Superman

My love for superman has been since high school and rising ever since, so I knew I’d love this movie. Theres a lot to say about the film-making, but I’ll prioritize how this movie fits culturally. James Gunn’s style embraces comic books more stylistically than any other director imo. The chaos and insanity of the world contrasted with the realism of the characters is why people have fond feelings of the universe and I’m glad it’s emphasized here rather than trying to be a perfect film. Superman as a character changes to fit the modern day. I do appreciate iterations of him that reflect the time period the creators were in, but growing up it did feel as though the supermen I watched on tv or in the movies was for a group of people older than me, more reserved and sometimes cynical.  David Corenswet portrays a Clark that is impulsive, naive, nervous, and insecure. He’s manipulated, tricked, beaten and tossed around. He doesn’t save everyone. What Gunn believes makes superman work then, is persistence to doing what he believes is kind. Kindness dominates this film. That alone points the film in the right direction, but Gunn doesn’t shy away from emphasizing it politically. It makes the message feel less sanitized, a trend in all his films imo. Lex Luthor stands Perfectly written and acted as an antithesis. He is the core of how people imagine  an evil superman. Someone with all forms of ultimate power in wealth, intelligence, strength (via ultraman) and uses it to distance himself from humanity. His disgust with Superman is tied to his shame at the idea of being lumped in with everyone else on the planet. His sense of self is in proving superiority.  In opposition, Superman choosing to do good is the crux of this movie’s conflict. Throughout the film he’s beaten half to death, imprisoned, seen as a monster, broken-hearted, and sent to earth to be a king. But none of that holds a grip on his choices and actions. He will try and fail, but chooses kindness each time. Gunn’s decided that’s who Superman is, and I can’t help but agree.