Brief Story Line
Superman (David Corenswet - Twisters 2024, Lady in the Lake mini series etc) had been saving the world for many years and was loved & admired by the people. As his secret identity Clark Kent, he was working for Daily Planet with reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan - The Amateur, Patriots Day etc) and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo - The RIghteous Gemstones TV series etc). Sometimes Superman would coordinate with Justice Gang that consisted of Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion - Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, Cars 3 etc), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi - StartUp TV series etc) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced - Alien: Romulus, Dora and the Lost City of Gold etc) to fight against various enemies.
However Superman's latest act had come under heavy scrutiny and made the US government worried, especially when Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult - Juror #2, The Garfield Movie etc) provided some convincing arguments. After an incident, people started to turn against Superman and he had no choice but to prove his love for the people was genuine, even if it would endanger his life.
So how would the story conclude? You could find out in this movie.
End of Brief Story Line
I had high expectation of this film since it was written and directed by James Gunn who had done plenty of wonderful work in the past like The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy, The Suicide Squad 2021 version and creator of that fun series The Peacemaker. And after watching this, I thought he delivered nicely. Now the early scenes seemed to be a bit fast as we were immediately shown Superman without the usual introduction. So James Gunn took a quick route of not providing his origin story any more, which was fine by me cause I already knew about it by heart (and likely most people who had seen him many times in past adaptations). However it might be a bit too swift for the younger audience who were probably unfamiliar.
Anyway, it took a bit of getting used to with the characters (especially the weird Justice Gang) and where the story was heading. But after a while, it got better and we were able to enjoy it more. I also felt the plot was smartly written and somehow very updated with the recent condition like the power of social media, the fear of the unknown and best of it all for me, Superman was not so invincible like how he was portrayed in the past. It was great looking at him fighting for his life many times even though we knew he would eventually prevail. There was a casually inserted talk about Superman hiding his secret identity which I thought showed the intelligence of the writing. I also loved the way Superman here always tried his best to save people like any superhero would do, which meant this new DC Universe (DCU) went for a lighter tone instead of very dark like in DCEU.
The characterisation of Superman by David Corenswet was spot on. My wife and I liked his portrayal in here including his similar look to the comic books. Rachel Brosnahan was equally suitable as the intelligent Lois Lane (she was my wife's favorite here). Nathan Fillion was pretty hilarious and provided few funny moments (with his terribly and annoying hair cut). Mr. Terrific was really awesome with that one scene in the middle that was totally amazing. Too bad Hawkgirl did not get too much screen time as the others. As for the villains, the Engineer (Maria Gabriel de Faria - Deadly Class TV series etc) was fantastic, just like Ultraman (I'll let you see for yourself who portrayed him). And of course one of Superman's greatest enemy Lex Luthor whom I thought was perfectly portrayed by Nicholas Hoult.
In addition to the many names I have mentioned, this movie had a large ensemble cast. There were appearances of Anthony Carrigan (Gotham TV series etc) as Metamorpho, model Sara Sampaio as Lex Luthor's girlfriend Eve Teschmacher, Wendell Pierce (Thunderbolts etc) as Daily Planet's editor in chief Perry White, Zlatko Buric (Wolfs etc) as president of Bovaria and even Frank Grillo (Boss Level etc) as ARGUS director Rick Flag Sr. Clark's adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent were portrayed by Pruitt Taylor Vince (JFK etc) and Neva Howell (Greedy People etc) respectively. Some other names also appeared as minor characters or cameo including Bradley Cooper, Alan Tudyk and more.
The movie's special effects were very good and the CGI was definitely not poorly done. I enjoyed the sound effect in the studio where we saw this and of course the Superman's instrumental theme that was heard many times. The film's duration of 2 hours 9 minutes felt just nice without feeling overly long or too short. It had two end credit scenes which seemed to be added for fun. The ending was also quite lovely and satisfying for me. It looks like a bright start for the new DCU and from early looks, the box office performance seemed to be pretty well too. Let's hope the first chapter of Gods and Monsters will be a success and we could see more of DC superheroes in future.
Overall this was an entertaining superhero movie with plenty of bright moments. The action was wonderful, the way Superman had to fought for his life was amazing, and though the story seemed a bit heavy and need some getting used to at first, there were some lighter scenes (usually involving Krypto & a bit of romance) to balance it. So if you want to enjoy a fresh and lighter tone Superman story, then I believe you would enjoy this like my wife and I did. Just be reminded that this is not an origin story of the iconic super hero.
Mike's movie moments rating: 4 out of 5 stars
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