James Gunn’s Superman [Launch]

Here it is. The culmination of my work on this website. The movie I've been waiting for since its announcement in January of ‘23, when all we had was a working title, a screenwriter, a reference picture from a comic, and a dream. I've devoured every trailer, every set photo, every interview, and every piece of news over the course of two and a half years. I've been literally counting down the days on my whiteboard until release day. James Gunn’s Superman is my most anticipated film release of my lifetime.

It wasn't just because it was a fresh start for DC after a cascading, and now defunct, interconnected universe. It wasn't just because it was from a trusted director. It wasn't even because I wanted casuals to believe in again, and start loving again, and start dressing up as for Halloween, what I see as the world's greatest, but unfortunately poorly interpreted, superhero. It was because the hopeful, earnest and optimistic nature of the character was what we really need right now in an age of division and severed human connectivity. I was hoping that Superman's hope and kindness and advocacy for helping one another could unite us all, especially those of us who forgot how to love. 

Wishful thinking, I know, but Gunn’s Superman, in more than a couple words, is joyful, silly, cartoonish, whimsical, cheerful, campy, hopeful and above all else sincere. It's a comic book movie through and through, wearing its influences and unapologetic tone on its sleeve. One of the most comic accurate films I've ever seen, the film showcases a profound and deep love and admiration of everything Superman from all of the cast and crew with style. This is their love letter to the last son of Krypton.

The first thing of note, and one of my favorite things about this film, is that it is absolutely and unabashedly a James Gunn film. From the deep cut song choices to the castings to the colorful, trippy visuals to the humor style and more, Superman is a deeply personal movie to him. I don't love the concept of an auteur film (meaning, the director of the film is the author) since it obviously takes a village to make a movie, but Gunn pushes the concept of a personal, untampered-with sole creative vision to its absolute breaking point, cementing the idea that people make movies, not studios or corporations. It's so Gunn that it's impossible for me to see otherwise. 

While the emotional core of this movie is the dynamic between Clark and Lois, which is absolutely phenomenal, every character in this movie and the lore accurate way they’re portrayed is perfect. Superman’s suit is an amalgamation of half a dozen of his past looks, complete with the iconic and essential red trunks (I can do a whole paper on how important they are) and it looks amazing; he says things like “what the hey,” “golly”, and “good gosh”, cementing his delightful Silver Age campy direction, and his goals of prioritizing saving lives instead of fighting (seemingly the bare minimum) makes its triumphant return in this movie after being notably absent for a while. Lois is headstrong, determined and smart, Guy is an arrogant, stuck-up jerk, and Mr Terrific is becoming a new favorite of mine- he’s great and surprisingly funny. Everything was exactly on point. I also loved Superman’s decision to turn his back on Jor-El’s legacy and make his own choices, and the ending scene of him choosing to watch footage of his found family instead is heartwarming and beautiful. 

Speaking of Lois and Clark, my favorite scene in this movie is the staggering 12 minute long, but still intriguing and brisk-feeling, interview scene in the apartment. Well-written arguments are some of my favorite forms of dialogue, especially when the two parties are evenly matched, and this tense sequence of nothing but words breezily raises emotional stakes and showcases character without disrupting the experience. If anything, I think this interview is the core of the movie’s conflict. David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult, the three pillar performances, were all outstanding, and I can’t wait to see each and every one of them in further projects. They embodied their characters perfectly with emotion and style.

As for how the film looks, there is a distinct line in quality between its visuals and its visual style. The style itself is great- it’s bright and colorful, the Fortress’ design is extremely cool, and the costume designs and sets are cartoony and charming while still high quality (the Daily Planet building itself was the coolest we’ve ever seen, it even has the globe on top!). However, and this is mostly in relation to the flying sequences, I felt the fidelity of the visual effects themselves weren’t up to snuff. Superman looks stretched and odd when he flies up close, Krypto is a very noticeable and disconnected special effect, and overall there is a tad too much wonky CGI for my liking. From my research, the cinematographer used a new lens that's focus was on stability and fluidity during movement close ups, which led to peripheral warping that’s apparently supposed to emphasize the surreal and fantastical nature of a comic book and make everyone look cartoony. But plenty of other films have done that without making the CGI look rubbery and off, leaving Superman with a terrific style and design direction but subpar visuals to go with it.

There are a couple annoying cliches, such as a tried-and-true “garage door opening slowly” joke, and the comic book genre’s overused bread and butter, a superhero fighting a mirror version of himself with the same powers (the Man of Steel himself alone has already churned through that one on celluloid), but my biggest problem with this movie is something others seem to enjoy- its score. I truly believe that if this film was supposed to be a huge, important reboot and kickstart this universe, this iteration of Superman should have had his own leitmotif instead of reusing Williams’ iconic score for Reeve. A bombastic, new catchy score was one of my biggest hopes for this movie, and unfortunately a 45 year old track does the film’s audial heavy lifting. It seems like a minor gripe, but think about it- in ten years when they do the Justice League movie, how are they going to announce David’s Superman’s arrival? What score will they play when he gets them out of a tough moment at the last second? I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I almost got sick of John Williams’ masterpiece due to how much they played it.

James Gunn’s Superman wasn’t exactly the film I expected, but I loved it anyway. It takes a bold new stance on the superhero genre by emphasizing its comic book roots and the optimistic kindness and heart that comes with it. It’s a whimsical, bright, colorful and infectiously heartwarming emotional conquest that not only revitalizes a struggling genre, but brings its fans closer together. I couldn’t be happier with this punk rock powerhouse of a final product. 

I’m a punk rocker, by the way. And I think I always will be.