Look up in the sky! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s… the 12th major theatrical Superman film to be released. Luckily for us, it doesn’t retell the origin story again with the new casting. Instead, it begins three years after Superman reveals his existence to the world, and Clark Kent (David Corenswet) starts working for Perry White (Wendell Pierce) at the Daily Planet in Metropolis.
I won’t give away any spoilers here, so let’s keep it vague. Superman, who is dating Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) at this stage of the story and is continuing his news reporter day job as Clark Kent at the Daily Planet, is at a crossroads. As the embodiment of truth and justice, he has made an unknown enemy of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult)—a brilliant billionaire. Lex hates Superman and is determined to use his intellect and vast financial resources to bring him down, including turning public sentiment against him. Superman is helped by his team at the newspaper, especially Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Lois Lane, and the Justice Gang, which includes Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Together, they must defeat Lex before he destroys Metropolis and most of the world to defeat Superman.
Writer and director James Gunn, of Guardians of the Galaxy franchise fame, had an absolute stroke of genius by starting this franchise three years later in the storyline. He even included Krypto the Superdog into the story. What? A dog with a little red cape? Yes, and it works. The way they set this up is such that there is a rich backstory of other superheroes in this film, which makes the potential for future films exciting.
Additionally, the director’s decision regarding the score for this film was pivotal to its emotional success. It was composed by both John Murphy and David Fleming by deconstructing and reimaging the iconic score by John Williams for the 1978 film Superman, starring Christopher Reeve, effectively anchoring this film to the magic of the original Superman.
My biggest takeaway from this film, as I watched it with a packed house, was the sense of excitement you feel when you walk out of the theater after the end of the credits, so that you can enjoy the Coda. This new Superman has a touch of that same magic that made the original Superman so special. I watched as the audience all became little kids again and got swept away in the magic that happens when you can still believe in a kind-hearted superhero who only ever wanted to help the people of Earth. James Gunn has given us a superhero in this new film that we can cheer for and get excited about.
I give Superman 5 stars. It’s the first time I have ever given a superhero film five stars. That’s because it’s one of the best films I’ve seen in quite a while. DC Studios should be proud of this fantastic version of Superman. Will it win any awards? Probably not. These kinds of films rarely do, but what it will do is start a whole new generation of Superman fans who will want to see more of this man in the bright red cape.
Directed by: James Gunn
Written by: James Gunn, Jerry Siegel, Joel Schuster
Rated: PG-13
Selig Rating: 5 Stars
Running Time: 2 hrs 9 min
Superhero/ Sci-Fi/ Adventure
Wide Release: In theaters and IMAX July 11th
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Edi Gathegi, Skyler Gisondo
The Selig Rating Scale:
5 Stars – Excellent movie, well worth the price.
4 Stars – Good movie
3 Stars – OK movie
2 Stars – No need to rush. Save it for a rainy day.
1 Star – Good that I saw it on the big screen but wish I hadn’t paid for it.