It’s not every year that a movie comes out that the fortunes of an entire new company hinge on. Superman is one of those movies. This is the opening of a new era for DC Studios. Does Superman open that era with fanfare and set us up for something special in the future? Sure it does. But what really matters about Superman is that it meets the moment that we’re in. Superman is a symbol of hope and that’s played up in the film to a great degree.

Superman comes from writer/director James Gunn. He’s revitalized and reintroduced characters like the Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and now Superman. He has his own style that definitely shines through with Superman, but he holds back quite a bit throughout. It stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent/Superman, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, and also features Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, and Maria Gabriela de Faria.

The Good Of Superman

Hope.

That’s what rebellions are built on and it’s also what Superman has in spades. The movie is hopeful first and then everything else comes after. This is the story of an immigrant to another planet, and the wound that Clark/Superman faces is that the message his parents left for him might not be the full thing. It juxtaposes those parents vs. his actual parents in Kansas, Ma and Pa Kent. They’re played excellently by Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince.

It’s a more realistic portrayal of his parents and how they treat their son. Vince’s performance as Pa Kent really sticks out and is one of the most important in the film. Luckily for all of us, the film skips all the Superman origin story stuff that we’ve seen for too many movies at this point. We’re dropped right into the action and the intrigue of a world that has a Superman.

The relationship between Lois Lane and Superman/Clark Kent is placed front and center in the film. This is as much of an ass-kicking superhero film as it is a look into the relationships that would be created, strained, and tested with the arrival of a Metahuman like Superman. Rachel Brosnahan and David Corenswet have a chemistry that just jumps off the screen. It’s electric, even when they’re fighting, you can feel like they’re living these characters. Corenswet in particular, while not the best Clark Kent (that still goes to Christopher Reeve) is exceptional as Superman.

Even More Good Of Superman

Nicholas Hoult imbues Lex Luthor with a devilish energy. He’s not cartoonish, he’s not particularly suave, but he is terrifying. It’s a reminder that there are 100% guys like this that have tons of money that would totally want to make destroying Superman their personality. For someone who has all the money in the world, all the power, there’s still one thing that can stop him and make him feel small and weak, and it’s Superman. That’s really what should make everyone out there hopeful. We don’t have a Superman, but we have each other and that’s power.

The side characters of Superman are all show-stealers in varying degrees. Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl gets limited time to show off, but her screaming action is amazing to see. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is goofy, but his scenes where he’s showing off the full power of a Green Lantern ring are also stunning. But the real show-stealer of Superman is Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific. I had the least amount of expectations for his character going in, I was unfamiliar with both the performer and the character. Let’s just say that I now want to see more from Mr. Terrific in anything DC related. He’s extraordinarily well-written, badass, brilliant, and is a showing for how to introduce a character that might not be a household name to a general audience.

Finally, the humor in Superman really hits. They play off Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) for a lot of the laughts, but there are simple scenes like Ma Kent using speakerphone, or a conversation with Lois and Clark that has a battle going on behind them, that are just hilarious and break up the film nicely.

The Bad Of Superman

Superman is doing a lot. And that’s not just as the opening of a massive event push from DC Studios. The actual film is doing a lot with numerous plotlines, characters, and strings being pulled in multiple directions. At certain points, it feels like too much. The characters get some to work with, but it definitely feels like there are two bigger setpieces that involve multiple characters that could have been pared down to ease some of the bloat.

Outside of that, there’s one scene in particular that’s played for emotional resonance, that just didn’t work for me emotionally. Superman saving a screaming baby ended up feeling more like a chore than an exercise in showing how good of a guy he is. It also feels slightly manipulative on Superman’s part during the sequence, but that’s a small thing.

I could have used more time with Superman as Clark as well. With Lois knowing that Clark is Superman, all of the scenes where they’re together are just Superman and Lois. We barely get to see him having to act around people as Clark. There’s a bit in the beginning, and then I guess you can see it when he’s having some emotional moments with Ma and Pa Kent, but that’s really it. That side of the character is just as important as Superman.

Just as an aside, without spoiling it, the film does make a substantial change to the origin and lore of Superman, but I really didn’t have a problem with it. It adds a new wrinkle and is basically the wound that affects Superman the entire film.

Through it all, Superman is a terrific reintroduction. The character is one that we’ve needed back on our screens for a long time. James Gunn and Co. have given us the hopeful feeling that we all need right now. David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan’s chemistry highlight this introduction to the new era of DC films. There might be a lot stuffed into this one, to its own detriment, but the film overcomes that and provides not only popcorn entertainment, but something to think about with commentary on billionaires, inequality, immigration, and what it means to be a good person, despite your upbringing.

Superman releases in theaters on July 11th.

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