A New Hope?
Come the end of Marvel Cinematic Universe’s Spider-Man: Far From Home, a superhero feature that concluded the MCU’s grandiose Infinity Saga, there’s no denying that much discourse around the superhero genre has been centred around this idea of ‘superhero fatigue’; an inclination of tiredness that cinema-goers experience from viewing too many superhero films of similar ilk. Indeed, while the aforementioned genre saw its arguable golden-era rightfully eulogised by cinema-going masses, it’s equally fair to surmise that these comic-book adaptations stretched too thin and rather outstayed their welcome. From my own point of view, especially in the scope of the Marvel films anyway, the road-map after the events of Endgame was here-there-and-everywhere; with Marvel themselves venturing into televised series of spin-offs and comprising full-length features that didn’t really present a necessity to become fully invested in. Warner Bros. DCEU series of standalone features were similarly met with the same tone and rather underpinned this notion of ‘superhero fatigue’. Amongst the fray however came James Gunn’s The Suicide Squad which, fortuitously, landed the said-director the role in being not only the co-CEO of DC Studios, but also a film-maker that would begin a new DC Universe in the form of the latest Superman, a film that doesn’t sacrifice its titular character in service to franchise-building and focuses on celebrating the best values of a character by transcending passing trends and motifs…
Clark Kent (David Corenswet) is already an established Superman, juggling life as a reporter in Metropolis and protector of Earth. As he tries to stay true to his ideals of hope and compassion in an increasingly cynical world, Superman faces a major challenge from tech mogul Lex Luthor, who launches a campaign to discredit and destroy him. Alongside new heroes like Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Clark must navigate political pressure, moral gray areas, and public distrust—while staying grounded by his love for Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and his bond with Krypto, his loyal super-dog.
Admittedly from myself, I can’t help but disguise the fact that I was, along with many others, rather trepidatious in approaching Gunn’s new wave DCU and the Red-Blue Blur. As highlighted within the introduction, superhero films of recent times have arguably gone on a wayward path and it’s fair to say the angst towards Superman was somewhat justified considering how ardent Warner Bros previously tried to champion earlier iterations of the said character, most namely in Zach Snyder’s Man of Steel, that resulted it being too convoluted and ruinous. Nevertheless, as bravely and boldly as I ventured to see the new Man of Tomorrow on the silver-screen, much of the apprehensive expectations were quickly dispersed with the arrival of an overall cinematic package that, although can be perceived to be chaotic, lands with a buoyancy and coherency that was executed through bold filmic and narrative decisions. Unlike past endeavours of the caped-wonder which loved to delve into the iconography of our beloved protagonist, Gunn rather trusts its cinemagoers by presenting us with a Superman that has already been tried and tested and has established himself as one of Earth’s saviours. Indeed, there’s never really any moment where we’re presented with an awkward flash-back of said-hero’s past and how he became to be what he is. There’s a clear confidence from Gunn to its audiences that anyone with less or greater understanding can vie towards the material presented and understand the proceedings of the story that take place. While it’s clear that Superman’s narrative is filled with a meandering of different plot events, not only with the political intervention of Boravia and Jarunpur (which rather mirrors the global struggles between Ukraine and Russia today) but also with Lex and his compulsive mission to eradicate “an it”, there’s never a moment throughout the duration of the run-time where you feel engulfed by every-single plot piece that comprises Gunn’s latest super-heroic outing. Rather than becoming subsumed by all of the story’s moving parts, it’s thanks to the films pacing where plot-points feel coherent to the point where they all coalesce come near the end. Much of the same can be said about the overall mood and tone of the feature which presents us with a Superman that feels interconnected and relatable than those that have come and donned the Red and Blue from yesteryear. Compared to Snyder’s Man of Steel where the significance of that particular story never fills you with a sense of tension or travesty, Superman is plagued with situations where our beloved protagonist is certainly up-against-the-wall. Whether he’s being outmatched by one of Lex’s creations or harshly spotlighted in the gaze of the media, there’s an ample of amount of consequences that Superman has to overcome and it’s rather admirable to see a superhero feature where we get to see the main character overcome these brutal odds. In return, which rather fits with Superman’s overall motif and symbolism, we’re given a compendium that elicits hope and feel-good; something which the aforementioned character has always tried to represent. In a lot of ways, while many will hark back to Christopher Reeve’s Superman in relation to this films overall tone, for myself, I’m reminded how much Superman: The Animated Series influence there is throughout Gunn’s film; especially when we’re introduced to a plethora of other DC Comic heroes that leave their respective mark on the film. Like the depicted hero within the 90’s animated series, Gunn presents Superman who is flawed, makes mistakes, but always has the habit of trying to mend the wrong which is admirably and rightly shown in a live-action Superman film for the longest time.
