'Superman' reviewed: A story about the cost of heroism in a cynical world

I got a look at James Gunn's new Superman movie and saw a promising reboot for DC Comics movies centered on a story about a heroic immigrant.

I was lucky enough to see James Gunn’s new Superman movie last night, and I am happy to report it was a much better film than an early, leaked review might lead you to believe.

Still, it wasn’t a perfect film. Instead, it was probably the first big budget superhero movie I’ve seen that most felt like opening up a classic comic book from the heyday of the form. It takes place in a world where metahumans have existed for centuries and superheroes aren’t an unusual thing – though Superman is the most powerful of them all.

It is packed with characters comic book fans will recognize – the tech genius Mr. Terrific; the man who can change himself into different chemical compounds, Metamorpho; the jerky Green Lantern, Guy Gardner – all with distinctive personalities, bouncing off each other like combustible elements.

But throughout the movie, there is only one figure who is undoubtedly a hero: Superman.

Most stories about Superman have one huge issue. How do you challenge a character strong enough to move mountains and – in the case of Christopher Reeve’s version of the character from 1978 – turn back time?

Gunn solved that problem a few different ways: primarily by making him much less powerful and a bit younger. This is a thirtysomething Superman still discovering who he is and learning how he fits in with human society. He and Lois Lane are dating, but haven’t yet figured out that relationship, either. (brief shoutout here to the CW series Superman and Lois, which I always thought dealt with that relationship and the humanness of Superman better than any other film or TV show.)

As a hero, Gunn’s Superman is still naïve enough to believe that doing good work is enough to show the world that all he wants to do is serve humanity and save lives.

Here is where Gunn’s story most resonates with modern times. Nicholas Hoult is magnetic and cooly evil as Lex Luthor, a manipulative mogul who uses social media to turn the world against Superman. His primary leverage: A deep suspicion humanity has of this alien who has emigrated to Earth. Luthor utilizes online messaging and even a bromide-spewing talk show host to argue that Superman has a hidden agenda to dominate the globe and rule everyone — a fear heightened by the hero’s unilateral action to stop an authoritarian country from waging an unjust war to conquer a weaker neighbor.

Hmmm. Demonizing an immigrant? Projecting your fantasies of authoritarian conspiracies onto your opponents? Spreading misinformation through social media and compromised media platforms? Sowing chaos and then presenting a military force you control as the solution?

Does any of this sound familiar?

Luthor is using antipathy against the hero to fuel a massive business deal, but make no mistake – his primary motivation is an extreme envy and hatred for a figure who is beloved by the world for being everything he is not.

Of course, because we can’t have nice things in pop culture anymore, some conservative commentators have criticized the movie as being too “woke” because Gunn’s has spoken openly about how Superman/Kal-El/Clark Kent is an immigrant and his story reflects the issues many immigrants face in coming to countries like America.

I spoke about this bullshit “controversy” on NPR’s midday show Here and Now; noting that Superman’s story has always been an allegory for the immigrant experience. It is particularly sad that some people these days feel the need to demonize immigrants so completely, they cannot accept that one of the most important characters in American pop culture has centered the immigrant experience for many decades.

This is also how some conservative commentators groom their audiences. They want them to fear that liberals are trying to hijack or corrupt traditional institutions that they love, so that they reject creative work like books, TV show and films without even experiencing the material for themselves. It is telling that so many of these pundits delivered withering takedowns of a movie they had not seen, urging their followers to reject it without seeing it, either.

Because I hadn’t heard of David Corenswet when he was announced as the new Superman, I had doubts about the guy – a Julliard-trained actor I had seen in supporting roles on TV shows like Netflix’s Hollywood and HBO’s We Own This City. But he stakes out a grounded, yet hopeful take on the Man of Steel, presenting him as someone who cares about every life – most of the time – and works hard to mitigate the collateral damage wreaked by superheroic battles in the heart of Metropolis.

Still, this is a film from the guy who wrote and directed a Suicide Squad movie and the ultra-bloody Peacemaker streaming series. So there is a scene where one metahuman straight up murders someone. And there are so many buildings pushed over and bridges destroyed that it is impossible to think no one was seriously hurt or killed in the chaos. This was a primary criticism of Zack Snyder’s 2013 Superman film, Man of Steel; Snyder’s hero fought huge battles in heavily populated areas and didn’t seem to notice how many lives the carnage must have cost.

Gunn has created a bright, beautiful looking film, with effects that are both impressive and natural feeling. His action sequences are often grand and intricately staged – especially powerful when seen on an IMAX screen – and there are tons of little touches hearkening back to Reeve’s 1978 Superman film, including the look of the credits and bits of music.

What struck me most, however, was how unheroic many of the other metahumans in the story acted. There is a moment when Rachel Brosnahan’s plucky Lois Lane tries to convince other superpowered people to help her boyfriend, and they sit around like she’s asking them to give her a ride to the airport.

I give kudos, by the way, to Brosnahan for giving Lois a strong presence despite the typically limited role she can play in the superheroing. BUT I have serious demerits for the way journalism is depicted here. Both Lois and Superman’s alter ego Clark Kent, work as reporters for the Daily Planet newspaper and present “interviews” with Superman without disclosing their personal connections to the hero — and when editor Perry White suspects his star reporter might be dating the guy she’s writing about, he shrugs it off with a laugh. Arg. (at least, people still READ newspapers in this fictional world.)

Gunn makes it clear in this movie that there is one guy with superpowers who will always put himself on the front lines to save a life, regardless of the cost – and eventually, he inspires others to start thinking that way, too.

Was great to see Mr. Terrific get a few showcase scenes. (I’ve been a longtime fan of Mister Terrific; here’s a story I did almost 14 years ago about how the character was rebooted for DC’s New 52 series.) But the film’s breakneck pace doesn’t really give much time to explain who exactly these people are or why they do what they do. Hawkgirl, for example, gets zero explanation or backstory. And I would love to have seen a few more people of color in the mix, overall.

There’s lots more going on in this film that I won’t detail. But it is a promising and often gutsy start to rebooting DC Comics’ world of superheroes, which had been stuck in the turgid gloom of the Snyderverse for far too long. It presents characters who live in a modern world, but also evoke the old school spirit of classic comic book stories. I’m predicting it will fare better than Marvel’s Fantastic Four movie, which also tackles a historically tough to adapt story from the comic books, and may have an even tougher time connecting with audiences who aren’t longtime fans.

Best of all, James Gunn’s Superman revives the idea that persistent devotion to serving others with your strength leads to the best life, even when others with wealth, power and influence seek to prove otherwise.

Can’t think of a better message for a blockbuster film in this particular summer.