Superman … Up, Up & … Sort of off the Ground by Gretchen Jackson

Saw Superman Sunday. Hmmm.

Let’s start with this: James Gunn was given a hefty assignment with a lot of responsibility to a lot of different audiences – middle-aged nerds, the 14-34 demographic, fans of Christopher Reeve. And he did a pretty good job.

Corenswet as Kal-el? Perfect.

Brosnahan as Lois Lane. Meh.

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Lots to unpack there. I saw Nicholas Hoult, who is awesome, by the way, as simply himself. What I didn’t see was a believable Lex Luthor. I saw a lot of social commentary on big tech tyrants, maybe some jabs at Elon Musk? But not the comic book character. I had no idea why Luthor was so angry at Superman. To be honest, he just seemed like a cry-baby who just wanted to get his way.

The Story:

SPOILERS BELOW

Okay, lots of good stuff – Lois and Superman having relationship issues, Superman battling insecurity, Superman tackling his purpose to protect Earth when it’s at odds with what his idolized Kryptonian parents wanted.

I liked the Metahumans, even Nathan Fillion’s over-the-top Green Lantern Guy Gardner. Especially Edi Gathego as Mr. Terrific. Hawgirl was weird, sorry Isabela Merced. She screamed too much. 

Also, lots of bad stuff: The pocket universe, the plasma river, most of the CGI stuff – especially a giant alien Kaiju baby. Drunk Supergirl.

My take on Gunn’s take on Superman? Leave the politics and social commentary on a low, undetectable level, don’t place them front and center as the theme of the film! Whatever the viewer’s feelings are about Trump or illegal immigration, doesn’t matter. Because we’re Gunn’s captive audience now. My suggestion: If Gunn wants to do a political allegory or satire, he can follow Alex Garland’s lead and make his own Civil War film. (I’m talking about a fictional film about the U.S. Civil War, not Marvel’s Captain America: Civil War.) Actually, that could be interesting.

Final Thoughts: Go see it. If nothing else, you’re helping our financially-hurting cinemas. But I’m hoping Gunn can do better with the inevitable sequel.