A Thinker in Space

Preface

It is no secret that I love DC. I grew up with Batman as the primary household hero, with Batman: The Animated Series and Justice League/Justice League Unlimited as the superhero shows that dominated our home. From a young age, I loved superheroes. I started getting into comics in high school with Kingdom Come and The Dark Knight Returns, both of which are still some of my favorites to this day. In college, I deeply expanded my comic book reading, but mostly stayed in the Batman territory, and consumed dozens of episodes of superhero shows. As an adult, I have taken a deep dive into DC comics and am collecting oversized editions of classic runs on a regular basis.

All of this to say that I love superheroes, and comics, and all of the emotion, action, zaniness, and fantastic writing that comes from some of the best issues out there. And among them, Superman began to rise in my list of favorite heroes, until he cleanly landed at #3 (right behind Batman and Martian Manhunter). Lex is also my second favorite comic book villain of all time, with Joker (when done well [see: Mark Hamill]) in the first place slot.

With all of this context, you might be able to see why I had decided to see Superman opening night quite some time before the release of the film. I was… less than impressed with the Snyderverse and everything that followed in the old DCU, to the point where I was simply apathetic to basically all ‘canon’ releases, and didn’t even see the latter ones. When it was announced that they were cleaning house and putting Gunn in charge, I was immediately interested. Gunn has a solid track record with superhero movies, with three fantastic Guardians films and a Suicide Squad movie that I really liked parts of.

Having someone who based on his track record loves the comics and writes good movies was exciting, but we’ve been burned so many times by reboots that I held onto hope for a while. But every time he talked about this film, I was nodding along with everything he said. So I began to get more and more excited, and began to trust in a Hollywood director for the first time in a long time.

And then the movie dropped.

I’ve watched it twice now, and thought for a while as to whether I would spend the time to review it – most of my writing is going towards personal projects right now. But this is always a great way to collect my thoughts, and I decided it was worth tackling on the blog.

Spoiler-Free Review

Do you love Superman? Do you love stories where good people try and make the right decisions when faced with difficult circumstances? Do you love excellent action sequences and fights? Do you love dialogue that is both beautifully written and also endearingly funny? Do you love villains who are so despicable you love to hate them, or heroes that are so shining with goodness that you can’t help but love them? Do you love cute dogs?

If you answered yes to any of these questions, this movie is for you.

Superman knocks it out of the park. Spoilers for my spoilery review – I have very few negative things to say about this movie. James Gunn sets us up his DCU excellently, with a story that hits solid emotional beats, a lived-in world that you can see is going to grow and develop, and side characters that pop just as much as the main characters.

It is a love letter to fans of comic books, and fans of Superman. And it is 100% worth watching.

Spoiler-Filled Review

I thought for a while about where to begin here. There’s so much to talk about, and so many things to love. But I think I’ll tackle the spoiler review by starting with where this movie pops the most, which is honestly the strength of all of the James Gunn movies I have watched: the characters.

Gunn creates a plot that is in service to these characters, with an immaculate cast that nails each performance. I’ll start, though, with the big three.

Superman

David Corenswet is Superman. I’ve seen the first Superman starring Christopher Reeve, and his performance is excellent. For generations, he has been the Superman for most filmgoers. Henry Cavill did not challenge the mantle (though I believe he could have – he is an incredibly talented actor that was placed in a dark, broody world that did not allow him to shine).

Reeve was a Superman for his time. He matched the comic hero that people had fallen in love with. His performance was excellent, and he was a hero. He nailed that role, and will always be heralded as one of the greatest Superman actors ever to wear the cape.

Corenswet is a Superman for a new audience, an actor that I believe shines just as brightly as Reeve for the first time on the big screen. For me, he is the Superman I have always wanted to see. This rendition of Superman takes the character and grounds him. What does Superman do when people are going to die? He saves them. He respects and loves life. All life, and all lives. This shines clearly throughout the movie, and influences every decision he makes. He is gentle, kind, loving, but still willing to do what is necessary to fight the hard fight of being a hero in a world that doesn’t always align with your ideals.

We don’t see much of this Clark Kent’s life, but we get just enough to see Corenswet nail Clark and Superman – showing he will be able to do both roles excellently. Which makes sense, because this version of Superman is not some god sent to save mankind, he’s just Clark in a costume fighting for those who cannot fight for themselves. Which emulates the best versions of Superman from comics throughout the character’s history.

