The review embargo has lifted and James Gunn’s “Superman” isn’t the disaster The Daily Beast hinted at. No, it’s a watchable film, decent, not a game changer, but that might just be enough to sustain the DCU, for now.
So far, “Superman” has a 69 on Metacritic and 82% on Rotten Tomatoes. That feels a bit generous to me, though I’ll admit I enjoyed its goofy charm. It’s lightweight and disposable, sure — but still manages to be fun.
“Superman” doesn’t strive for greatness — and maybe that’s the point. It’s light on exposition, skips the usual origin story, and throws us right into the middle of the drama. Lois knows Clark’s secret. LexCorp is proxy funding villains. The public’s already debating whether the guy is a hero or a threat. It’s a welcome change of pace.
It’s a brisk, no-nonsense take on the Man of Steels. At just over two hours, the movie plays less like a bold statement and more like a thematic pit stop. A transitional film that’s meant to kick-off Gunn’s DCU.
There’s a sincerity here that’s hard to dismiss. And yet, for all its good intentions, the movie struggles to build any real momentum. Scenes play out with little consequence. Conflicts are introduced and abandoned. It feels more like a cartoon than a fully fleshed movie.
The plot is loose and episodic. Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is juggling a high-profile relationship with Clark while covering Superman’s growing unpopularity. Meanwhile, Superman is bouncing between metahuman fights, being Clark, PR disasters, Lex Luthor —a scene-stealing Nicholas Hoult— and multiversal blackholes. There’s a lot going on, and somehow not much happening.
And then there’s Krypto. Yes, the superdog. He’s not just comic relief — he’s practically a co-lead. He injects humor, sure, much of it silly, but the dynamic is so central it occasionally veers into Superman & Krypto: The Movie.
Visually, it’s colorfully pleasant. The CGI isn’t as hideous as some recent comic book offerings, and the set pieces at least have some personality to them. The action, competently realized, breezes by you while also lacking any big impact. Whether that’s a byproduct of superhero fatigue or just the weak stakes at hand, I’m not sure.
Gunn’s fingerprints are all over the place — the mismatched team dynamics, the rapid tonal shifts, the bursts of outcast sincerity. It all results in the most unique, comic booky Superman ever put on celluloid. Unlike Donner’s films, Gunn has no high ambitions, he just wants to have a good time.
Gunn wanted to reboot the DCU with heart, humor, and hope. What he’s made instead is a watchable, well-intentioned film — neither a triumph nor a disaster, just a movie that never quite figures out what it wants to say.