Perhaps the most important lesson Gunn has learned from previous Superman movies is that casting an unknown in the role pays enormous dividends. It was the case with Christopher Reeve (still arguably the silver-screen’s best Superman) back in 1978 and it’s the case here too with David Corenswet, who nails both the Clark Kent and the Superman aspects perfectly. More specifically, he captures the joy of being Superman and the inherent goodness of the character, but he also gives him a slightly goofier aspect than we’ve seen before and it’s enormously endearing. As for the supporting cast, Brosnahan delivers what is comfortably the best screen iteration of Lois Lane as she generates palpable chemistry with Corenswet – as seen in a sequence where she interviews Superman (and doesn’t pull her punches, because she’s not just Superman’s girlfriend, she’s also a brilliant journalist) is one of several highlights. Similarly, Hoult makes a formidable Lex Luthor and there are entertaining turns from Fillion, Merced and Skyler Gizondo as Jimmy Olsen. However, the unexpected stand-out is Edi Gathegi, who comes close to stealing the entire movie as tech genius superhero Mr Terrific, a character who might be largely unfamiliar to audiences, or at least audiences who never watched the Arrowverse TV shows. At any rate, it’s a delightful performance, and his character gets a pleasing amount of screentime to boot. What’s promising about highlighting an enactment of a character that many wouldn’t have heard beforehand, and for Gathegi to make his respective character equally as compelling as Corenswet’s performance, is how promising it will be to see Gunn’s DC Universe flourish with characters that have never been given the spotlight in future projects. Indeed, with Gunn having a knack of presenting unfamiliar characters in charismatic ways, as seen with the likes of Guardians of the Galaxy, the characterisation of DC Universe’s future is seemingly bright.
In terms of the action, Gunn creates a satisfying variety of super-fights that showcase various superpowers without feeling too samey. He also finds different ways to make Superman actually vulnerable in several of the fights, which is something that was missing from the previous reboots. The film is further heightened with some delightfully colourful production design work (and lighting choices) that feels like the action has popped off the comic book page. With composers David Fleming and John Murphy, the Superman score is modernized while still paying homage to John Williams’ original score. You hear his influences throughout the movie, but the music still very much exists in the sensibility of these composers, pushing the action, the love and the chaos perfectly when needed. The themes in a Superman film are generally easy to pare down but are so well blended together that, like most great films, the music is very much the story.
“I think there is such a thing as superhero fatigue. I think it doesn’t have anything to do with superheroes. It has to do with the kind of stories that get to be told…” This is what James Gunn said in to Rolling Stone in 2023 in regards to ‘superhero fatigue’ and something which seriously links to his latest feature of Superman. In essence, the formula of a superhero film is structured in a way where the pattern itself is familiar to the point where audiences will know that it’ll have an introduction, a call to action, a dark moment or setback and a grandiose finale that leads to a seamless resolution. While Gunn’s Superman very much akins to this formulae, and how this is one of the reasons for the arise of ‘superhero fatigue’, the aforementioned feature makes sure to ascend these knowing trends with a curtesy that cinemagoers can be thrilled by. While naysayers will pinpoint its messy narrative due to an array of varying plot-points, Superman uses these said story moments in a buoyant fashion that hallmarks the effervescent lightheartedness associated with such a character and premise. By the end, as corny as this sounds, its a superhero feature that willingly provides hope and, in turn, makes Superman out to be one of the better ‘feel-good’ films there is. Superman doesn’t suffer from this proposed ‘fatigue’. It rises above it and cements this optimism that the next films that come along in the DC Universe will be just as earnest and thrilling as what Gunn has merrily proposed…
★ ★ ★ ★ ☆ – Alex Rabbitte