On July 11th, the highly anticipated film, Superman, flew into theaters. It has been 12 years since there has been a solo Superman movie, so we were long overdue to see the man of steel on the big screen that focused on him. Audiences overall enjoyed the movie. Many enjoyed how fun it was to watch, the plot, and the supporting characters. Some say it was a little underwhelming, confusing at times, and that this superman was a little “weak.”
The film opens to the snow terrain of Antarctica. Text appears that tells us that 3 years ago the strongest metahuman of them all, Superman (David Corenswet), debuted as a hero in the city of Metropolis. This first scene throws us into the aftermath of his first ever defeat, and Krypto runs over to drag him to the Fortress of Solitude to heal. When Superman returns, we meet Lex Luthor (Nicholas Holt). We quickly learn Luthor’s motives; he wants Superman gone.
After the debacle we see Superman’s normal life as Clark Kent, the Daily Planet reporter. We meet the iconic Daily Planet cast Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett), and Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover). Clark and Lois’s relationship is new, Clark surprising Lois by making breakfast for dinner for their 3-month anniversary and letting her interview him as Superman. This unfortunately doesn’t go well as they get frustrated with each other; Lois giving him a hard time because from an outsider’s perspective, what Superman did to the president of Boravia (Zlatko Buric) was rather questionable.
Meanwhile Luthor, Ultraman, the Engineer (Maria Gabriella de Faria), and Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampiro) break into the Fortress to gather information about the hero. In order to keep Superman busy, they release a kaiju to rein in terror on the city. With the help of the Justice Gang, who consist of Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and the Green Lantern, Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion). They defeat the beast. Though the victory didn’t last long as news stations delivered the news of Superman being sent here to concur and rule planet Earth.
Superman ultimately turns himself in. He is placed into a prison in Luthor’s pocket demension, where he plans to leave the Kryptonian to die once he’s done with him. To keep him compliant, Lex recruits Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) to create Kryptonite. Superman, Metamorpho, Krypto, and Metamorpho’s son all escape, with Mister Terrific and Lois having already opened the portal to let them out.
When Clark eventually regains his strength, he is called over to Metropolis by Mister Terrific because of a rift from the pocket dimension, one that will wipe out Earth. In turn, Clark sends the Justice Gang to go stop the war Boravia was about to enact on Jahranpur in his stead. The war is stopped, Mister Terrific is able to close the rift, and Lex gets exposed for his connections to Boravia, his desire for land in Jahranpur, and he is sent to Belle Reve, a high security prison.
I absolutely love this film! The movie almost perfectly captures just who Superman is. It’s also full of color with impressive set pieces such as the Fortress of Solitude’s interior. All of the characters are really likeable, and their outfits are great too. A lot of people complain about the red trunks, but I really like them. Superman designed his suit to be friendly-looking so people wouldn’t be afraid of him, I think people forget about that.
Nicholas Holt was great as Lex Luthor. His portrayal was pretty accurate to Lex in the comics, from how persuasive he can be, to his intelligence, to how unhinged he can get when desperate to take down Superman. One highlight is when one of his employees mentions that he observed every single fighting move Superman did, catalogued them, and somehow was able to predict which move to use to counter act Superman while commanding Ultraman.
David Corenswet was amazing as Clark Kent. He feels like he came straight out of the comic book. His distinction between Clark and Superman is great; they actually look different from one another rather than just throwing on glasses and calling it a day. His hair falls just above his eyes, he wears a baggy suit, and even the way he presents himself as Clark is different from when he’s Superman.
Corenswet’s Superman truly conveys how he influences people and inspires hope. He encourages people to be their best selves and to help others. He’s also not afraid to ask for help; he knows he can’t be everywhere all at once and he has friends he can rely on when things become too big or out of control, which I deeply appreciate.
I can’t forget Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane. She also looks like she came straight out of the comic book, looking nearly identical to how Lois looks in the comics. Her portrayal is great, showing Lois’s dedication and determination to her job as a journalist and how willing she is to take risks to get her story, or in this case; to clear Superman’s name. I personally love the interview scene with her and Clark. It shows her professionalism and how she portrays a reporter who does not know Superman’s intentions, unlike herself who knows Clark, which would create bias as well as suspicions.
One issue I do have is Clark’s biological parents. I’m not sure why they were changed from just trying to save their son and give him the opportunity to actually grow up rather than perish under a collapsing planet, to sending him to earth to rule over them and save their species in any way possible. Besides that, everything else was pretty good!
I definitely recommend watching this movie, it is currently on HBO Max.
