Superman Review: James Gunn Delivers The Hero We Deserve

There are some people who will insist superhero movies should be "apolitical." Point out that political themes have always been part of the genre's conception — that Superman has always been an immigrant, that Wonder Woman was designed as a feminist role model, that the X-Men are a metaphor for various oppressed groups, that the very idea of a "Captain America" implies some sort of political perspective, etc. — and they'll either sputter into nonsensical excuses about how that doesn't count by whatever definition of "political" they're using, or they'll just play dumb for the sake of their own outrage.

James Gunn knows who these people are, and his "Superman" movie isn't afraid to say it: the honest ones are annoying dorks with bad hairdos, and the dishonest ones are screaming monkeys at keyboards. And his Superman (David Corenswet) will save them all anyway, because that's what he does.

It shouldn't be a surprise than Gunn's "Superman" is intensely political. After all, Gunn's previous three projects for DC were a movie satirizing American imperialism ("The Suicide Squad"), a streaming spin-off where a villain from the previous movie finds redemption by killing his Klansman father ("Peacemaker"), and a cartoon celebrating the slaughter of Nazi MRAs ("Creature Commandos"). And the straightforward morals of "Superman" — immigrants are people, locking people up without trial is wrong, wars of conquest are bad, tech companies often don't have your best interests at heart – shouldn't be controversial, except, well ... look outside at everything happening in the world right now. As an introduction to the rebooted DC Universe, "Superman" is zippy blockbuster fun. But amidst all its cartoon absurdity, it might just inspire people to make a difference in this universe.

Forgoing the origin story everyone knows, "Superman" opens with some quick titles establishing this universe of "gods and monsters." Clark Kent landed on Earth 30 years ago and has been operating as Superman for three years. He's decided to involve himself in defending the nation of Jarhanpur against the invading forces of Boravia — a military power that's both a long-term U.S. ally and making suspicious deals with a certain Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). As the film's action begins, Superman has lost a battle for the first time.

If you've watched the "Superman" trailer, you've seen how the movie begins, with Krypto the Superdog dragging Superman to the Fortress of Solitude to heal. Krypto is a very good boy — while the film's CGI is inconsistent in other places, Krypto never looks less than perfect — and perfect for establishing the suspension of disbelief necessary to enjoy this Silver Age-inspired take on Superman. James Gunn is introducing the DC Universe the same way most kids since 1938 have been introduced to the comics: dropping you right into a story where a billion crazy things have already happened and a billion more are going to happen. The wacky bits are funny but not necessarily a "joke" either. There are a few self-aware genre-savvy bits (like the Fortress of Solitude's robots cracking wise about their supposed lack of emotions) and Marvel-style quips (most notably centered around the Justice Gang, a corporate super-team that seems like Gunn's commentary on his previous bosses' superhero universe), but this movie embraces the weirdness of comics by mostly taking it seriously.

Moving faster than a speeding bullet between a few different conflicts and a huge cast of characters, "Superman" plays like a super-sized Saturday morning cartoon in live-action — but it's a cartoon with brains and some edge. It's Bruce Timm rather than "Super Friends," though it lovingly references the latter, and while you can take the kids, there are moments that border on Adult Swim territory. It's "mature" in the sense that key plot points revolve around the surprising sex appeal of Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), and "mature" in the sense that Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) can challenge Superman on journalistic ethics and civic responsibility in a lengthy interview that's as involving as any of the action scenes.

If "Superman" has one big flaw, it's that it's so busy that it can't possibly nail everything it's trying to do as perfectly as it wants. The ending tries to center Superman's feelings about his two sets of parents (Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan as his Kryptonian parents, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as his adoptive Earth parents) as the central emotional arc, and it did make me a little emotional. But said arc feels like such a relatively smaller aspect of the preceding film that it didn't hit as hard as, say, the similar thematic concerns in James Gunn's "Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2." Some jokes are less funny than others, and I'm not a fan of the "hypno-glasses" excuse for nobody recognizing Clark is Superman when human psychology is the better explanation (remember, celebrities lose celebrity look-alike competitions!).

But being overstuffed while having such good character instincts also means there's a lot to love here. Despite ties to "Peacemaker" and the upcoming "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow," the worldbuilding is less about setting up future projects and more just introducing so many entertaining characters that you'll want to see more of all of them. Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) might be my new favorite, an autistic-coded superhero who gets this film's signature Gunn one-take show-off fight scene and offers a strong counterpoint as the good tech geek against Luthor's evil tech geek. Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), the film's weirdest metahuman, is another small but impressive supporting character. 

The three leads are of course excellent. David Corenswet makes Superman his own with a take more flawed than Christopher Reeve's but more human than Henry Cavill's. Rachel Brosnahan is all steely confidence and sharp intelligence as Lois Lane, while Nicholas Hoult's Luthor combines traits of all the real world's most detestable villains for a singular portrait of envy turned toward destruction. If the narrative's valorization of journalism and the role it plays in Luthor's defeat is ultimately the least realistic thing in a movie that also involves a guy who can make helium with his hands, remember this is a fantasy. It's fun to dream.

"Superman" opens in theaters on July 11.