Superman Rises Again And This Time, the Stakes Are Emotional - REVIEW

After years in creative limbo, James Gunn's 'Superman' has revitalized the Man of Steel for a new era, presenting a colorful and emotional outing that puts the title character's kindness and love for all living things at the forefront.

Gunn initially seemed like an odd pick to take on Superman, given his reputation for bringing teams of morally grey comic-book teams to the big screen with his 'Guardians of the Galaxy' trilogy for Marvel and 2021's 'The Suicide Squad.' However, with this film, Gunn proves he is far from a one-trick pony when it comes to adapting comic-book films, particularly in bringing DC's most morally upstanding and iconic hero to life.

Throughout the film, Superman consistently prioritizes the life of all living things, even going to the trouble of saving a squirrel on the streets of Metropolis from a giant monster unleashed on the city by his arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). Superman's relationship with his legendary love interest, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), has a fire and playfulness as the two play bitter rivals at The Daily Planet newspaper, with Superman's mild-mannered alter-ego, Clark Kent, finding himself the butt of Lane's insults.

The uninterrupted ten-minute-long dialogue scene between the two, where Clark allows Lois to interview him in his superhero, that opens the second trailer for the film, allows Corenswet and Brosnahan to show off both their acting chops and chemistry that were seriously missing from previous film iterations. Both actors serve as the highlights of the film, bringing gravitas and emotion to each of their scenes.

Another advantage this movie has over other film adaptations of Superman is the importance of the Daily Planet team. Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) is Lois Lane's faithful young photographer, who, without his connections to Luthorcorp, Superman would not have been able to save the day. The dynamic between Clark, Lois, and Jimmy also feels ripped straight out of the comics and is a lot of fun.

However, every superhero story needs a villain, and Hoult's Lex Luthor is a bit of a step-down from Gunn's previous villains. While Hoult does a great job portraying Lex's arrogance, pettiness, and anger when Superman thwarts his evil plans, he is never given a moment to be menacing. His character is one of the most intelligent in the film, as he should be; however, his actions throughout most of the film are reduced to monologuing to himself or Superman about his plans and motives, or giving orders to his various underlings, including the mysterious Ultra-Man and the determined Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría).

Coming to Superman's aid in his adventures are the Justice Gang (a working title, one of its members assures us), a group of corporate-sponsored superheroes made up of the arrogant Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, the fierce Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and the cold genius Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Each has its distinct personality and serves its purpose of being the supporting cast of the superhero side of Clark's life well. However, Superman's adoptive parents, Ma (Neva Howell) and Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor-Vince), don't get much screen time, and while Pa gives some words of encouragement to his adoptive son in the film's second-act low point, neither seems to be very important in Clark Kent's life.

While this is a change of pace from Gunn's other comic book fare, this is still very much a James Gunn film for better or worse. Those who don't like his filmmaking style are unlikely to find any refuge here. The film is full of humor, wacky comic book-esque ideas, and an ensemble cast. And while the visuals are consistently solid, there are a few jarring VFX shots that are frankly inexcusable given the budget and time the VFX artists had to work on the film.

Those who are fans of Gunn or the character are going to have a great time with this film. Despite its flaws, newcomers to the Man of Steel or those who have been skeptical of the character in the past are sure to be won over as well.