In 1978, Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner convinced the world a man could fly, have the strength to break through walls and yet, with all that power, be kind-hearted and earnest.
That was the promise of “Superman” — a belief in goodness, hope and compassionate humanity, all found in an alien immigrant raised by two Kansas farmers.
And for the fourth time in as many decades, we have a new Superman on the big screen, this time brought to life by director James Gunn and set to hit theatres on Friday.
Superman, Gunn said in an interview with the Star, represents an “old-fashioned, innate goodness.”
Superman has deep connections to ɫɫ. Here’s how the city (and the Star) helped make the Man of Steel
ɫɫ was the birthplace of Superman creator Joe Shuster, whose time working as a newsboy at
There’s arguably a need now more than ever for the compassion and humanity that Superman embodies— a tone that’s often missing from modern comic-book movies. It’s a guiding light of optimism that shines through almost every Superman comic book you will ever pick up, and leaves you feeling like you want to go adopt a cat or volunteer at a food bank (... or work for a newspaper).
In the modern world, full of “a lot of meanness, a lot of chaos, a lot of turmoil in the middle of our culture, I think that people are really gravitating towards this movie and Superman,” Gunn said.
“It’s an oasis in the desert.”
Gunn’s “Superman” shows glimpses of that oasis, but never coherently mirrors what made the Superman films of the ‘70s and ‘80s so thrilling. The campiness is there, the earnestness too — but at times it all seems to land a bit short of where it could have been.
James Gunn attends a “Superman” promotional event on June 28 in Los Angeles.
Richard Shotwell/Invision/APStill, it’s a fine first outing for Gunn and his DC Studios co-head Peter Safran, who are attempting to launch a new DC Universe to rival the success of Marvel, at a time when audiencesappear to be feeling some superhero fatigue.
Superman movies— and superhero flicks generally— have shifted toward a grittier and more grounded tone since the advent of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, which also played out in Zack Snyder’s “Man of Steel” ().
Gunn and Safran are planning new films with other tentpole characters, like Batman and Wonder Woman.
And that’s all happening as other superhero films are floundering. Two of Marvel’s latest, “Captain America: Brave New World” and “Thunderbolts*,” haven’t reached the heights of earlier films, including some that crossed the billion-dollar mark.
The stakes are high, especially for Gunn, who previously made Marvel’s “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, and has already directed one DC film, “The Suicide Squad,” which, while well-reviewed, was a box-office disappointment.
Gunn, however, has downplayed the pressure.
“This is not the riskiest endeavor in the world,” he has said. “Is there something riding on it? Yeah, but it’s not as big as people make it out to be.”
Gunn’s “Superman” doesn’t have the faults that other takes on the character have had — neither the darkness of Snyder’s films, nor the stiff acting that plagued Bryan Singer’s “Superman Returns.”
There is no neck-snapping of the villain and no secret Superbaby in the third act, plot points that felt rote coming from other big-screen Superman takes.
Gunnseems to swing in the complete opposite direction.
At its best, his “Superman” is Saturday-morning-cartoon camp mixed with modern-day moral dilemmas facing a man who is always looking for the bright side.
It throws the audience into the middle of an already established universe — there is no Marvel-style Avengers buildup here. This is a fantastical world full of superheroes, including some who have been imprisoned or work for corporate overlords, a concept that is quickly flicked at.
Even if you’re feeling superhero fatigue (as I have been with Marvel’s latest films and TV series), “Superman” dazzles asa movie with heart.
The film also represents a significant departure for Gunn. Unlike the loveable, frustrating a—holes of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” films, his Superman is someone with an innate optimism.
“I’m used to writing about characters who seem like bad guys and who are kind of nasty, but they really have a good heart in the end,” Gunn said. “And that’s a very easy and effective story for me to tell, because I’ve told it again and again in all sorts of different ways.”
“And that isn’t Superman, so I don’t have that shield myself to put up. He’s not ironic.”
That earnestness can be found, not in the film’s bloody fights or exhilarating flying scenes but in the heated arguments between foes and lovers.
James Gunn confers with David Corenswet as Superman.
Jessica MiglioEarly in the film, after Clark Kent asSuperman (David Corenswet)too-eagerly agrees to an interview with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), their back-and-forth quipping quickly turns into a moral debate.
The conversation veers into Superman’s actions weeks earlier, when he stopped the invasion of a vaguely Middle Eastern country, Jarhanpur, by its more powerful neighbour, Boravia. He says he did it, simply, to save lives, but Lois questions the ethics of acting unilaterally and without government approval.
“Clark is impulsive, but he also believes in life at any cost, like there’s no reason ever not to save a human life,” Gunn said. “And Lois is more of a utilitarian. She sees it as being … you have to think things through, make sure you know what’s going on, and then make a decision.”
Margot Kidder, in those early Superman films opposite Reeve, is a formidable presence, but she often gets sidelined as a damsel in distress. Amy Adams, in Snyder’s more recent take on Lois Lane in “Man of Steel” and its sequels, gets a bit more play, but the relationship between her and Henry Cavill’s Clark Kent often comes across as stilted.
Lois and Clark’s relationship shines inGunn’s movie. It has the steaminess of an early romance and a playfulness when Lois deals with Clark’s dual identity. But it alsoplays up Lois’s abilities as a journalist — which is apparentwhen she’s questioning Clark and putting the Man of Steel on his backfoot.
The other key relationship that drives the movie is purely hate-based.
In the third act, Superman, face-to-face with the brilliantly bald Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor, delivers a speech that seems ripped straight out of the comic books, one that cements the Man of Steel’s humanity, for the audience and seemingly for himself.
Corenswet soarsas Superman. He’s an unabashed dork.He says “gosh,” “dude” and “what the heck.” He’s a man trying his best in a world that constantly seems predisposed to apathy, inaction and antagonism.
And Hoult is menacingly and devilishly good at egging on Corenswet’s Superman. He’s the ideal balance between coldly calculating evil genius and tech-bro troll. The hatred between the two foes radiates through the screen whenever they come face-to-face.
Other background characters — Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, Nathan Fillion’s Green Lanternand Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen — end up becoming footnotes ina storyjam-packed with twisting plotlines.
Another character that gets ample facetime (or snouttime) is Krypto, Superman’s superpowered dog, who plays a key role in the movie as a loveable thorn in Superman’s side.
At its red, yellow and blue core, Gunn’s “Superman” feels authentic, which is more than can be said for current superhero media, much of which tries to bendheroes like Superman into mass-murdering or alt-right-twisted versions of the character (a laPrime Video’s “The Boys”).
“I think that the more authentic the characters are, the more the movies have worked,” said Gunn about what he drew from his Marvel efforts going into this new cinematic universe.
“And I don’t always have to rely on certain types of humor or edginess as a crutch.”
“I think (“Superman”) is different from anything else out there,” he added. “And I think it’s apparent even in the trailers and the commercials, and people can see that it isn’t just another superhero movie. It’s something different than what we’re used to, at least recently.”
To join the conversation set a first and last name in your user profile.
Sign in or register for free to join the Conversation