Second Impressions: Superman

In 2021, James Gunn brought The Suicide Squad to life for the second time in theaters. After watching that film on HBO Max, I wrote out a simple statement on social media:

Without getting into further details, in my eyes the man who brought Starro to the silver screen had earned the right to run the DCU.

Little would I know that’s exactly what they would do. Superman is the first movie since James Gunn and Peter Safran became co-chairmen and co-CEOs of DC Studios. And this is a “lived in” universe where we join Superman 3 years into his journey as a hero. It is a world that is used to having metahumans in it and we see the contrast between some of them early on.

Beyond this, I have given myself the challenge of writing a review that doesn’t spoil the movie. I’m not going to include the trailers, because Gunn sets the tone of this new DCU in the first 5 minutes of the film. “Home. Krypto, take me home,” pleads an injured Superman, played by David Corenswet. This sets the level of suspension of disbelief we should anticipate to allow ourselves to enter this fictional world; you’ll really believe that a dog can fly. From that moment on, we know that anything can happen, and often does. It is more than a line, it is a metatextual battlecry for a movie that embraces being a comic book come to life. It is telling every director to stop apologizing for the source material and to give it room to breathe! Jump into the pool; the water is fine.

I saw the movie on opening weekend and had a lot to mull over. I saw it again this weekend in IMAX because it earned that right for me, both to be sure I wasn’t just hungry for a 4-color world brought to life or to see kindness as a superpower. No, this is a story with a solid beginning, middle and end that is taking place in a universe in motion. We get the introduction text a la Star Wars: A New Hope. It tells us everything we need and sets the stage for what is to come. We get a sincere and sweet performance from David Corenswet as Clark Kent (Superman). I articulate it in this manner because there is no separation in this film; Clark Kent is Superman, but Superman at his core is Clark Kent. We get a Lois Lane in Rachel Brosnahan who is no slouch in her superpower: ethical journalism. We get a Lex Luthor in Nicholas Hoult who chews the scenery anytime the camera is on him. The seething hatred and self-awareness of this Lex Luthor is incredible to watch. There are no easter egg characters in this film; each character plays a part and I will say that Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific made me want to see a TV series with that character immediately. There is much more to say, but none of it can be said without spoiling key moments of this film and you deserve to enjoy it without that happening.

My first impression a week ago was this is a very good movie that assumes we already know the story of Superman from Superman: The Movie (1978). My second impression was well, of course it does. That’s the point. It opens with the John Williams Superman theme. But it does something more with the lore and that pays homage to all the comic book greats who have also contributed to the lore. Upon the second viewing, I realized why I loved this film: I didn’t start reading Superman with issue 1. Even though it was a self-contained story, it was already in the middle of the larger story and that made me want to go out and find more. I hope this movie does that for you as well.

5 out of 5 Super Milkbones.

Ed Mathews used to be the News Editor of The Slush Factory and the Co-Editor In Chief of PopImage. Fun fact: he was one of 3 people who got rec.arts.superman created on usenet. Now he is busy making sure computers work right and occasionally coming out of retirement for a comic book thought piece at GayLeague.com.