Superman

“your choices, your actions, clark. that’s what makes you who you are.” comics are a medium of literature and art that have been with me most of my life and i look back so fondly on my early teens of picking up a random issue at my local shop or scrolling the pages online. marvel heroes like spider-man (kraven’s last hunt, spider-man blue) and the guardians of the galaxy (2008 run) were always my go-to picks and i truly had a hard time finding dc stories that captivated me. that changed a couple years ago after i read all star superman upon hearing the news of james gunn was to front the next theatrical adaptation of supes. my generation grew up on zack snyder’s depiction of these heroes and truthfully i never knew superman as anything other than how he appeared in man of steel (2013): dark, grief-stricken, and, to be honest, miserable. i have nothing against snyder’s take however my entire perception of superman changed for the better after reading all star superman. superman represents the hope, the innate love we all feel for each other, and the sheer empathy humans are capable of. no matter where we come from or what we look like, our actions define us and choosing kindness always triumphs hate. this all being said, what do i think of james gunn’s long anticipated superman film? i am not the most emotional person and i had tears flow three separate times during this film. i don’t want to oversell this film for people who don’t share the same love for comic books and these stories but this is the best superhero film of the decade. superman wears its heart on its sleeve and provides a story that balances spectacle and awe-inspiring moments perfectly with the fun and dynamic characterizations of dc icons. i am very public of my adoration of james gunn’s writing and how he constantly prioritizes character over plot. the guardians of the galaxy trilogy are my favorite mcu films not because of the silly space shenanigans, but because of the care put into each of the guardians’ arcs and the found family emotional core. superman, lois, lex, mister terrific, krypto, metamorpho, jimmy, and yes, even guy gardner are immediately compelling and captivating. i’ll start with supes. straight up the best live-action superman and clark kent yet. david corenswet brings such a nerdy, silly charm to the role and embodies the character perfectly. despite being the man of steel, clark is not without flaws and represents the human conditions we all endure. superman is awesome not because of his alien powers, but because of his humanity and how he feels, loves, and hurts just like each and every one of us. corenswet’s chemistry with rachel brosnahan’s lois lane is off the charts and i wish there was more of it (i’m sure we’ll see them together very soon). he absolutely deserves all the flowers and excited to see how he leads us into this new golden age of dc films. rachel brosnahan absolutely kills it as lois. lois as a character works not because her and clark are cute together, but because she challenges his self-righteousness and pushes him to be that beacon for humanity. i can’t discuss characters without discussing nicholas hoult’s lex luthor. this man is just an absolute powerhouse in hollywood right now and i quite literally think this is as perfect as you can get for lex luthor in live action. he is the perfect antithesis to superman, built upon sheer hatred and envy. he is consistently tormented by the thought of someone being stronger and more appreciated by the people than him. his superiority complex and ego drive every decision he makes and sees the humanity that surrounds him as tools and not people. hoult just nails it and the d1 hater award unanimously goes to him. the scene stealing highlights for me were mister terrific and, of course, krypto. james gunn is a master of turning unknown characters into iconic a-listers. mister terrific is definitely that character here and he just emanates, lack of better words, aura. edi gathegi is just so cool in this role and mister terrific’s powers are visually so fun, very reminiscent of yondu from the guardians of the galaxy films. self-serious and intellectually superior, yet nonchalantly empathetic and supportive to those around him. just an amazing introduction for this character. “you brought that dog, man?!?” i am a dog lover and man… krypto is just the cutest. don’t get me wrong, he is absolutely a little gremlin, but he provides such levity and playfulness to the overall tone of the film. he brings the energy in addition to serving the narrative effectively and truly tests the patience of supes and every foe (or friend) that steps in his path. i am so excited what is coming soon with him…wink before i switch subjects, there is a line that had me absolutely tearing up in the theater and i think i would like to highlight it. “it's a dog!" "yeah, he's not even a very good one. but he's out there alone, and probably scared." i could yap about every characterization in this film but no sane person would take the time to read everything, nor would it be an effective use of my time. i will however touch on the other aspects of this film that just absolutely worked for me. narratively, this film does a lot. there are so many characters that demand your attention and they had to all somehow fit cohesively together in the surprisingly tight two hour runtime. no film prior to this other than maybe the raimi spider-man films has quite captured the essence of comic book storytelling. every action sequence feels straight out of a comic panel and i just had the cheekiest grin on my face the whole time. the film constantly feeds you set piece after set piece and just when you think it is out of tricks, it throws out a kaiju or black hole for our heroes to overcome. the super powered conflicts are balanced out with the politically relevant conflicts of the humans. without getting too into it, a main conflict of this film very much parallels an ongoing one in the real world and gunn does not shy away from it, despite changing names of locales for obvious reasons. visually, the colors assaulted my eyes (in a good way) and i was enamored that i was watching a superman film that looked like this. superman himself is so vibrant and pops off the screen. the cgi is wacky and all over the place, adding to the whimsy and playfulness of the fictional metropolis. some highlights include anything involving metamorpho and a specific sequence with mister terrific and lois. see this in imax as the immersion was top tier. the sound design and score were phenomenal as well. taking the already perfect theme from john williams and modernizing it was a smart move from composer john murphy and i felt like i was ascending from my seat in certain scenes, especially in the latter half of the film. this film is loud and truly conveys the massive force behind action and the scale of it all. production design was also great as expected and i was constantly looking at all the little details in the daily planet or hall of justice. i’ve been sitting in my car for over an hour trying to fabricate my thoughts coherently and i hope i have to some degree. i truly can’t emphasize how much this movie means to me in this current age of superhero filmmaking. while superman is a popular, if not the most popular superhero ever, i think he will become adored by a whole new audience with this film. there hasn’t been a movie quite as good-hearted and fun as this in a while and you are damn right i bought the popcorn bucket.