The pros and cons of writer/director James (Guardians of the Galaxy) Gunn's Superman have been beaten into the ground even before the movie's first shots were revealed. Details of its plot, which were at first vague, came to reveal far too much, but basically depicts Lex Luthor's attempts to besmirch Superman beyond redemption (and then imprison him in a knockoff Phantom Zone). On this basis, I don't feel obliged to rehash the evident causes and effects to it all and will opt instead to discuss the setup's grooves.
But first, the cast, which includes the amiable David (Pearl/Twisters) Corenswet as Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent and (in a neat, Superman III/IV nod) his Bizarro/Ulysses-ish knockoff, Ultraman/The Hammer of Boravia; sassy Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane; the erudite and formidable Nicholas (X-Men/Fury Road/Renfield) Hoult as Luthor; the wry Nathan (Green Lantern: Emerald Knights/The Death of Superman) Fillion as Guy Gardner, the Green Lantern; the affable Edi (X-Men/Twilight) Gathegi as Michael Holt, Mr. Terrific; the nuanced Anthony (Gotham) Carrigan as Rex Mason, Metamorpho/Element Man; the effervescent Isabela (Alien: Romulus/Madame Web) Merced as Hawkgirl; the giddy Millie Alcock as Kara Zor-El, Supergirl; the bushy-tailed Skylar Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen; the winsome Wendall Pierce as Perry White; the personable Pruitt Vince as Jonathan Kent; the matronly Neva Howell as Martha Kent; the sprightly Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant; the sensuous Sara Samapio as Eve Teschmacher; the stalwart Terence Rosemore as Otis; the gutsy Frank (Werewolves/Tulsa King) Grillo as Rick Flag, Sr.; the brawny John Cena as Christopher Smith, the Peacemaker; the fetching Maria Gabriella de Faria as Angela Spica, the Engineer; the dashing Bradley Cooper as Jor-El, the elegant Angela Sarafyan as Lara; and Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker and Pom Klementieff as Superman's top bots.
As far as performer prestige goes, this may be the most prolific line-up of any Superman adaptation, and that's saying a ton, considering the superstar power of the Christopher Reeve franchise or for that matter, Brandon Routh's Superman Returns and those welcomed guests of John Newton/Gerard Christopher's Superboy, Dean Cain/Teri Hatcher's Lois & Clark and Tom Welling's Smallville.
Okay, so the cast is impressive (if not spot-on), but what of the heart and soul (the essential framework) of this incarnation? To reply, I need to back up and tap why yet another, big-budget, Superman was made when it seems only yesterday that Henry Cavill flew onto the scene. Like, what's the motivation?
Gunn's Superman purports that there's not enough kindness in the world, that one side should reciprocate with the other to drive home civil discussions, so that we may all get along. I've heard this position before, but from advocates who imply that the two sides should only come together if one acknowledges the other is right. (To rephrase, kindness to some is a one-way street.) And so, I've worried that Superman might strike that grave chord, enacting the reprehensible, unkind, out-of-touch contradictions I've faced in way too many dumbass, social settings within the past few years.
So, does Superman take the low road? Hmmm, maybe. As with Captain America: Brave New World, I couldn't help but be saturated by the inexhaustible, pre-publicity banter, and therefore, may have detected moments that I'd have otherwise not dissected (moments that may not even be there, but were felt all the same). That includes the notion that in the modern, progressive age, the criminals only commit crimes because the virtuous are way too virtuous. In other words, the bad guys (especially those who come from abroad) deserve to be treated with kindness and respect, and those individuals who express contempt for their bad behavior (i.e. their victims) are intolerant fools. (For better or worse, Lois' metaphoric interrogation of Clark reinforces this notion, without such ever being said). Anyhow, it's this sort of oblique finagling that muddied my view of Cap IV, and I'm afraid that the same propagandist advocacy has also spoiled this particular Superman for me. (I know, I shouldn't have listened to all the baggage before seeing the movie, but heck, I did so. It's my own damn fault.)
But does the movie deliver when it comes to its basic zest and razzmatazz? Yeah, I'd say so. It presents a sturdy, live-action, comic-book come to life, with many intersecting characters, which in turn resembles a chockful of Superman-vs-Luthor, printed stories that spanned the 1970s through the 1980s. (John Murphy and David Fleming's energetic score quickens the spress, and that John Williams' cues are interspersed makes it all the better.)
In addition, Superman's effects are perfectamundo (the kaiju segment is a crowning achievement), and Krypto, a CGI'd rendering, inspired by Gunn's dog, Ozu, leads the charge, with enough anthropomorphistic traits to have fit into a Guardians adventure. For all those stuff-shirts who maintain that a super canine has no place in a Superman movie (whether of flesh and bone or realistic computerization), you're wrong, big-time wrong, and if you still hold your stance after seeing Krypto in action, you're nothin' but a spiteful, dog hater, pure and simple, and that's something no Superman fan should ever be.
I guess that means I like Superman more than not, perhaps because of the CGI dog. (Thanks, Krypto.) Then again, the movie on the whole might strike me as better upon repeated viewings after my prejudicial suspicions have deflated, though again, any increased favoritism would probably still stem from the mutt.
Right now, whether it strikes one as good, bad or in-between, Superman's mission is to collect box-office receipts, even as some may proclaim, "Sure, it's okay, but it's no Superman: The Movie," but no Superman flick has ever had the groundbreaking impact of that one, though Superman II (in any of of its incarnations) does come mighty close. Gunn's vision is what it is, with or without the shoehorned messaging: another in an ongoing line that presents an icon who presides over an ever-changing America. View it from that perch, and (maybe, just maybe) you, too, may find something to like.
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