Movie Review: Superman

 

Michael's Movie Grade: B+

An excellent superhero movie, despite a few flaws. 

What makes this movie work so well is that it truly captures just what makes superhero comic books so wonderful. The best superhero comics mix elements that are corny and silly with a real sense of heart and some serious themes in a way that seems effortless and natural. That is the kind of feel that this movie goes for, and it works quite well. Many of the story elements are quite over the top and silly. Yet while the film makes jokes, it never becomes one. That is because underneath its often-sillier story elements it has a real sense of heart and takes its themes seriously. This movie understands that one of the most important aspects of Superman as a character and of stories revolving around him is the belief in humanities capacity for good and that regardless of how cynical the times may be there is always a place for basic human kindness. This optimism and felt throughout the film and it truly contagious. It also understands despite being born an alien, Superman was raised as a human and understands the world and feels emotions just like them. While I did feel that Superman's intelligence could fluctuate at times depending on where the story was to go (unfortunately a flaw that finds its way into even the best Superhero movies), other than this movie understands the character and what has made him appeal to so many. David Corenswet is actually quite great in the role, despite having big shoes to fill. Another great asset of this film is that it has the best live action movie version of Lex Luther. Not only is Nicholas Hoult simply wonderful in this role (perfect casting in my opinion), but the writing truly understands the essence of this character. No offense to Gene Hackman but this is the first live action movie Lex Luther that actually feels like the iconic comic book villain, we all love to hate. Great visuals and exciting fight scenes don't hurt this movie either. 

This film is full of the signature James Gunn (who directed and wrote this movie) humor. However, it does not hit as consistently as it did in the Guardians of the Galaxy movies or The Suicide Squad  (2021). There were quite a few moments that made me laugh out loud. However, there were also quite a few that simply feel flat. I also felt that this movie suffered from an excess of characters. Because of this some of the characters ended up feeling quite underdeveloped, especially the Daily Planet staff and unfortunately Ma and Pa Kent. 

This movie may not be perfect but the parts that work are simply fantastic. Because of this I whole heartedly give this a full recommendation.