Superman

*"I am as human as anyone. I love, I get scared...but that's my greatest strength. And someday, I hope, for the sake of the world, you understand that it's yours too."*I don't even like Superman. Well, I didn't before I watched this film. Hell, I hated Superman. I saw him as nothing more than some glorified boy scout —a flat, static, nothing-but-nice mascot without an ounce of personality—but that's how he's been presented in most of the media I grew up with. This film changed everything. Truthfully, I've not stopped thinking about it since July. It's amazing to me that the greatest depictions of humanity I've seen in media come from a film about a super-powered alien and an egotistical billionaire. Watching this film feels just like reading a comic book; it's genuinely mind-boggling. There's so many "comic book movies" out there, but this is a COMIC BOOK movie. The way that Gunn introduces concepts, characters, just everything throughout this film feels ripped straight off the page. The Justice Gang just, sorta... shows up. They don't get any grand entrance, there's no exposition dump, no origin story. They just exist; it's like a crossover event in a comic book. The whole concept of "pocket universes" is treated the same way; they're written off as something that just exists. People in this world don't fully understand it, so we don't. It's refreshing; it feels special—especially in a genre that's been so oversaturated with bland, pseudo-grounded stories like the MCU. (No shade.)   "You trust everyone and think everyone you've ever met is, like... beautiful. Maybe that's the real punk rock."I could go on and on about my love for comic books, but let's get into the film itself. David Corenswet's performance as both Clark Kent and Superman is just utterly phenomenal; Corenswet's ability to deliver such an authentic, earnest performance—paired with James Gunn's comedic timing—feels truly super. There's just so much Gunn and Corenswet do to the character that makes him feel, well, human. Sure, he's from another planet, he can fly, he can shoot lasers from his eyes—but he's a dork! He says "what the hey," he gets beat up by a dog, he listens to crappy pop punk bands. Really, he's a dork. And gosh, don't even get me started on the punk rock thing. I love punk rock—honestly, that's probably part of why I connected with this film so much. The supporting cast is great, too. Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, and everyone else—they all feel uniquely human in their own regard. Gathegi's portrayal of Mr. Terrific really steals the show, though. He's goddamn Mr. Terrific. "My envy is a calling. It is the sole hope for humanity, because it is what has driven me to annihilating you."Enough about the good guys—now we have to talk about the real star of Superman: Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Wow... just, wow. Hoult's performance really blew me out of the water. He plays Lex with this terrifying calmness, this twisted belief that his hatred is righteous, this almost religious crusade of obsession. Luthor's greatest weapon isn't his wealth or his intelligence—it's his ego, his absolute conviction he is the true savior of humanity, that he is justified in his every attempt to squash what he's deemed as an existential threat. Hoult sells every bit of this toxic, messianic self-importance—this perverted humanity. And honestly, one of the strongest aspects of the film is just how relevant it is—its political themes. And sure, I know, I know Gunn has claimed that everything is seemingly coincidental, but the conflict between Boravia and Jarhanpur is such a beautifully written allegory to the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Ghurkos is so obviously Netanyahu, and he dies; it's great. The kids made me cry. That's all I'll say. "Your choices, Clark. Your actions... that's what makes you who you are. I'll tell you something, son... I couldn't be more proud of you."In short, I loved everything about Superman, even if my former hatred for him ran incredibly deep. Every character, every conflict within this film is beautifully, uniquely human. A herculean alien is deeply relatable—so is a vainglorious pig. #Supershit. "Superman, would you like to see the footage of your parents? He finds it soothing."