Over the last few years, I have slowly been growing tired of the MCU formula.
I was, however, intrigued by the concept of a new DC Universe from James Gunn.
After how badly handled the last universe was, it needed new hands to shape it, and Gunn seemed like the right guy for the job with his Guardians of the Galaxy movies and The Suicide Squad.
The first film installment in the revamped DCU is Superman, starring David Corenswet as the titular hero.
The movie begins three years after Superman revealed his existence to the world.
In the aftermath of Superman preventing the invasion of another country from its hostile neighbor, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) begins deploying every scheme he can to ruin the hero’s and destroy him.
With help from various other heroes, his dog Krypto, and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Superman works to uncover Luthor’s plot and save Metropolis.
In terms of quality, Superman is, well, another superhero movie.
Given that Gunn is an MCU veteran, the film feels very similar tonally to various Marvel movies, with lots of humor during serious moments.
If you are not yet sick of this formula, you will really enjoy Superman.
If, like me, you have grown tired of the formula, your experience will be more negative.
However, I think it does Superman credit that, despite me being tired of the humor and tone, I still found myself enjoying the movie.
For one thing, David Corenswet is great as Superman.
As a kid, I was never really a big fan of the hero.
I was more of a Batman fan.
Superman just seemed too perfect and one dimensional.
Corenswet sold me on the character, however, with his endless optimism, and the film actually does a great job of weakening Superman, making him more relatable.
Another highlight for me was Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal of Lex Luthor.
He does an excellent job of making me hate the petty narcissist.
But the big surprise for me was Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific.
I had honestly never heard of the character before I watched this movie but, after seeing it, I am more than on board for a potential Mr. Terrific movie.
Along with the fun characters, the movie also has plenty of feel-good moments, most notably between Clark and his parents.
The message is also good, mixing well with Superman’s optimistic outlook on life.
“You think everyone is beautiful,” Lois tells Clark at one point, and it really shows in this movie.
However, there is also some bad with the film.
As I said, I have long since grown tired with the constant humor during serious moments.
Superman unfortunately follows this formula for the most part.
Granted, I did chuckle a couple of times, and the humor is far from aggravating, but I do wish they toned it down a bit.
The CGI is also a bit iffy at times but that is to be expected with these kinds of films.
My biggest issue though is some of the subplots.
For example, there is this subplot with Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) which ties into the main storyline, and that just felt bizarre to me.
Overall, though, Superman is still a pretty fun time.
The performances are good, and it made me willing to see other superhero properities in this new universe, like the Supergirl movie which is coming next year.
I just hope the other films in this new DCU have different tones, and it’s not all just quippy humor.
We need some variation.
THE REVIEW MONSTER 