'Superman' is a Blast of Red and Blue Energy title_ext

Just when you thought superhero movies were done for, along comes James Gunn’s Superman. It’s the best superhero movie in years.

A reboot that shifts DC Comics away from the Snyderverse once and for all, Superman is an action-packed, funny, and highly entertaining blast of blue-and-red energy.

And this coming from a guy who loves Man of Steel.

David Corenswet dons the cape and is convincingly the Son of Krypton. Corenswet looks the part and more importantly plays the part, which Gunn (Guardians of the Galaxy), who wrote and directed this pivotal film for the new DC Universe, has written both in response to criticism that Zack Snyder’s iteration was overly dark and brooding–and to set the tone for many years ahead. Corenswet is his own Superman, a powerful but flawed individual who is utterly optimistic but doesn’t take well to criticism either.

With every Superman there has to be a Lois Lane, and Rachel Brosnahan is wonderfully cast. Just as importantly, she and Corenswet have great chemistry; Gunn’s screenplay and the two actors give us a pairing that are simultaneously at odds and flirtatious, determined yet caring.

Gunn’s script is a juicy one–it finds the perfect balance of seriousness and levity. The movie isn’t a DC version of Guardians of the Galaxy (you can watch Gunn’s underrated The Suicide Squad for that), but Gunn injects plenty of oddball humor, banter, and weird characters that will have you chuckling throughout–even as he pits Superman against serious threats posed by Lex Luthor (played superbly by Nicholas Hoult). More importantly, Gunn has created a comic book world that you want to stay in long after the credits end–a good move, given he’s in charge of launching a new DC Universe in a film climate that is much less patient with superhero flicks. But truly, the Metropolis we see here is semi-grounded but full of metahumans (i.e. Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl, and Mr. Terrific, among others) and strange creatures–so many that Superman sometimes leaves the battles to others. 

As an action movie, this new Superman is a lot of fun, too. While the action isn’t markedly unique, it nonetheless stands apart from what we’ve seen in other Marvel and DC movies in terms of tone, cinematography, and creativity. Even though the world is at risk of being sucked into a limitless vortex of nothing, the story, in the scheme of comic books, is relatively and refreshingly low stakes.

My biggest worry about the movie going in–the presence of Krypto the Dog–actually turned out to be a highlight. Proof to never underestimate James Gunn, but let’s just say that Krypto is a bad, bad dog.

It’s hard to find much negative to say about Superman. After the previous DC universe crumbled and Marvel has stumbled, it’s been easy to dismiss superhero movies as being past their prime. They may well be. But for at least one movie, Superman reminds us that there is good in the world.

Review by Erik Samdahl.

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