We’re all tired of starting over. We cannot hold one more origin story, we have carried too many, and have grown sore from too many introductions and not enough finishes. What is important for the new superhero movie then, is to be more compact, more self-contained, thoroughly about itself. Not an extension of a universe or an advertisement for other properties, but a universe unto itself that is expandable as a story not because that is the only design, but because it is good enough to ask for more.
All these common concerns you must have about superhero movies have seemingly been on James Gunn’s mind too, and his new Superman acts as a reinvigorating tincture for the stale superhero market. It’s just a good movie, not inundated with Marvel’s brand of winks and jovial asides, nor by Snyder’s DC brand of grimdark superfascism, but by humanity, romance, and a story about the responsibility of living up to the potential of those who believe in us.
Truth and justice are the motivating force for this Superman, played sweetly by David Corenswet, who embodies the warm spirit of the great Christopher Reeve Superman from the Richard Donner films. It feels as though Gunn, now head honcho over at DC’s films division, is returning to those inspiring and colorful portrayals of Superman, while still carving out a distinctive tone that feels something more like a comic book. And that’s all good stuff.
Much of the story is rooted in Superman’s identity as Clark Kent. Rather than the common tendency of showing that the hero part of the character fulfills some void within them, Superman zigs in this way: It’s the humanity of Clark Kent and his Midwestern upbringing, actually, that create the power of change within his original form, as Superman, an alien hero with an obvious weakness, just looking for a home and some love.
By focusing on relationships and parentage, Superman is able to reorient the DC model, swooping in and lifting away all the heavy seriousness which has permeated the franchise since the Nolan Batman movies. It’s a good thing that DC can do both. Rather than folding Superman into the Batman model, they now have two distinct properties with self-contained movies, which deserve sequels, but do not have to intersect at all.
Superman, apart from the prerequisite tease at the end (which sets up a related story), keeps it all inside the film. The relationship with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) serves as deep motivating layer. Both characters take their responsibility to humanity seriously, as heroes and good journalists (its own kind of heroism, although they still don’t really understand ethics), and their affection for each other is also purposeful. Superman is not afraid of romance and does not shrink away from making love its primary motivating factor or its storytelling climax. That’s forward movement from the two modes of hero movies we have had lately: PG ones or trying-too-hard R-rated options.
Superman is good but not great. It doesn’t boast any singular trait that no other hero movie has. It’s thoroughly well-considered and returns DC and Superman exactly where they need to go. As a piece of brand management, it’s essential work by James Gunn, but just as a movie, it’s simply a fun and winning film about romance and family. Superman does not overachieve, setting its sights somewhere hero movies haven’t been in a while: It’s directly about humility.
Where to next? Anywhere but going back. It’s onward and upward with Superman, a film that is human, flawed, and may just save the franchise from sliding into disrepute. Just what a hero ought to be.