Superman
Quick Note
Yes this review was supposed to go live on Monday, July 21. Unfortunately, WordPress pulled a joke on me and it took me, CFR, two days to get back to my site. So here it is! A Monday review on Thursday. Enjoy! – CFR
Cranky Review:
Sure, yes, there has been a TON of Superman fiction, since his appearance in 1939. I grew up with the black and white TV version, starring George Reeves (in rerun, of course – I’m not THAT old) though he was around way before that on the radio. I always found it to be a little ridiculous and never really got into it except tangentially, even the Christopher Reeve film in the late 1970s. One of the problems was that the DC comics in general don’t speak to me. Too drenched in angst, and in the case of Superman, too treacly. Total goody two shoes for me, it just felt a little too fake. I didn’t hate the Christopher Reeve film, but I think I only watched it once.
So, no, I haven’t seen most of the Superman fiction, even Henry Cavill. (CFR did have an aneurysm when I told her that.) I went with CFR to see this one because, well, because of the dog. None of my admittedly small sampling ever included Krypto, and I was curious. Otherwise, I expected the rest of the film to be silly and histrionic and saccharin and sexist.
I’m happy to say I was mostly wrong. I still am not enamored of Superman, but this is a fun movie that I enjoyed watching. This newest Superman actor absolutely nailed the character and I would pay to see him again. Supergirl is supposed to have her sequel next year and I’ll go see it. I would love to see a Krypto movie, but I’m not holding my breath. The dog is not too bad, considering his total CGI existence, but he’s portrayed as a badly (as in, not at all) trained, kinda dimwitted canine who still shows up at just the right moment, repeatedly. Not too fond of that, but I was willing to overlook it.
Mostly that didn’t bother me too much because Superman kept getting his butt kicked, and he needed a lot of saving. It didn’t help that his old school “I’m a secret newspaper reporter” shtick leaves him in the dust when it comes to connecting with the voting masses, er, fan base. Lex Luthor plays the public like a fiddle using social media and his own rich person celebrity to harm the Man of Steel. People don’t know how he makes his money, really, they just think he’s credible because he has loads of money. I could talk about the seriously on the money social commentary of that paragraph as it relates to modern U.S. politics and how the Democrats are Superman, but I won’t.
One of my problems with Superman is how the supporting characters have been used over the decades. His boss at the Daily Planet, Perry White, is always a cigar chomping gruff guy, and is often (I think) portrayed as kind of an idiot. Jimmy Olson as I knew him growing up was basically a high schooler dragged off his surfboard and given legitimacy with a socially acceptable job. The two step up this time and become heroic, more complex than tissue paper characters and I loved it. Lex Luthor has been portrayed in several ways and not usually used to his full potential. This time around he’s absolutely rich guy evil and beautifully acted.
The biggest problem has been Lois Lane. She’s supposed to be his equal or maybe even better as a journalist. Superman may get all the exclusive interviews, but everyone knows he’s not putting in any real work. She has to dance backward in heels and gets portrayed as a silly girl who constantly needs saving and goes all wide eyed when he flies her around a pretty night sky. I grabbed CFR’s arm in happy shock when the movie made an issue of that old chestnut and portrayed her asking JOURNALISTIC QUESTIONS. When I literally took Journalism 101 we had to learn the five Ws: Who What When Where Why and How. (Yeah, that’s six and an H but that’s journalists for you.) During their interview scene, she asked all those questions and CFR got a bruised arm. The movie even addresses Superman’s biggest weakness. Why doesn’t anyone ever recognize him? Google Glasses, I think it was, saved the day.
Of course there are weaknesses. The plot takes a while to weave itself into something coherent, and the music was surprisingly just kinda weird a few times. Of course, when the Superman Theme came up in a hero shot I loved it, but for the most part, weird. The 3D is nothing to brag about. I was torn between being disappointed that this DC movie finally caved and used some lessons from the Marvel Universe, and wishing they had managed to improve on the DC gloom and doom to make something new. One of the Marvel lessons was more involvement with cool lower echelon superheroes. I loved how irascible and unlikable Green Lantern was, and how Nathan Fillion, as Green Lantern, didn’t have to do more than flick his fingers sometimes during the action scenes. Hawkgirl was terribly underused, but I fell in love with Mr. Terrific. I want a Mr. Terrific movie right now.
Go and see this in the theater if you want your superheroes bigger than life. It’s fun, it’s sneaky clever with the political messaging, it uses its supporting characters super well and the new Superman is spot on, I think.
Triggers: long superhero fight scenes, a couple of treacly moments, mean spirited insults, badly trained dog
Available: in theaters only as of this writing
CFR Review:
Let me begin by saying Henry Cavill will always be my Superman. Always. I was so excited when James Gunn took over DC movies because I figured he would take the wonderful cast from the previous movies that had been assembled and use them well. Cavill even got to play Superman in end credit scene of Black Adam. YAY! Then nope. Gunn and DC decided to go in “a different direction” and let their previous amazing actors and fans discover what getting kicked to the curb meant. I was so freaking enraged. I was enraged for all of the actors. Especially Cavill. I wanted to see him add some joy to Superman.