His dialogue is excellent, with heartfelt, beautiful lines that might have been corny without Corenswet’s excellent performance. He plays off the other characters well, and you can see his ideals shine in everything he does. Superman only swears once in the film, using an h-e-double-hockey-sticks when he sees that Ultraman is a clone of him, which, you know, fair. He also quotes Lex’s monkey trolls (which was a hilarious gag, by the way) twice, which contains a swear, and Jimmy Olsen (this one was more unnecessary). Otherwise, he says “gosh” and “darn” and other assorted substitutes, which was such a nice touch. In the language zone, the fact that James Gunn did not use his PG-13 allotted f-words was awesome. That already shows me how much he understands the character. There wasn’t a single one in there (though there were a few middle fingers).

Normally I wouldn’t talk about the language this much, but it was so noticeable to me because it’s incredibly uncommon for a modern hero not to swear. Captain America was the exception, but as his character developed, he lost this piece.

Corenswet is easily my favorite adaptation of the character, and I am so excited to see him appear in other DCU content. This version of the character had everything that Man of Steel was missing. His speech to Lex at the end of the film is one of my favorite moments in the movie, and is one of my favorite Superman moments in fiction. He understands the character deeply, and that is what makes him such a strong version of the Man of Steel.

Lex

Let’s talk villains. The best superhero movies not only have great characters, they also have great villains. Sometimes to the point where the villain outshines the hero because their performances are so good (like The Dark Knight).

In what I have seen (I have been told Smallville’s version is pretty solid), we have never had a true Lex Luthor in live action. I might get flack for this, but this is true for the Joker as well. We’ve had excellent characters named Joker. But they were reimaginings that were excellent characters without truly being the Joker. If you want to see what I mean, take a look at Mark Hamil’s performances in Batman: The Animated Series and Arkham Asylum and City. That is the Joker. We’ve never had that character in live action.

Lex Luthor has had multiple appearances on the big and small screen through the years, but no one has landed that perfect mix of megalomaniac and justifiable hatred. No one has created a Luthor that has the complexity the character has boasted for years. Comic Lex wasn’t always this way. When Reeve’s movie was release, that was probably pretty darn close to the Lex Luthor of the time – he was just an evil dude who wanted to conquer the world. But Lex Luthor is much, much more complex than that nowadays, and the best adaptation we’ve had of him was Clancy Brown in Superman: The Animated Series along with Justice League and Justice League Unlimited.

Hoult, though? He was Lex. In all of his brutal, brilliant glory. He’s probably my second favorite Lex Luthor right now, as Clancy Brown still holds that #1 spot, but he is certainly the best live action version of the character we’ve ever seen. Hoult is believably brilliant, and uses the resources he has effectively to create villains that are difficult for Superman to deal with. I’m not a fan of Lex Luthor in his iconic suit – I think that’s a lazy version of the character. This is my favorite style of Lex. He doesn’t fight Superman directly, he thinks he’s above that. He creates problems big enough that Superman struggles to deal with them.

He also has layered motivations. Hoult’s whole spiel was admittedly a bit difficult to follow in his character climax, but his motivations shine through – Superman is an unchecked threat against humanity. It’s all well and good that Superman claims to be a ‘good person’, but Lex is right. If Superman were to turn, the world would not be able to stop him. He hates Superman for this, and because Superman trivializes human achievement. What is the point of all humans have accomplished if Superman exists? Superman has gained fame, notoriety, and is able to do incredible things. Has he worked for it? No. He isn’t even a human.

In classic Lex fashion, this motivation is coupled with a healthy dose of megalomania and brutality that the character is known for. Hoult gives a fantastic performance, and makes for an excellent foil to this version of Superman’s goodness and kindness.

Lois

The last of the big three, and as far as I know, the best Lois we’ve ever seen in live action. Just like Superman inches above Tim Daley for me, this version of Lois inches above her animated counterpart, just by a smidge. That might change, though. I’ve always liked Lois a lot, and seeing her here as an investigative journalist who isn’t a damsel in distress and instead saves Superman was awesome. She nails her role, and deals with her own personal struggles of dating Superman. I enjoyed that the things she needed to work through weren’t actually his superpowers or the fact that he is literally an alien, it was normal relationship stuff. I found that actually quite realistic for this character, and I thought that her working through that and trying to decide whether or not she was in love with Clark was endearing and hit all the right notes for the character.

That’s the big three covered. Now let’s talk about the rest of this banger of a cast. Because Gunn filled this with tons of excellent characters for the trio to play off of.

Hawkgirl

Let’s start with the one I normally care about the least. I have always liked Hawkgirl, but she has never been anywhere near the top of any of my lists. I really liked this version of the character, and felt that she did an excellent job of playing the role. The thing most interesting about her, though, was her big scene where she literally kills the leader of a foreign power.

