The Super Powered Fancast

Superman

Warner Brothers/ DC Studios

Written by James Gunn

Directed by James Gunn

Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Alan Tudyk, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Edi Gathegi, Sara Sampaio, Anthony Carrigan, Wendell Pierce, Mikaela Hoover, Beck Bennett, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince

Rated PG-13

When Superman is drawn into conflicts both abroad and at home, his actions to protect humankind are questioned, and his vulnerability allows tech billionaire and master deceiver Lex Luthor to leverage the opportunity to get Superman out of the way for good. Will the Daily Planet’s intrepid reporter Lois Lane, together with the aid of Metropolis’s other metahumans and Superman’s own four-legged companion, Krypto, be able to help Superman before Luthor can completely destroy him?

I’ve been a fan of James Gunn since the movie Slither and the mixture of action and humor he brings to his projects never fails to make me smile. So when I saw that he would be taking on the task of both writing and directing a Superman film, I had to take a step back and wonder if that sensibility would work with a character who can be a little milquetoast from a cinematic view. Admittedly, Superman is a tough nut to crack for a modern day audience that has grown cynical in its tastes and divisive in what it will accept from its heroes on the big screen and the best version of Superman eschews all that and gets down to who and what the character actually is.

One of the things that is established in the opening crawl of the movie is that this is a lived in world. Super powered beings and their conflicts have always been a part of life and diving into the why someone or something exists or the origins of a character are unnecessary and that is something I appreciated. This is a lived in world that I am viewing from the point of view of an audience member. The movie is not going to waste time explaining to me who someone is and where they come from. Instead, it will challenge me to investigate those things I enjoyed myself once the movie is over. It’s almost like the movie is encouraging me to read the comic books.

Sarcasm aside, Gunn brings the audience into this world and plops us right into the middle of the action. Superman has taken unilateral action against a military ally of the United States and while his actions have stopped a war, it has shined a spotlight on him that Lex Luthor will exploit for his own nefarious ends. The story doesn’t shy away from showcasing that there is a cost to doing the right thing and challenges the character and the viewer to think about whether just doing the right thing is enough. What I loved about the film is that challenge comes in the form of Lois Lane, who despite her personal relationship with Clark, challenges him the way a good reporter would.

There is a great subplot in the film where the employees of the Daily planet show what good journalism really is and how being good journalists with the tenacity to find out the truth despite the powerful people trying to bury it can be what the world needs. It was a great moment that showed that the people around Superman are not just victims waiting to be saved, but people of agency and purpose.

There is great chemistry between David Corenswet’s Clark/Superman and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane. They are fun to see on screen together and that chemistry comes through in subtle glances and head nods that signify that these two care for each other. It also comes through in a great scene that showcases Lois’ agency in the storyline as she sees all of him without fawning over him. The way she sees him is the perfect counter to Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor’s vision of the man of steel. In almost every iteration of the Superman story, Lex’s rancor towards Superman has always been a means to an end. This version is just pure, concentrated hatred and there is a vicious, remorseless edge to it that makes the performance truly memorable. Lex even gives a speech that perfectly encapsulates his feelings and I appreciated having a proper villain monologue again. Most superhero movies recently want you to empathize with the villain’s point of view or see how they are a victim of something or someone else. Lex’s hate is purely his own and he knows it.

With his being a lived in world, Gunn’s Superman has the advantage of introducing other DC Comics characters including a Green Lantern, Hawkgirl and Mr. Terrific as members of the Justice Gang. Their presence adds some interesting elements to the story and emphasizes that there are threats Superman cannot handle alone. Nathan Fillion is great as a brash, rude Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced is good as Hawkgirl, but could have used more screen time and Edi Gathegi steals the show as Mr. Terrific who gets an awesome James Gunn style fight scene complete with great needle drop.

The movie isn’t perfect. There is a disjointed feeling in tone at several points and Gunn leans a little heavy on the humor, but the film is a fun, exciting, inspirational and aspirational ride for fans of the character. It’s structured like a comic book and I appreciated that Gunn leans into that aspect both in the visuals, action and production design. Superman feels like a comic book come to life and the movie doesn’t shy away from that while still making it grounded emotionally. The stakes are palpable and the story takes a mature, measured response to answering some of the bigger questions raised about Superman and his purpose. The action is visually stunning and both the story and that iconic theme made me joyful in a way I wasn’t expecting.

James Gunn brings audiences into his world of Gods and Monsters with a Superman film that feels like Superman. It’s a movie ultimately about a man with the power to do good trying to do it in a world trying to tell him how and for who. Superman just wants to do the right thing and Corenswet delivers a speech in the final act of the film that encompasses everything Superman is and does so in such an earnest and heartfelt way that if it were delivered by anyone else, it would feel cheesy.

I really enjoyed this movie and what it says not only about Superman, but about humanity’s need for hope.