Yes I was resistant to this new Superman movie. I really devolved and glared at the upcoming advertisement. (I know, really, CFR? You’re acting like one of those Geek fans?!?!) I did. I’m not really ashamed about it either. Along with Henry Cavill, Amy Adams is my Lois Lane – what an amazing woman! Jesse Eisenberg will always be a super terrifying Lex Luthor. (I even got to tell him that.)
Now you know the depth of my resistance to this new Superman movie. I knew I would see it, but I wouldn’t like it! I know, good grief, CFR, roll with the changes.
Then I watch a trailer. Ooops. That looked good.
I would now happily like to say that I really really really liked Superman! Wow.
Our new Superman, David Corenswet, was wonderful. He is a big man with a big heart and he makes me smile at Superman and Clark Kent every time he came on screen. He was perfect. In fact he even had a Henry Cavill look about him which I of course enjoyed. I like the open-heartedness and joy he brought to the role.
Hats of to our Lois Lane as well! Rachel Brosnahan plays Ms. Lane and she, like Amy Adams, brought an adult woman sensibility to the role. I loved her newsroom banter, her loyalty to Clark/Superman, and her smarts. James Gunn does like women to be strong and cool and he did not let Lois or the audience down. In fact, Lois was in a scene that I don’t think has ever been seen before. See SPOILERS below.
Nicolas Hoult’s portrayal of Lex Luthor was spot on. I wanted to slap him every time he came on screen. Hard. More than once. That is exactly how one should feel about Lex. Watching him whine about Superman, clearly feeling inferior in every way, was well played. You could feel Lex’s inferiority complex. What a loser.
Another enjoyable aspect of this movie was seeing other superheroes. They worked with Superman sometimes and sometimes not. They clearly knew Superman and had worked with him before because the banter was that of people who knew each other. I liked it.
Below are some high points I really enjoyed about the movie. They might be considered spoilery so read at your own will. Or skip to the End Spoilers.
SPOILERS – You Have Been Warned
- The Lois + Superman interview. It was fun to see how the superhero saw the problem. It was a wonderful scene that showed the individual and the world POVs. I was mad at Lois for being so hard headed but I get it now. Go Lois.
- Luther cries. Wow. Way to go Nicolas Hoult. It was genuine character pain. Excellent choice from both the actor and director. Well done.
- Fight scene with Lois in bubble. Wow. There is a moment when Mr. Terrific and Lois are storming a beach to find Superman. It has lots of military type people and tents and equipment. The marvellous Mr. Terrific knows he can take all of them but needs to protect Lois. So he puts her in an energy/protective bubble and deals with the mini-army around him. We view the scene from Lois’s POV. The audience is inside the bubble with her watching Mr. Terrific tear up the encampment and save the day. We also get to see Lois’s awe/fear/wonder. She finally sees how a superhero fights and what it is like. Great scene. Well done.
- Mr. Terrific. Cranky is right: Mr. Terrific needs his own movie. What a man, what a superhero, what a way to eat up the screen and command! I loved every second he was on screen. Yes, give us a Mr. Terrific movie!!
- Great new theme song. A new Superman theme created by John Murphy and David Fleming. They incorporated some of John William’s theme from the 1978 movie. A very good theme that felt right every time it was use.
- NOTE: I still prefer Hans Zimmer’s Man of Steel music. The way the song Flight was used at the end of Man of Steel to lift the movie and the audience up was breathtaking. It was a peak movie moment for me. See video below of a live performance with some Wonder Woman thrown in. Outstanding. Note that the song is Flight (Man of Steel) and you can listen to it on the provided link.
- Supergirl. OMG! Supergirl has an LOL end credit scene in the movie. Check it out here – mind the weird overlay on the video – Supergirl Cameo. Her future movie poster is a play on the current Superman movie poster. Instead of LOOK UP it will say LOOK OUT. See below for a smile.
- Krypto. I love Krypto. Looks like an elongated version of my dog Cagney. Krypto is a crazed puppy and his behavior is totally normal. Watch the linked Supergirl cameo video above and see.
- Monkey Bots. OMG. Are you a Monkey Bot? As in, do you just spew forth hatred, conspiracy theories, and non-supported stories on other people’s social media posts to make yourself feel good? Guess what? You might see yourself in this movie.
END SPOILERS – No More Warning
So my final review is GO SEE SUPERMAN!!!!! I want to see it again. And again. I’ll buy it the minute I can on streaming and on blu-ray. DC and Gunn, you made a believer out of me.
Finale: Quick Note On Politics:
What what? You’re upset about the “politics” in the new Superman movie?
Really? Really? You didn’t know that all of these superheroes in the comics that you love are wish fulfillment written by a lot of people who have felt oppressed? In fact the creators of Superman, Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster were children of Jewish immigrants fleeing persecution in Europe. You know, where Hitler and the Nazis were. Another comic book giant, Jack Kirby, really hated Nazis and fascism. Good grief.
If you love your superheroes because you too know what it is like to be ignored and left out, then don’t be surprised when other people love them for the same reason.
You are not left out because you are white and male. Superman is white, male, heterosexual, and comes from Kansas. Him supporting others does not negates this. In fact, it elevates. It makes him great. It makes him the American Dream where when we say we hold these truths to be self-evident, we now mean everyone.
Long live Superman!
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