Superman
[4K/digital code]
I can’t believe it took 10 years of underwhelming, banal, trite superhero movies for people to finally realize that they’re not really worth watching. I get it: Marvel and DC are gonna keep pumping out shitty movie after shitty movie as long as people will watch them, so in some respects, the public is to blame. If you’re watching these movies because there’s nothing else out that everyone can agree to see, I get it. If you’re watching these movies because you think it’s somehow good cinema (“We gotta watch the new Marvel! I hear it’s NUTS!”), then there’s no hope for you.
But yes, superhero movies went from being a gigantic cash cow, to a more modest cash cow and the studios can’t have that. What happens next? REBOOT!
Honestly, the story of how James Gunn came to be at the helm of the DC movie universe is more interesting than the product. Gunn’s quirky style is all the rage with nerds. He’s like the new not-yet cancelled Joss Whedon! Then he was about to be cancelled, and DC brought him on board before Marvel had the chance to apologize. Now he’s running the show because Zach Snyder’s vision is ill-informed at best. His big splash is…SUPERMAN!
The results…not so super?
Look, I’m sure plenty of people will stand up for this movie, because it checks all their referential boxes, and being a James Gunn supporter is the most interesting part of their personality and they need to hold onto that for dear life. But the truth is that Superman is an expected, sloppy, mess. OK at best.
There are some successes here of course, mainly in the casting and how Gunn seems to understand tone (and good acting) a lot better than Snyder. Honestly, David Corenswet brings a level of lovable complexity to the role that is needed to anchor the movie. So, props there.
But of course, the script is lazy as hell, like Superman viewing his parents’ message to him for decades as a pep talk but never bothering to find the missing pieces is an OBVIOUS setup (Lex Luther SOMEHOW does and NO ONE questions him!), falling back on paranormal meta-universes to drive the story, heavy CGI-driven battle sequences where you don’t understand where you are or what you’re looking at, and constantly introducing new obscure characters whenever the story hits a wall. And that annoying fucking dog. What torture! Throughout the film, Gunn tells you what you should know to follow the events, but not who the characters are and how they’re supposed to get. Those are supposed to please superfans, who somehow care about this dumb Green Lantern with the terrible haircut and this annoying bird lady who shrieks at every opportunity. Mister Terrific? Metamorpho? These are all at the bottom of the barrel for DC characters we want to see and honestly, kind of embarrassing.
I was hoping this movie would be the one. The one to make me enjoy these characters again or at least be a superhero movie I would enjoy rewatching. Bummer.
I did shed a team when those poor kids raised the Superman flag, though.
