'Superman' review: James Gunn's reboot is in the fast lane

Warner Bros. Pictures

While there's life, there is hope. And while there are superhero franchises in need of a restart and box office glory, there is Superman, writer-director James Gunn's new take on the hero based on characters from DC and the first film in DC Universe (DCU). Fear not; origin stories are out and a somewhat experienced Clark Kent/Superman (David Corenswet) is in when we meet him.

Superman tastes the bitter taste of defeat against an antagonist after stopping a country called Boravia when it comes to their plans to attack Jarhanpur. He's also being tracked by evil billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and his posse who are looking to defame Superman in order to get the public on their side. Naturally, Clark must find out what Lex's objective for all this is while keeping an eye on peace on Earth. Clark's own posse includes superpowered dog Krypto, girlfriend and fellow Daily Planet reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), their colleague Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) as well as the superhero trio called "Justice Gang", which includes Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Michael Holt/Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).

Good news is always a nice way to begin so let's just mention that Superman marks a solid start for the franchise and much of that comes down to finding a nice blend of sweet and spicy that's been missing from comic book adaptations and blockbuster filmmaking in general recently. Recognising that the audiences are already familiar with the main character and his ambitions, letting him be vulnerable—both in fighting metahumans and also emotionally—and embracing kindness as a superpower work wonders here. All of these elements together help to keep the tone light yet sincere throughout and that is nothing if not infectious, and there's no time wasted since Clark already has a few years under his yellow belt as a hero.

Another vital ingredient of this hit recipe is the casting choices (by casting director John Papsidera). There are no big names thrown in out of desperation and instead Corenswet feels right at home inside and outside his suit, familiar faces like Brosnahan and Hoult are great sparring partners for our lead, and there's a healthy mix of character actors and, most importantly, fresh faces changing the energy within a scene when necessary. Something is clearly in the air in addition to love since Clark and Lois do feel like a real new couple encountering their first speed bumps, although some of the friction seems rushed and a bit underdeveloped. This coupled with a sweet family dynamic earns stakes for Clark whenever he puts Superman's body on the line.

This generally enjoyable aura radiating off the screen, solid performances, distinct characters, a few fun needle drops and stylistic choices that actually reflect the director's body of work create enough distance between the film and its own kryptonite. Maybe it's partly due to low expectations for films like these nowadays but it does feel refreshing that Gunn's screenplay has actual firepower. Sure, the evil billionaire using technology to shape public opinion whilst leading with hateful language and anti-immigrant sentiments are easy pickings, but the storyline featuring Boravia's military machine approaching civilians of Jarhanpur reflects Israel's genocidal campaign against Palestine (as well as Russia's genocidal campaign against Ukraine to an extent) in our world in a way that makes your heart hurt if you're a thinking human and therefore willing to embrace the film's kindness and compassion.

What the aforementioned kryptonite represents is the numbing busyness that is present in the second half of the film and the final act in particular. Things get much less interesting when characters enter alternate dimensions and we're left with computer-generated world-building (overseen by VFX supervisor Stephane Ceretti) and second-tier villains. The action choreography with digital mayhem is adequately produced and you're still able to follow it, but you do lose the intimacy, nuance and human emotion in the process, and at least yours truly checked out completely once or twice because of it and I definitely won't be alone on that island.

It's a slight bummer that you say farewell to this story when it's hitting its lowest note so you can't help but feel like some of the side characters and subplots should've been dropped entirely. The movie's pacing could've benefitted from that decision as well since the two-hour runtime isn't quite able to carry the weight from all those different threads and distractions along the way.

While the movie itself doesn't reach the heights that a hero like Superman tends to reach when he's flying, it is still a successful reboot and a promising blastoff at the end of the day. You get a lively adventure for the most part, and the film isn't afraid to wear its heart on its sleeve or act as a mirror to modern-day society. Caring about the people in movies or in real life never gets tiresome. Plus, it's nice to be reminded about empathy and decency from time to time, especially on the silver screen.

Smileys: Casting, tone

Frowneys: Story

Maxwell Lord cameos in mysterious ways.

3.5/5

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