Gunn gives Superman his usual no-kill rule, though Superman’s no-kill has always been just a tiny bit more flexible than Batman’s. In extreme situations, Superman might take a life. Batman will never do so (when written correctly). But Superman will always, always try and figure out every possible way to save his villains and monsters. That is showcased excellently in this film. In modern media, however, it feels like Batman’s no-kill rule has been generalized to most heroes, especially on the DC side, incorrectly. Wonder Woman, for instance, is often willing to kill. Hawkgirl is the same way. Seeing Hawkgirl portrayed exactly as she should have been portrayed was a highlight for me – and I loved that she (and Gunn, through her) acknowledged that in this film.

This also sets up interesting threads for later on in the overarching story that I am excited to see develop.

Guy Gardner

This film has so many highlights that it’s hard to say what my favorite part was. But I can say that every time Guy Gardner was on screen, I thoroughly enjoyed the scene. Fillion doesn’t miss, and he nailed Guy Gardner in this movie. If you don’t know this character from the comics, Guy Gardner is a frustrating, annoying, misogynist pig that provides the comics he is in with a bit of levity and irritation. The best part of classic Guy Gardner is how other characters play off him, but it is unlikely that he is at the top of many comic book character lists.

This version is more seasoned, and you can tell that he might have been like that in the past, but here he is actually thoroughly likable while keeping his obnoxious streak. He has so many great lines, and you can see that this version of the character is actually a hero, something that we don’t often see from Guy. Yes, he brings comic relief, but he also has one of the best ‘stand up and cheer’ scenes in the movie. I am so excited to see him in Lanterns – he knocked the ball out of the park in this film.

Mr. Terrific

The last of our currently-named Justice Gang, Mr. Terrific plays the role of tech-head, a role that has been played by Martian Manhunter and Cyborg in the past. He is a much less well-known hero relative to the rest of the cast (Guy Gardner probably is at the same level of obscurity, but the fact that he is a Green Lantern makes him a bit more mainstream). Terrific is a highlight of the film, with one of the best scenes in the movie dedicated to him (which also happens to be the most James Gunn part of Superman) where he uses his T-Spheres to take out a small army singlehandedly while 5 Years Time by Noah and the Whale played in the background. This is an absolute banger of a scene and is one of my favorites in the film. Getting more action scenes like this is one of the reasons I am so excited that Gunn is in charge of DC! Though it is probably a much smaller one than all the other reasons.

Terrific was hilarious, and played off the other heroes and characters fantastically. He was an unexpected favorite part for many viewers including myself, and I can’t wait to see him show up in more movies and shows!

The Rest

Alongside the big characters above, the accompanying cast was also excellent. This gives us one of the best adaptations of Jimmy Olsen, who is, amusingly, a womanizer who doesn’t realize he’s a womanizer and is a key part of the story. Perry White is Perry White, period. He nails that role. No notes. Ma and Pa Kent are just fantastic. I love both of them, and I was so relieved that Gunn didn’t do the Ma and/or Pa dies storyline. It’s unnecessary, and the best Superman stories are often when both of them are alive. Pa Kent has his redemption from his appearance in Man of Steel that was just so, so awful. I’m pretty sure he was literally the worst part of that entire franchise. They are key to Superman’s story here, and the lessons that Superman learns over the course of the story. Krypto, of course, is also a highlight – his manic behavior is hilarious and well-executed in the film.

Do You Have Anything Negative To Say About This Movie?

Not really, no. If I had to nitpick, The Engineer was pretty meh as a villain without much motivation besides “same, Lex”. Metropolis definitely wasn’t evacuated in time like the movie pretends. And, of course, we have to talk about the significant lore change – Superman’s biological parents.

We learn (and this has been verified in-universe and by Gunn after the movie’s release) that Superman’s parents sent Superman to Earth to conquer and to make lots of superbabies to help preserve the Kryptonian bloodline. Which is kind of awful. I’m sure there’s more to this than we see, but what we see is pretty messed up, and changes the entire perception of Krypton in this franchise. After two viewings, I have settled on feeling like this is a cool new and interesting direction for the universe, and it makes me even more excited for Supergirl.

Final Thoughts

I could go watch this movie again right now. Each time I left the theater, I could have done a u-turn and gone back INTO the theater to watch it again.

It hits every beat I wanted to hit, and checks every box for me. From comic book wackiness to heartfelt emotional messaging to action-packed sequences, I loved every moment of my time with Superman. I haven’t wanted to sit down and rewatch a movie this much in years. The themes of adoption, of chosen family, of unconditional love, of friendship, and of power all resonate, and are relevant to today’s audiences, and it is refreshing to see a hero just be a good guy. A shining example of goodness and kindness and a symbol of protection for the weak.

For me, this movie is a 10/10. It might not be perfect in every respect, but it is absolutely one of my favorite movies of all time, and I will be rewatching it over and over again for years to come.