Film Review: Superman

Back in 2012, all the Marvel superheroes united together in Marvel’s Avengers, which forever changed the superhero genre. DC immediately attempted to jump on the hype train by releasing Man of Steel a year later. It was a very smart move to have Superman lead DC’s own cinematic universe. Things however didn’t go as planned and the universe came to an abrupt end a few years ago. Re-establishing the DC universe was never going to easy and there is a risk of confusing audiences, so the bar was already set pretty high when it comes to Superman - the first in a new cinematic universe with new takes on classic superheroes. With Guardians of the Galaxy filmmaker James Gunn in the director’s chair, there appears to be a recipe for success, but is it a success?

Superman very wisely opens with some information for viewers. This version of Superman lives alongside other metahumans, or people with powers if you’re unfamiliar with the term. Not only that, the world knows of his existence and the film starts with Superman at his weakest. What follows is a story which puts Superman in the midst of a political conflict, as well as going head to head with his arch enemy Lex Luthor.

David Corenswet plays Clark Kent, or Superman as we know him as. Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor and we get a myriad of other heroes in the film as well such as Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl and Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific. The film never feels too crowded, and that is in thanks to James Gunn and his masterful hand of juggling characters. Just watch the Guardians of the Galaxy films to further prove my point. One of the biggest heroes of the film though is Krypto, a superdog. Krypto is under the ownership of Superman during the film and he steals every scene he is in.

The biggest difference from this Superman to Henry Cavill’s version is that this one is more colourful, vibrant and the creatures and metahumans that he goes up against all feel like they’re pulled straight from the comic books. The spirit and essence of the comics is littered on the screen and it makes this film the brightest and boldest Superman yet. The action never slows down with each character having an important role to play. Sometimes that works against Superman’s favour. There are parts of the film where we don’t see much of Superman but his presence is felt. Not only that we actually see Superman saving the lives and protecting the public, with him being visibly seen as a hero in the eyes of the public.

There are some changes to the lore of the character, some of which I can’t discuss as it involves spoilers, but it is great to see the cast and filmmakers making risky moves with the character development. The film feels very contemporary and urgent with a lot of political elements mirroring the real world. Corenswet completely embodies Superman with grace and dignity, and he is also just as great as Clark Kent as well. The entire cast feel like their characters and the story comes together for a great finale, even if it does involve a myriad of visual effects. This is a Superman story though, and it is a great new chapter in DC’s brand new cinematic universe.

★★★★☆

4/5

Final Verdict:

Superman, a character who symbolises hope has returned hope to the big screen. The charisma and energy that Corenswet brings to the character is reflected off of the screen and into our seats. There are plenty of iconic moments in the film which involve Superman but a lot of the best parts don’t involve him as much wither, such as any scene with Krypto in it. Superman does an admirable job of making an entertaining film without too much connective tissue to future projects too. The man of steel has never looked so heroic on the big screen before and it is great to have a comic book movie that feels like it was ripped straight out of an actual comic book.

Thanks for reading today’s blog!

Alex Murray, the Head of Eyesight Productions