It came as a great relief when writer/director James Gunn announced his new “Superman” film, which opens in theaters on Friday, would not be an origin story.
After all, anyone with even the slightest interest in this movie surely knows at least the basics of his biography. After learning their planet Krypton is about to perish, two parents put their baby in a spaceship and point it toward Earth, where he’s adopted by farmers who realize the lad has supernatural powers which, when he grows up, he uses to make the world a better place. The story of Superman, at its core, is an immigrant success story.
And yet, after Gunn told the Times of London in an interview published over the weekend that “yes, it’s about politics, but on another level it’s about morality,” Fox News hosts went into overdrive on Monday, complaining that the “Superwoke” movie embraced “pro-immigrant themes.”
To be certain, there are political themes in “Superman.” The main villain is a raging, self-centered billionaire who uses media, social and traditional, to spread lies and hatred. The secondary villain is a doddering, power-hungry elderly man with an unruly mop of hair and a flock of advisors who constantly shower him with unearned praise.
And a significant portion of the film is devoted to masked thugs who disappear the villains’ enemies to a secluded and harsh prison camp without anything close to due process. (It’s worth noting that filming on “Superman” wrapped last July, which makes some scenes feel eerily prescient.)
But, as Gunn said in the same interview, “there is also a flying dog in the film who wears a cape.” And, despite all odds, that flying dog — whose name is Krypto — is one of the best things about an overstuffed, but never boring, film that’s far more than just another superhero tale.
This image released by Warner Bros.Pictures shows Krypto the dog, in a scene from “Superman.” (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)
“Superman” serves a reboot to DC’s cinematic universe, which began with 2013’s “Man of Steel.” In it, director Zach Snyder — whose 2004 film debut was a smart and stylish remake of “Dawn of the Dead” that, to date, remains his finest moment — reimagined Superman as a brooding, but sexy, Christ-like figure unafraid to murder his opponents.
From there, Snyder’s own films got increasingly tedious and ridiculous. And despite a few bright spots in “Wonder Woman” and “Aquaman,” all but one (2023’s “Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom”) of the eight most recent DC flicks failed to recoup their budgets and earned mostly negative reviews.
One of those flops, 2021’s “The Suicide Squad,” served as Gunn’s entry into DC territory after the success of his “Guardians of the Galaxy” series for rival studio Marvel, which stand among that company’s most-loved entries. Gunn’s work inspired Warner Bros. Discovery to hire Gunn, and his longtime collaborator Peter Safran, to oversee the new universe that starts with “Superman.”
Gunn keeps the action moving fast and furious from the very first scene, in which Superman has lost a battle for the first time. From there, the audience is ushered into this new world through a series of fun and breezy, and sometimes comical, sequences that fill in the plot.
Without giving away any spoilers, there is a lot going on in “Superman.” Not all of it works, but Gunn never lingers on any one topic for too long and manages to tell multiple stories in an economical running time of just two hours. (No superhero movie should ever clock in past the two-hour mark.)
Overall, the casting is brilliant. David Corenswet, an actor who has worked steadily in film and television over the past decade but is just now making his big breakthrough, portrays the title character as a truly kind, gentle giant who looks for the good in people. He sees his main goal as protecting and serving his beloved adopted home and its people. (One flaw in the film is that we don’t see enough of Superman as his alter ego, mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent.)
Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) sizes up her coworker in disguise (David Corenswet) in “Superman.” (Jessica Miglio/Warner Bros. Entertainment)
Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is sharp and spicy, while Nicholas Hoult channels both Tom Cruise and Billy Corgan as the villainous Lex Luthor. Gunn also chose wisely in selecting actors for the other superheroes — which are called metahumans in this world — a quartet of lesser-known characters in the DC universe: Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as the Guy Gardner Green Lantern (complete with his awful bowlcut from the comics) and Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl. (What, James Gunn, no love for Matter-Eater Lad?)
Gunn also tosses in winks and nods to the many decades’ worth of Superman portrayals in print, film and television, including even decidedly uncool stuff like “Superman III” and the “Super Friends” cartoon series.
And then there’s Krypto, who Gunn modeled after his own rescue pet. Mostly untrained and wildly rambunctious, Krypto is a good dog who is also a very bad dog (in a good way). It’s a sheer delight every time that little doggo shows up on screen. He’s also a reminder of why, when it works, “Superman” works well. Yes, it gets political at times. But it also celebrates the sheer goofiness inherent in comic books unlike any film before it. I’m excited to see what comes next.
‘Superman’
Directed by: James Gunn
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion
Rated: PG-13 for violence and language
Should you go? When it works, “Superman” flies high. 3 1/2 stars.
