Silver Screen Reviews

Hello, there. Welcome to Silver Screen Reviews. To those reading this, which I can only assume are my parents, some close family, and a handful of close friends, welcome to a continued hobby of mine now just on a different platform from my Substack.

I don’t know why, but something clicked over the past few weeks where I wanted to branch out to have what feels like my own website and write just about movies and occasionally other pop culture items in my free time, which is something I’ve semi neglected over the past few months. Part of it is because I started a new job in April and that’s consumed a lot of my days which sucks because not only has it limited by writing output, it’s also put a damper on going to the movies for a morning/afternoon double feature on a random Monday or Tuesday. Sure, a paycheck every two weeks does rule and enables me to buy more DVDs, it takes away from my time of going to see movies in theaters and that truly blows.

Nevertheless, I think that starting this site will make me want to write more and use my free time to write and watch movies more often.

Alright, enough of me pontificating about my reasoning for this site that I hope grows some legs. You’re all here for one reason and one reason alone. You want to hear my thoughts about James Gunn’s Superman film.

Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, and Skyler Gisondo, we get a true to itself, James Gunn movie. That’s a good thing and also a bad thing. Or maybe bad’s not the word I’m looking for, but it has the typical flaws that a James Gunn movie has.

On a good note, and a flawed one, Gunn sort of Guardians-of-the-Galaxy-ifies the Superman story. Gunn makes it where there are a lot of moving pieces and characters eating up the spotlight, especially in the third act, and when it comes to the Guardians of the Galaxy films that does work. In those films, there isn’t a solidified main character. Sure, Star-Lord is the focal point of the trilogy, but you become equally invested in Drax, Rocket, Gamora, Groot, even Nebula because you know about their back stories and them coming together is what gives those films heart.

In the case of Superman however, I begrudgingly agree with Mike Francesa when he says that he doesn’t need Mr. Terrific and Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl flying around. I wanted a lot more of Superman going toe-to-toe with Lex Luthor and trying to win over Lois Lane and bit less of the other heroes injected. That doesn’t mean I don’t think they aren’t important to the storyline, but 15% less of those characters and a little more Superman would have worked better for me.

Down the line in his career, I would like to see Gunn take a risk and ditch his usual approach of taking a rag tag team and having them battle a villain and instead focus on one or even two heroes. I know it’s far different than what he’s done in the past decade, but when he directed Super in 2010, a very grounded and raw “superhero” crime film, he focused on two individuals, and that’s probably my favorite movie in his filmography. It still carried the same humor he’s used in films following it, but he’s never returned to that approach of focusing on just one main character as his career’s progressed. That’s probably my biggest gripe with Superman overall. Gunn seems to get too bogged down in wanting the audience to ooh and aah at heroes like Mr. Terrific and cameos from Peacemaker, but when you’re handling the IP of the biggest and most famous superhero there is, you don’t need frills.

In a more positive light of the common Gunn themes, he knows how to pull on the audiences heart strings. In Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, there’s many moments where you can get emotional, especially seeing Rocket’s backstory and his near death experience. While there isn’t a moment on that level in Superman, there’s a few big time soul stirring scenes. My favorite was the interaction between Clark and his father after his escape from Luthor’s inter dimensional prison, and Pa Kent tells him “Parents aren’t for telling their children who they’re supposed to be. We are here to give y’all tools to help you make fools of yourselves all on your own. Your choices, Clark. Your actions. That’s what makes you who you are. Let me tell you something, son, I couldn’t be more proud of you.”

Outside of that main gripe, I don’t have any other major complaints. I found that cheesy dialogue moments like “Hey, buddy. Eyes up here” worked because Gunn sets up early on that Superman is a corny guy at his core. In his interview with Lois Lane, he makes the comment that “Superman doesn’t have time for selfies” and Lois Lane bites back saying “You’re referring to yourself in the third person?” That happening so early in the movie adds a bit of depth to other moments and lines that Superman drops later on throughout the film, especially in his cliche monologue he shouts at Lex Luthor towards the end of the movie. It’s feels clear that him saying “I love, I get scared. I wake up every morning and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength” was something he’s thought about in the past, even if it is authentic.

Leading up to the release of the film, there were many questions posed, but the biggest was people wondering how David Corenswet would embody the character of Superman. While he’s not Christopher Reeve (who really is) he’s an above average embodiment of the character. He’s far more charismatic than Henry Cavill, but almost anyone has more charisma than Cavill who is about as interesting as a piece of plywood.

Throughout the film, Corenswet gives a stellar performance, but any time he’s in a scene with Rachel Brosnahan, who plays Lois Lane, she dominates. This isn’t a knock on Corenswet, but Brosnahan just brings the proper energy to each scene she’s in, whether she’s conveying her disappointment in her relationship with Clark Kent or flaunting love and care for Clark, he’s fantastic.

While David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan have been the talk of the town, the MVP of Superman was Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Every scene he’s in he’s giving 110% of manic envy and rage. I’d like to say I’m stunned he gave a performance to this degree, but it’s not when you watch his performance in Mad Max: Fury Road. When I left the theater, I thought that his villainous performance as the sinister billionaire was one of the best villain performances in any comic book movie we’ve seen. After sitting with that thought for a couple of days, I still think that sentiment is true. No, it’s not better than Heath Ledger as the Joker or Alfred Molina as Doc Ock, but he’s close behind.

My final thought, and it’s not a nuanced or original one, is that incorporating so much of Krypto, Superman’s dog, was the right move. It’s, again, another way Gunn pulls at the audiences heart strings because people inherently, and wrongfully, care more for animals than they do other people, so when you see Krypto being tortured, you’re left in your seat feeling helpless on behalf of Krypto. Maybe I’m a sucker for that choice because I have a dog of my own that I love, but I adored the relationship between Superman and Krypto. He’s there during Superman’s lowest moments when he’s recovering from Kryptonite poisoning and at his highest peaks when the two finally beat Lex Luthor.

All-in-all, James Gunn’s Superman serves as both a delightful summer blockbuster that you can watch with a big cup of diet coke and a large popcorn and also as the foundation of a new age of the DCU. As I left the theater, I felt a twinge of excitement for upcoming films that Gunn will oversee and work on such as Supergirl, Wonder Woman, and Aqua Man. If you’ve got the time, go catch Superman in theaters.

3.5 / 5 Stars