James Gunn did NOT eff him up!
I had my doubts considering how much The Suicide Squad was more of a fart fest in line with the Troma films Gunn cut his movie teeth on. Superman was done with care, respect and awe.
I loved it.
The movie starts off with Superman already established for several years. Lex Luthor has been scheming since the Man of Steel's debut to bring Superman down and he just might have a perfect opportunity to pull such a feat off. Superman prevented a fictitious country called Boravia from invading a neighboring country. As Superman acted alone, without the approval of the United States government or even the United Nations, his actions have caused controversy to swirl over whether Superman acted on his own accord or in the public good as he claims to the press.
Luthor determines the location of Superman's Fortress of Solitude where he uncovers a secret message from Superman's Kryptonian parents that encourage him to rule the Earth as a god-like despot. Sharing the message with the news media, public opinion turns on Superman quickly. They especially don't like the part where Jor-El tells his son to continue the Kryptonian bloodline by filling a harem with as many fertile human wives as possible.
Not wishing for further trouble, Superman turns himself in to the Department of Justice, in hopes of working things out. Only because Superman is an illegal alien and not subject to American law, plus the superpowers he can use to escape any prison, the Man of Tomorrow is turned into a private army called PlanetWatch which just happens to be funded completely by Lex Luthor!
I hear that President Trump hates this movie. He's condemned it as being 'woke'. Yet, there's nothing woke about this film. Superman's role on the international stage has been debated since his second ever appearance in Action Comics #2 when Superman prevented 2 warring European nations from starting another World War. Supe's immigration status has been a topic of discussion for at least 4 decades. Way before the term became the common vernacular used today. So really, what is 45 &47's problem with this movie?
I've seen every Superman movie ever made. He's my favorite superhero of all-time. I wear Clark Kent glasses and somehow my hair does a natural curly-cue. So I think I can attest that this was an entertaining movie that was nostalgic while pushing the Man of Steel into the 21st century. I know that I am going to be controversial when I say that I liked this Superman better than the Henry Cavill Superman! David Corenswet's Superman and Clark are in the tradition of Christopher Reeve and Brandon Routh.
One reason our Commander in Chief isn't fond of the current Last Son of Krypton is because he's not a perfect specimen as he was created way back in 1938. I like that Superman isn't perfect. If he didn't have have weaknesses or made mistakes, he'd be boring. Just don't make him too flawed. Maybe like 97.8% perfect. James Gunn did a fine job keeping Superman a superior specimen while also keeping him relatable.
The real star of the film is Krypto, the super dog. Although in this film, he's a super mutt! We got the definitive Jimmy Olsen in actor Skyler Gisondo. While not a true ginger, we finally got a Jimmy with freckles. Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane wasn't bad. I got real Courtney Cox vibes off of her. Though, sadly I think she knows how to spell the word 'rapist'. Couldn't she at least once have called Clark 'Smallville'? I also really liked Wendell Pierce as Perry White. But then again, he's great in everything! It was so fun seeing this film be really heavy on journalism as that was one the things I loved about the Dean Cain/Terri Hatcher series from the 1990s.
I'm on the fence about Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor. He's way better than the last couple of actors to play Superman's arch-enemy on screen. But he was a little bit on the whiny side. This Lex is really intimidated by Superman despite being one of the most powerful men on Earth. Regardless, this Luthor is a real slime ball.
Don't think that this is just a Superman movie. This is James Gunn's opening chapter into the new DC cinematic universe. Fans get to see Guy Gardner and Metamorpho in live action for the very first time while this is both Hawkgirl and Mister Terrific's big screen debut. Nathan Fillion was a perfect jackass. I can't wait to see Batman knock him out with one punch. Metamorpho was a character I remember my dad having a bunch of issues of when he was a kid and it brought back memories. As for Mister Terrific, I'm not very familiar with him as I don't read a lot of the more modern Justice Society stuff. But Edi Gathegi was terrific as the tech-saavy hero. I look forward to more of his character in future DC productions.
I loved this movie. It made me feel like a kid again. Though he's a bit more violent than all 4 Christopher Reeve Superman films combined. James Gunn's Superman may not be everyone's Man of Steel, but this film did something that recent movies haven't made me want to do in years: I wanted to buy tix for the next showing and see it again!
Worth Consuming!
Rating 9 out of 10 stars.
No comments:
Post a Comment