Superman
It has been three years since Superman came out to a world already prepared for the existence of metahumans who first emerged three centuries previously, but he was different, more powerful than any before and crucially not born on Earth, a refugee from the dying world of Krypton who three decades before had landed as a baby and been raised by a family who had no children of their own, their identities and location kept secret to preserve their quiet anonymity and to allow Superman to go unnoticed in his daily life.
A reporter for the Daily Planet, Clark Kent has a habit of landing exclusive interviews with Superman, a boost for circulation of the paper and his own career, always guaranteed the front page, but popular opinion is turning, an intervention to prevent the invasion of poor Jarhanpur by its industrial neighbour Boravia, crucially an ally of the United States, having been undertaken without sanction of the government, triggering a confrontation in Metropolis between Superman and an armoured war machine, the “Hammer of Boravia.”
The collateral damage to the city significant and Superman himself badly hurt, the first battle he has ever lost, he has retreated to the Fortress of Solitude to recover but the damage to his reputation is more significant, even his confidante Lois Lane questioning his reasoning behind his actions and whether he has overstepped the poorly defined boundaries of his authority, acting contrary to the best interests of the nation where he has made his home.
Superman the iconic superhero who has appeared in cinema in the forms of Kirk Alyn, Christopher Reeve, Brandon Routh, Henry Cavill and many others on the small screen from the fifties onward, David Corenswet soars onto the screen fully formed, writer and director James Gunn correctly moving forward with the assumption that after over eight decades the character needs no introduction, well established in both the minds of the audience and the world he inhabits.
Handsome, charming and heroic, Corenswet is also the most grounded and human Kal-El has ever been, down to Earth in his manner of speaking and being, sometimes struggling to express himself rather than making the lofty pronouncements of a god who walks amongst men, knowing what is right even if he cannot find the words, possibly disappointed in himself but never using it as an excuse to wallow or doubt, weathering the harsh storms as he flies forwards.
Simply titled Superman, that definitive title is a misnomer, for never before has he played such a part in an ensemble, not only the familiar staff of the Daily Planet, Rachel Brosnahan, Skyler Gisondo and Wendell Pierce as Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White but also his superpowered allies, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi and Isabela Merced as Green Lantern, Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl, along with a team of attendant androids and Krypto, the enthusiastic and devoted superdog who plays more than a supporting role.
The most overtly and comfortably comic book adaptation of the character there has been, despite opening on solid ground as would be expected of the man behind the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy as well as The Suicide Squad there are cosmic aspects with dimensional portals and a pocket universe powered by a black hole acting as a gulag for those whose attitudes are deemed contrary to the common good as perceived by Lex Luthor whose henchmen are pure pulp supervillains while much of the plotting recalls the diabolical landgrab of Reeve’s 1978 debut.
Nicholas Hoult presenting the billionaire tech mastermind as a puppetmaster of ego and temper who is convinced the end he seeks justifies any action he takes to get there and cannot abide the thought of an upstart newcomer alien being more popular than him, he is a small man whose big pockets cannot buy happiness, his girlfriend Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) fully aware of the monster he is but too afraid to leave, presenting herself as an airheaded accoutrement to keep herself safe.
The populations of Metropolis and Jarhanpur pieces on a board Luthor can move, discard or eliminate entirely as suits his goals and fluctuating moods, creating false narratives to be carried by the media, his endgame profit and the furtherance of the Cult of Lex, the people on the downside are those who know Superman for who he is, a man whose world was destroyed who has instead made a home in the clouds, on the ice and on the streets, finding friends through kindness and refusing to stand by when he sees wrong, always looking to do better for himself and others.
Cinematographer Henry Braham placing the dynamic action in the skies and John Murphy and David Fleming’s soundtrack taking the fanfare and themes of John Williams’ score, Superman is a film which reminds why superhero films have remained popular through ups and downs of box office favour, entertaining throughout, not overlong, inspiring and above all colourful fun, unashamed of its origin and aware of its audience, perhaps shaggy at the edges and with familiar tricks but as energetic and endearing as a puppy.
Superman is currently on general release and also screening in IMAX
