Superman
This iteration of Superman (played by David Corenswet) is a throwback to the earliest version of the character: an aw-shucks Kansas farm boy that says things like "gosh" and "darn," idealist almost to a fault, willing to prevent people from getting hurt regardless of any red tape put up by corporations or governments. In fact, this Superman's first action is to prevent bloodshed between two fictional countries (stand-ins for either the Israeli–Palestinian or Russian-Ukrainian conflicts), pissing off multiple governments who aren't happy about a powerful alien getting in the way of these volatile international situations. Lois (who has been dating Clark for three months) grills him about his naïveté, but for him, these situations are simple: people are getting hurt and I'm going to stop them. "People are dying!" he yells, with pain in his eyes.
Lois and Clark's relationship is one of the more interesting elements of the movie, and it's a shame that it doesn't get more screen time. Their extended conversation in the very beginning goes a long way to letting you know who this Superman is, a man whose delineation between right and wrong is so basic that it seems childish. The more cynical and hardened Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) is ready to break up with him, not believing that anyone could possibly be that pure. And to be sure, this Superman is so wholesome that it's a little disorienting. He goes to great pains to try and save everyone, even when in a fight. Gunn makes a point to show Superman saving bystanders from debris, doing his best to prevent property damage during a fight, trying not to hurt his opponent too bad if he can help it, even leaving himself open to attack while he's busy scooping up a squirrel in peril. This kind of goodness just doesn't exist in our modern world, and sadly my first reaction was to be repelled by it. But this is who Superman is always meant to be: the very, very best of us, leading by an almost impossible example, striving to do good even when it's hard.
The aforementioned international crisis is eventually revealed to be all part of a massive plan put together by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who is driven by insane levels of envy to get rid of Superman once and for all. Hoult's Luthor is a campy, swaggering mad scientist, utilizing unexplained comic book science to do everything from creating his own technological superhuman army to opening dimensional rifts into a pocket universe. Hoult is a scene-stealing delight as Luthor, a true mustache-twirling villain that casually banters about coffee while pointing a gun at someone's head. Luthor's more Trump-ian dealings with the clownish overseas dictator is a bit much, part of a ripped-from-the-headlines subplot that feels a pit pandering. Similarly, Luthor's media attack to paint Superman as a dangerous invading alien is done with such hammer-smashing unsubtlety that it feels like it was only included to further inflame online discourse about immigration. All of these modern political interjections are meant to use Superman to show how simple these conflicts really are, things that should be solved with empathy and kindness. It's a nice idea in a vacuum (and in a comic book movie), but it all rings a bit false.
Gunn tries to juggle maybe a few too many balls, particularly with the addition of the Justice Gang, a corporate-run team of heroes including the Green Lantern Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Their early inclusion serves to contrast their more jaded, following-orders approach to Superman's willingness to do whatever it takes to save lives. It feels like time could've been better spent with Superman, or even the bespectacled Clark, who is only seen once interacting with a fun Daily Planet staff. Mister Terrific gets the most screen time, including a classic James Gunn scene where he violently takes out henchmen with maximum badassery while a choice needle drop plays.
Speaking of the Daily Planet staff, I could do with an entire movie about Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, the inexplicable heartthrob that ends up breaking most of the major stories just by texting women who are besmitten with him. Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett) and Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover) are a fun crew that didn't get near enough things to do. Nor did Clark's adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell respectively), who showed up briefly to give Clark their love and wisdom. As is the habit with most superhero movies, there just is never enough time to give to all of the characters that fans want to see on screen, and as a result, Gunn crams as many in there as he can. The addition of the Justice Gang seems particularly egregious, as Superman has a large enough supporting cast as it is without trying to shoehorn in other heroes in an attempt to create excitement for other areas of the DCU.
Gunn does an admirable job keeping all of these moving parts together, but his biggest accomplishment is maintaining a sense of playfulness throughout. It helps that Corenswet does a terrific job at portraying Superman as a lovable goof, a big ol' softy with superpowers, winking at kids and being mock offended when Lois says he isn't punk rock. This is a Superman that you'd want to hang out with, which hasn't always been the case in previous adaptations. It will be interesting to see if upcoming movies in this new DCU have the same lightness about them. It would be a nice change to go and see superhero movies that are consistently fun and zany like this one; and it could go a long way to rekindling excitement for a genre that has been stale for some time. The fact that many are likely to leave "Superman" with a smile is progress, and a good start for James Gunn's extended DCU project.
