I went into the theater with a curiosity to see if James Gunn had completed a great Superman film. Leaving the theater, I thought it was a good film that gave a funny, warming portrayal of Superman that was reminiscent of the 1978 film. On the other hand, there were certain elements that I thought James Gunn should not have included.
Pros: Superman has good acting. David Corenswet did a fine job portraying him as a confident, loving figure towards humanity as his parents raised him to be and he certainly upheld that belief even in the film's darkest moments, exactly what you would expect from Superman. The cast also did a good job. Rachel Brosnahan was fine as Lois Lane, Nichlas Hoult was as crazy but diabolical as Lex Luthor as he should be. The Justice Gang was fine, especially Mister Terrific, played by Edi Gathegi, who I thought was the most useful of the bunch. The action scenes of Superman saving nearby humans was definitely a treat to watch because it reminds the audience this is what Superman stands for.
The scenes between Superman and Lois are the highlight of the film. Lois shows the curiosity and love towards Superman similar to her previous portrayals and acts as his emotional shoulder during scenes Superman is feeling defeated. Lois, in particular, does more to rescue Superman than everyone else in the film, make that what you will.
Lex Luthor is just as diabolical and Superman hating as ever. He shows this in every step of the film, from planning to start a civil war in a foreign country, from invading Superman's home, to torturing Superman both physically and emotionally. Nicholas Hoult certainly did Luthor justice in portraying the evil but cunning character. Lex Luthor is the main villain of the film, even with metahuman henchman, and there was never a moment in which Luthor was not in control until at the very end.
Superman's connection to family were especially. Even if Jor El and Lara was shown only in brief moments, the few scenes they were in focused on Superman listening to their message about being better was certainly warming to watch. His scenes with his human parents, especially Johnathan Kent, was just as heartwarming to Superman. Johnathan's talk to Superman after his recent recovery was exactly what you would expect for a father to comfort his son.
Cons: There were times when Krypto was ANNOYING. Sure, his scenes with Superman were heartwarming but Krypto disobeying Superman at the most important of times was irritating. That might me question in those moments if Superman truly was going to lose because of an out-of-control dog, an example: the river towards the black hole.
Pacing needs more work. Sure, I liked how the film skipped Superman's escape from Krypton and straight into his life on Earth. By now we all know how he escaped Krypton, landed on Earth and was raised to be the protector of Earth. However, the certain times where you felt things was just being rushed in, like the Gang showing up out of nowhere with no explanation. How Luthor created such metahumans to work for him, how Luthor imprisoned all of those beings, how he convinced that leader to declare war on a neighboring country all seemed to be throw at the audience in a disjointed manner.
The questioning of Superman's stance on world event as opposed to his morality felt out of place. I didn't appreciate Lois questioning Superman of how he stopped the war, breaking rules in the process. Anyone knowing Superman knows that he has never concerned himself with men's laws as long as he saved innocent lives. It would be fine for Luthor to do that because he hates Superman, but Lois, who has been dating him for months, should have understood that by now...
Superman is meant to be the unstoppable figure of justice. Yet there were scenes where he requires assistance from others when you would think he didn't need it. Superman shouldn't need humans to help him back on his physically, and him screaming in pain when exposed to the sun by his robots seems out of place considering the sun is his own source of power.
Men crying in the film more than the women was certainly out of place. Of course, its not weak to cry but for men during at times they need to be strong was definitely not cool. The most egregious was Luthor at the end. Luthor NEVER would cry to Superman after his defeat because he's way too intelligent and arrogant to let one defeat bring him down emotionally.
Overall, the film brought back the campy, light, heartwarming tone of Superman that made the 1978 film so popular with the audience. The missteps certainly made me question the film's stance on Superman but for the most part it was the fun film I was looking for. I give it 8/10.
(DragonMaster0)
So, about Superman...
I went into the theater with a curiosity to see if James Gunn had completed a great Superman film. Leaving the theater, I thought it was a good film that gave a funny, warming portrayal of Superman that was reminiscent of the 1978 film. On the other hand, there were certain elements that I thought James Gunn should not have included.
Pros:
Superman has good acting. David Corenswet did a fine job portraying him as a confident, loving figure towards humanity as his parents raised him to be and he certainly upheld that belief even in the film's darkest moments, exactly what you would expect from Superman. The cast also did a good job. Rachel Brosnahan was fine as Lois Lane, Nichlas Hoult was as crazy but diabolical as Lex Luthor as he should be. The Justice Gang was fine, especially Mister Terrific, played by Edi Gathegi, who I thought was the most useful of the bunch. The action scenes of Superman saving nearby humans was definitely a treat to watch because it reminds the audience this is what Superman stands for.
The scenes between Superman and Lois are the highlight of the film. Lois shows the curiosity and love towards Superman similar to her previous portrayals and acts as his emotional shoulder during scenes Superman is feeling defeated. Lois, in particular, does more to rescue Superman than everyone else in the film, make that what you will.
Lex Luthor is just as diabolical and Superman hating as ever. He shows this in every step of the film, from planning to start a civil war in a foreign country, from invading Superman's home, to torturing Superman both physically and emotionally. Nicholas Hoult certainly did Luthor justice in portraying the evil but cunning character. Lex Luthor is the main villain of the film, even with metahuman henchman, and there was never a moment in which Luthor was not in control until at the very end.
Superman's connection to family were especially. Even if Jor El and Lara was shown only in brief moments, the few scenes they were in focused on Superman listening to their message about being better was certainly warming to watch. His scenes with his human parents, especially Johnathan Kent, was just as heartwarming to Superman. Johnathan's talk to Superman after his recent recovery was exactly what you would expect for a father to comfort his son.
Cons:
There were times when Krypto was ANNOYING. Sure, his scenes with Superman were heartwarming but Krypto disobeying Superman at the most important of times was irritating. That might me question in those moments if Superman truly was going to lose because of an out-of-control dog, an example: the river towards the black hole.
Pacing needs more work. Sure, I liked how the film skipped Superman's escape from Krypton and straight into his life on Earth. By now we all know how he escaped Krypton, landed on Earth and was raised to be the protector of Earth. However, the certain times where you felt things was just being rushed in, like the Gang showing up out of nowhere with no explanation. How Luthor created such metahumans to work for him, how Luthor imprisoned all of those beings, how he convinced that leader to declare war on a neighboring country all seemed to be throw at the audience in a disjointed manner.
The questioning of Superman's stance on world event as opposed to his morality felt out of place. I didn't appreciate Lois questioning Superman of how he stopped the war, breaking rules in the process. Anyone knowing Superman knows that he has never concerned himself with men's laws as long as he saved innocent lives. It would be fine for Luthor to do that because he hates Superman, but Lois, who has been dating him for months, should have understood that by now...
Superman is meant to be the unstoppable figure of justice. Yet there were scenes where he requires assistance from others when you would think he didn't need it. Superman shouldn't need humans to help him back on his physically, and him screaming in pain when exposed to the sun by his robots seems out of place considering the sun is his own source of power.
Men crying in the film more than the women was certainly out of place. Of course, its not weak to cry but for men during at times they need to be strong was definitely not cool. The most egregious was Luthor at the end. Luthor NEVER would cry to Superman after his defeat because he's way too intelligent and arrogant to let one defeat bring him down emotionally.
Overall, the film brought back the campy, light, heartwarming tone of Superman that made the 1978 film so popular with the audience. The missteps certainly made me question the film's stance on Superman but for the most part it was the fun film I was looking for.
I give it 8/10.
3 months ago | [YT] | 2
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