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“Superman”

Warner Brothers Pictures

Directed by James Gunn

Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Nathan Filion and Milly Alcock

Rated PG-13

 

 3 ½ Stars

 

It has been conventional wisdom that Marvel Studios comic book movies are fun and family-friendly while DC Comics have been the home of dark and gritty stories that appeal more to serious, grown-up fans. Well, things are about to change with the arrival of director James Gunn.

Gunn, who is perhaps most famous for his “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies is both beloved and derided for his quirky brand of humor and somewhat schmaltzy movies. So, when he was put in charge of the new slate of DC Universe movies, all of those serious fanboys started to worry.

The director’s initial foray into DC Comics comes in this week’s “Superman” movie. This is a relaunch, aimed to make Superman the king of comic book movies once again. More importantly, it is a rebranding, aimed at bringing family audiences back to a superhero movie.

I think the results are very promising. David Corenswet plays the new Man of Steel, with Rachel Brosnahan taking on the role of Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult coming onboard as the villain Lex Luthor. These are well known characters, so the new movie doesn’t waste time giving us their origin story. Gunn assumes that we are smart enough to know who they are, so he starts his story in the middle of an action sequence.

How refreshing to see a comic book movie that doesn’t treat the audience like children.

We get a modern story of our hero fighting to save people, only to be mocked by social media influencers and the tech titans who believe that they are the only ones who are smart enough to rule the world. It’s also nice to see Lois Lane moving into modern times. She’s a genuine career woman who’s not afraid to call Superman out when he says something dumb.

As for our hero, Corenswet deftly walks the line between naïve boy scout and cocky young man. It seems very relatable. Dare I say that Superman starts to show some genuine humanity, no small trick with a character that isn’t human.

While the character refresh is a lot of fun, this is a summer blockbuster so audiences should expect some thrilling action sequences, impressive special effects, some of Gunn’s quirky humor and more than a few on-the-nose needle drop moments. If you are looking for the recipe for a crowd-pleasing movie, this one has all the ingredients.

It also has Krypto—Superman’s beloved super pet. The fan-favorite pooch was a big hit with the younger members in the audience. Okay, I loved him too.

The film also features some terrific characters in smaller roles. These may be somewhat polarizing for the fanboys, but I got a kick out of Nathan Fillion as the Green Lantern, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen and Edi Gathegi as Mr. Fantastic. I don’t know this character, but after seeing Gathegi’s scene-stealing performance, I am excited to see more of him in the future.

Now, it’s not a perfect movie by any means. All of these characters make the film feel overstuffed at times, and the story does lag a bit toward the end. I’ll even admit that some of Gunn’s comedic moments made me groan a bit. Plus, I do fret that these movies will start to feel just like Marvel Studios movies, at a moment when those are starting to get a little old.

These are genuine concerns going forward, but as for this particular movie, “Superman” absolutely soars. It’s fun, refreshingly modern and should get audiences excited about going back to the theater to see a superhero movie.

Plus, it’s got Krypto. What more could we want?

This is a great start to a new era of DC Comics movies.

 

Movie reviews by Sean, “The Movie Guy,” are published each week in The Port Arthur News and the Orange Leader. Sean welcomes your comments via email at sean@seanthemovieguy.com You can get more of Sean’s reviews by subscribing to the 2 Movie Guys podcast.