Spoiler Review: 'Superman'

To kick things off, let me remind you that we are soaring straight into spoiler territory here. If you're yet to see this new take on the Man of Tomorrow, turn away now and return after viewing.

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Seriously, major spoilers ahead.

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Okay, if you've made it this far, then you've presumably seen James Gunn's Superman and you know as well as I that there is a lot to unpack in this rebirth of the DCU.

Ultimately, before we dive deeper, it's got to be said that this is a strong opening for this new era of DC cinematic outings. Gunn has created a real comic book movie and there's a lot of positives to shout about. But of course, there's still a few bits to question and not be on board with if you ask me.

Superman picks up three years after Clark Kent unveiled himself to the world in his red and blue suit, and he has since been a shining example of justice and heroism. Unfortunately, he's had Lex Luthor plotting to take him down where possible ever since, and his recent blossoming relationship with Lois Lane isn't exactly where he would want it to be.

It is then with Luthor gaining access to Kal-El's Fortress of Solitude that he is able to uncover a message from the hero's deceased biological parents and have the world think of him as an alien plotting their demise. From there, the movie is a story of the Man of Steel questioning his future, his connection with mankind and where he stands in the world.

Now, we've got to talk about David Corenswet's take on the lead. I am actually queing in a full analysis of the actor and James Gunn's take on Superman but we'll just go with the cliffnotes for now. It's pretty much written in the stars that this guy was made for the role of Superman. He's got the look. He was a fan-cast favourite years beforehand (me being one of the hopefuls for it to come true if truth be told). He definitely carries a similar charm that we got from Christopher Reeve's iteration.

The base layer is there, but the addition of a modern spin and his smudges of whininess and pouty-ness (especially during that interview scene with Rachel Bosnahan's Lois Lane) just don't ring true. Don't get me wrong, the whole sequence of the hero taking on the Kaiju? Pitch perfect Superman from start to finish. But even the scene where Supes turns himself in and he's basically questioning his treatment from the government doesn't seem true to the character. Where's the stiff upper lip that the character should have? In all honesty, Henry Cavill carried that perfectly.

The defensiveness Clark shows could just be Gunn showing less of the public all-smiles Superman, less of the dorky reporter, and more of the man behind closed doors, but it just doesn't land well, especially when this take has been marketed as resembling Reeves' take on the character. speaking of the dorky reporter Clark Kent, did you enjoy that? Well, not possible, seeings as he only had one scene in the movie. Upsetting.

Swiftly moving onto the rest of the cast, you've got to love Rachel Brosnahan in this movie. She shines as a strong-willed, taking-no-BS Lois Lane. With all due respect, it's leaps and bounds above Amy Adams' take, and it's a nice parallel to the likes of what Margot Kidder and Teri Hatcher brought to the character. She challenges Clark/Superman in a way we've never really seen before and she stands on her own two feet without the need to be a damsel in distress. Having said that, should she be able to randomly fly a high-tech craft? Nope, didn't think so.

The Justice Gang are fun supporting characters for sure, acting as the first iteration of what, we assume, will become the Justice League. They help to cement the mythology of aliens and metahumans being around for centuries and offer different facets to what types of heroes are knocking around this DC Universe. Nathan Fillion's comic-accurate Guy Gardner/Green Lantern is a delight to watch. Isabela Merced's Hawkgirl doesn't get as much time to shine as we would like, but you enjoy what you get to see of her. It would have been nice to get some kind of nod to her origins. Edi Gathegi's Mr Terrific? Meh. He's a good addition but he just suddenly becomes more important in the middle of the second act and he feels a bit wooden. With rumours of a TV spin-off, we can hope for more to explore and expand on with this guy to save this.

The Daily Planet staff? In all honesty, besides Jimmy Olsen, they don't really offer much to anything at all. The actors were all on the press tour extensively yet their characters don't do much in the movie. Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy is a fun twist on the character from the comics and previous movies. Everyone else? Sounds harsh, but useless on the whole. As for Sara Sampaio's Eve Teschmacher, she actually ends up having one of the smartest reveals in the movie with her selfies helping uncover Lex's connection to Boravia, but aside from that and being weirdly obsessed with Jimmy Olsen? A bit of another dead duck of a character.

Although the character doesn't utter a line and isn't real exactly, we can't miss out Krypto. It sounds stupid but this little CGI sidekick of Supes is adorable and isn't your standard Krypto from the comics or any on-screen versions. He can cause a lot of trouble but he's a necessary evil that is fun to have around. With him technically belonging to Supergirl, we can only hope he's popping up in her movie next year.

We then come to Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor. Easily one of the stand outs of the movie. This is one of James Gunn's best villains. Up there with the High Evolutionary of Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3. Lex's motivations are simple and he pulls no punches in trying to take down his nemesis. Even going as far to create a clone of him to get on an equal playing field. He hates Superman. He loathes how he's just popped up and robbed Lex of the spotlight and his ego can't take it, bringing forth his psychotic tendencies. Hoult has mentioned how his inspiration for the character came from watching Michael Rosenbaum's Smallville version and it shows, which is a big positive. We can only hope that we get more of Luthor in the near future.

