Blogmund
1978 Superman? Yes. It's sequels? Don't remember. Superman Returns? He should have stayed wherever he was hiding. Man of Steel? More like Man of Stealing time I will never get back...
Given this track record, I went into the cinema the other day with low to no expectations. To be honest with you, the only good thing to come from the previous run of the DC cinematic unvierse is The Suicide Squad and it's spinoff Peacemaker series. So when I found out that the Superman reboot will tie in with the second season, I was curious how this whole DC refresh would be handled.
Unlike Superman (1978) and Man of Steel, I was dreading the beginning to first-half of the movie being written off to a baby kryptonian being sent to Earth, raised on a farm, balancing his first job with being a hero, ripping his civillian shirt open to reveal the Superman crest etc.
Nope, the movie assumes you've danced to this tune plenty of times now, and starts off in the middle of the action. This is a refreshing change, as we're not treated like idiots and the movie gets to tell a story about a chapter in Superman's life.
The cast is great. I have not seen anything that David Corenswet is in, but he looks the part and really humanises Superman. Rachel Brosnahan (seen her in Marevlous Miss Maisel, good show) as Lois Lane is a great choice, made me laugh a lot. The chemistry between the two is great, plenty of cute moments between the new couple. Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor is a dick, I hated him, but not as much as he hates Superman. Clearly this made him a great villain.
But a very special mention goes to the Justice Gang. As funny and cool as Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi) is, and as screechy Hawk Girl (Isabela Merced) is when going into battle, the special mention goes to...
Green Lantern's bowl cut The movie automatically gets a star based on how goofy and funny Nathan Fillion's Green Lantern is, and I look forward to seeing more of him and in other DC media.
Take notes Marvel: Nathan Fillion in a blonde bowl cut is what will get people (probably just me if we're being honest) hooked for what's next in the franchise NOT post-credit scenes of Nick Fury recruiting the next hero and waiting years for that installment in the franchise...
A gripe I have had with previous Superman movies which I liked what this one did, is that it didn't take itself too seriously. There was a sense of danger, but there was also moments of humour sprinkled in.
You would have a scene where Clark is being vulnerable to Lois about a revelation made about his purpose being sent to Earth. Meanwhile in the background: You can see a giant floating alien monster in the city being pumelled by what you can just make out is the Justice Gang, thanks to the big green baseball bat bonking it on the head.
The movie also has a dog. A super dog. Krypto the Superdog. He is adorable, and I want to pet him, only if he wasn't the most powerful character in the movie and could probably kill a regular human by trying to play with them.
I wasnt a fan of a potential world ending event just happening in this first movie. Like how are you going to top that when we meet Superman again in a later movie? Also the introduction of pocket universes? Although it did have a good setup for a joke involving brain controlled monkeys calling Superman "Supershit" on twitter...
This goes back to it not taking itself too seriously, which is why I genuinely can't bring up something I disliked about the movie, making it refreshing compared to previous DC movies.
But after the final battle. Mr Terrific cracks his fingers and can somehow just ctrl+z a timespace rift in the middle of the planet. Like an extinciton level event... Like Lex hates Superman THAT much he wanted to end all of existence. But I guess that's the point: He will go THAT far...
Overall I really enjoyed this movie. It was a fun ride, and I look forward to seeing more of this new DC Universe. I give it a solid 4 out of 5 Nathan Fillion bowlcuts.
Verdict:
Super!
A fun and refreshing take on the Superman franchise, with a good balance of action and humour.