I thought David Corenswet was decent as Clark Kent/Superman as was Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. I didn’t love Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, but that wasn’t his fault, the character was just way too on the nose. The rest of the cast is fine too. And before you think I’m some Snyder bro writing off the new version because it’s not from Zack Snyder, I didn’t love his DC films either. I was hesitant to see this in the first place and considered skipping it and I should have. I now have no idea what to expect from future DC films.
The Nerds Templar 