As we move into the plot, you can't deny that it feels like it's ripped straight out of the comic books. It definitely borrows from the silver age of Superman, and it does have aspects that feel like the Superman animated TV show. It all fits pretty well for how the plot lays out. We can also see where the original title, "Superman: Legacy", slotted in as Kal-El had to wrestle with the legacy his birth parents seemingly had planned out for him, whilst he had always imagined it entirely differently with help from being brought up by the Kents.

That brings us onto something we've just mentioned in connection to the movie's version of Lex; Smallville. Gunn has expressed his fondness of the series, as has Corenswet and Hoult, and it definitely shows in the movie. The miscommunication of Jor-El and Lara's message to his son being read as ruling Earth instead of protecting it. The inclusion of Krypto. the inclusion of Supergirl. The use of a Superman clone (be that Ultraman or Bizarro). There are definitely some influences borrowed from the show.

The movie also takes a concept from the ill-fated Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice and makes it a lot more digestable. What if Superman was questioned for his actions and made to be accountable? It isn't dragged out with court hearings and a lot of political layers to the story. It's covered pretty clearly and it runs nicely along everything else.

There's other plot aspects to rave about definitely. The shock appearance of Kara Zor-El aka Supergirl? A welcome addition. It also seems to set up her solo movie due out next year very quickly which is fun. The new iterations of Ma and Pa Kent work into the story nicely as they help to ground Clark in his unsteady moments and remind him of who he really is. Yeah, 80% of the plot is favourable for sure. But then there's the other 20%.

It pains me to say it, but the Ultraman twist of being a Superman clone? Come on, every comic book fan around the world seen it coming from lightyears away. From the ruins of Krypton itself. There should have been more efforts in the story to cover this up in some way. Some moments of exposition? Too on the nose. A big example is Lex's moment in the Fortress of expressing why he hates Superman. You're only in the room with people who already know your reasons, Lex. Why explain? The character may as well have addressed the audience down the lens of the camera.

The lack of Superman tropes? That was a let down. I waited the entire two hours for Clark to head into a phone booth and do a quick change. Even the ripping open of the shirt wasn't present. Next time we need more reporter Clark Kent scenes to make this possible. Then to top this section off, it's the post credit scenes. Unnecessary. I'd have rather had none at all. these are moments that are perfect to tease what is to come or give a little extra of something from the plot maybe. Gunn did say he didn't want too tee up too much for future projects, but if you are to do that, these were your moments. The scene of Supergirl maybe would have worked better as one. But hey ho, let's maybe not sit through the next post-credits of the DCU thanks to this.

Now, it's time to give some rounds of applause to director and writer, James Gunn. Yes, there's moments in the plot and characterisations that maybe aren't the best. But you can't please everyone at the end of the day. That aside, Gunn made some bold and exciting choices in this movie. Concepts that I, as a fan, have wanted to see in these movies for years and he finally brought them to life. The way Kryptonite effects Superman visually and physically on his body. The concept of Krypton having it's own spoken alien language which we hear Jor-El and Lara speak in (had this in my head for years, so thank you for delivering). The comic accurate, playful look of the Fortress. It's all truly exceptional. If these are the kinds of elements that Gunn is bringing into the far reaches of the DCU across different characters, then I'm all in for what he's got coming in the long run.

We've then got to give some nods to the other aspects of the movie with the team on cinematography, musical score and special effects. On the whole, the cinematography from Henry Braham was what we expected it to be. Having worked on the previous two Guardians movies and The Suicide Squad with Gunn, plus 2023's The Flash, you know there was going to be some bold visuals. Big bursts of colour and wide open heroic shots spring straight to mind. That is what is needed in a comic book movie, especially a Superman movie. Needless to say, it's all top marks. There's barely any Superman shots that don't look unique and extremely cinematic from start to finish.

For musical score, it kills me to say it, but it's not what I was hoping for. John Murphy's score is only memorable for the musical cues that we've heard in all of the trailers, and even they are only new revisions of John Williams' work from back in 1978. Everything else, you don't really walk out of the cinema humming. Maybe a few guitar riffs during tender moments with Lois and the Kents are catching your ear. I'd really hoped that the big uses of the famous Superman score in the marketing were similar to how the iconic Spider-Man cartoon theme is used in trailers for the MCU's Homecoming trilogy, with the movies having their own memorable scores throughout. Alas, I was wrong.

When it comes to special effects, there wasn't much to complain about on the whole. A few quick shots that maybe needed touching up but blink-and-you'll-miss-it at best. We'll not mark down too much for that. With a Superman movie the visuals need to look stellar, and that's pretty much what we got.

When it comes down to it, Superman is not a bad movie by a long shot. It's story is true to the clear vision that James Gunn has, and it had us enjoying it from start to finish, especially with the fresh ideas the writer/director was armed with. There are moments of umming and arring, where you maybe question why Gunn made certain decisions. But on the whole I didn't come out of this movie thinking "we're doomed". More like "not what I wanted or expected in parts, and don't understand these bits, but it's a good Superman flick".

Some characterisations and plot points that didn't sit well with me, but overall the positives outweighed the negatives. It's a movie I'm going to see again and I just hope that the rest of the DCU builds on it well.

Superman is in cinemas everywhere now.