Superman
There’s so much I want to say about this movie and what it means to not only the present version of me, but also to the younger version of me who grew up with this universe and character.
First off, with little to no surprise, James Gunn delivers not only a spectacular superhero movie, but a pretty damn good movie in general.
There’s so much I could go into ranging from the wonderful characters, dynamics, storytelling, cinematography, score, and lighting, which go into making this movie something special. But honestly, anyone could see that.
From the perspective of someone who has had superheroes as their main hyper-fixation for many years.
From the perspective of someone who has spent far too much time and money (R.I.P. to my wallet after daring to buy more Doctor Fate (my goat) comics🫠) into these comics, stories, and characters.
The way that the story is told, the way that the characters feel true to themselves, the way that the world feels lived in and not just starting, is absolutely done spectacularly here.
Superman (damn he’s done perfectly here), no longer is the brooding loner with the moral complexity of a 14 year old just getting into Nietzsche and Nihilism, but rather he’s what he was always meant to be. A symbol of hope, a brighter path for humanity, the champion of the oppressed. These may all sound kiddish, but damnit it really means something.
Enough yapping about how well the character was adapted, everyone already knows this. One of my favorite aspects of the film, which I’ve already said above, is how lived in the world feels. From the opening text to the final scene, this world could easily already have had a Justice Society (real ones know), a fleshed out Batman, and for all that is loving, The Spectre (please can we get him). Not only has this been a big complaint of mine for both of the previous superhero universes, but it just proves how well it can and should have been done.
Overall, it’s an amazing movie, the Justice Gang and it’s members are great (side note: if he can do all that with Mr. Terrific, just imagine how great his Batman will be), Lex is great, everything is pretty much great.
If this will be around the baseline of quality for the whole DC Universe, damn we are in for a good time.
Now yes, I am definitely glazing this movie, but like most things there are problems. The pacing of the first half is a bit rough, and some characters could have absolutely used more screen time and development. But to be fair, this is the start of a whole universe, and it surely will grow from here.
Lastly, if I was objectively rating this, I’d probably give it a 4 1/2 star rating, which I imagine is around where most will be.
But damnit, in the best way possible, this just feels like a comic, a great episode of Superman the Animated Series or Justice League: Unlimited. Honestly that’s perfect for me.
Also, as I keep thinking about this movie, the more tempted I am to make this review a whole ass essay. I feel like I could easily talk about this movie for hours on end.
Damn it’s been a while since a movie has made me feel this way.