Whenever I’ve been asked the question, “if you were a superhero, what superpower would you want?” I never have an adequate response. There’s never just one that would satisfy me. My response has always been, “I want to be Superman.” He has almost all the powers with only one real weakness. He is the ultimate hero with the heart of gold and always does the right thing. Unfortunately, over the last several decades, the film industry has had difficulty putting that character on the silver screen. Some say it’s because he’s too good and people just don’t want to see that. Others may say he’s too powerful or just not an interesting enough character. But as a fan of this superhero, I’ve seen a number of animated shows and read enough comics that prove that filmmakers aren’t using the best stories. Even the television shows, Lois & Clark, Smallville, and the most recent Superman & Lois, have all found better storylines.
Buy Superman: The Complete Animated Series Blu-rayThe first two Christpher Reeves’ Superman films are the best versions of the film franchise up until this point. Superman Returns with Brandon Routh is a completely forgettable film, and Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel is dark and brooding along with a scene where Superman commits the ultimate sin. He intentionally kills someone. Under no circumstances does Superman kill. If he kills, he is no longer truly Superman, but instead he becomes a dime-a-dozen vigilante and loses that special element to his character that places him in the true echelon of superheroes.
But this film isn’t dark in tone or imagery and tries to capture the essence of what Superman was meant to be. It doesn’t rehash his origin story from the beginning but instead starts when he’s an adult and has been Superman (David Corenswet) for three years. Not only is he a bonafide hero in the eyes of the people, but he also has some very powerful enemies. One of those villains, the Hammer of Boravia, has just done something nobody else has ever done, and that is defeating the last son of Krypton in a fight. Bloodied, beaten, and barely conscious, he whistles for assistance. In response, Krypto, the super-powered canine from his home planet, arrives to drag him back to the Fortress of Solitude where an array of specially skilled robots nurse him back to health.
So why didn’t this formidable enemy just finish him off when he had him on the ropes? It’s part of a bigger plan by none other than his arch enemy Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) who wants not only to destroy Superman physically, but also destroy his reputation, obtain his alien technology, and torture him before he finishes him off. And the first step in that plan is to get the location of his fortress and break into it with the help of his own genetically modified henchman, Ultraman, and the Engineer (Maria Gabriela de Faria).
Using personal information about his family, his purpose on Earth, and an event where Superman unilaterally involves himself in stopping a war, Lex manages to turn the U.S. government and most of its citizens against the Man of Steel. Being the man of honor he is, he turns himself over to authorities only to be whisked away by Lex to an elaborate prison built within a pocket universe.
But never fear, even in his darkest times our hero is never alone. There are other super-powered individuals inside that may offer some additional opportunities. And his girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and sidekick Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) are on the outside trying to discover Lex’s true plan, while also rescuing Superman and restoring his good name. They even go so far as trying to convince the Justice Gang (possible precursor to the new Justice League?) to assist them in their endeavor. This new group is composed of Guy Gardner (Nathon Fillion), of the Green Lantern Corps, Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi).
While the film has a lot of characters, they each stand out in their own unique way. Lois is a strong character and Brosnahan’s performance feels like an homage to a young Margot Kidder without the raspy voice. Mr. Terrific and his T-Spheres steal some of the scenes with his attitude and ability to use his tech to defeat his enemies. Guy has the worst haircut in history, but his sarcasm and comical quips were just fun enough without going too far, which would have been easy to do especially with an actor like Fillion. With him, a little bit goes a long way.
But the most shocking character was Krypto. In some of the trailers, he looked horrible and the thought of a superdog seemed ridiculous. But instead of being some smart, amazing animal, he was just a dog. A dog that could fly and had super strength, but a dog who behaved and acted like a regular dog. And they treated him as such. That concept was brilliant and a lot of fun.
There was a lot of good stuff in the movie, but even while watching my favorite films of all time, I always find a little bit to nitpick that I would have liked better if done just a little differently. There were two things that didn’t work for me, but thankfully, they weren’t dealbreakers. The first was the second half of the message from Kal-El’s parents that Luthor discovered and used against him. That was a message that was difficult to hear and should have been something that had been faked. The second was Lex Luthor himself. He was a little bit too intense and at one point he had tears in his eyes, which felt a little too emotional for the character. Thankfully, neither one of those detracted too much from the overall story.
But in the end the real question is, “How does this new film stack up against its predecessors?” It’s fun, exciting and it has plenty of action. Right from the beginning, it separates itself from the most recent films. While it has humor and a much lighter feel, it is comparable to the films of the Christopher Reeves’ era but it’s not quite as good. For all of the positives of the new movie, it just doesn’t quite capture the charm of that first film and the essence of awe and wonder it encapsulated. The excellent transition from bumbling Clark Kent to the legendary hero in the original was perfection in acting and the astonishment of Lois Lane (Kidder) when she discovered they were flying are iconic moments in cinematic history that people talked about for weeks after its release.
Yes, this James Gunn version is good and worth seeing, but it falls a little short of the classic. It’s not due to anything the writer/director failed to do, but due to the fact that it’s nearly impossible to capture lightning in a bottle for a second time. It’s a great start to the new DC Universe that Gunn is now in charge of and I’m looking forward to future films that are under his control.
