Review: How James Gunn's Superman is a warning on the dangers of being petty

 In life, be it dealing with co-workers, a jealous ex, naggy parents or whatnot, you're destined to encounter haters of some form. It's up to us how we deal with them, do we give in to our baser instincts and respond with more venom towards their way, or do we turn the other cheek and try to be a better person in response? 

That's part of why I feel this recent Superman movie has struck such a strong cord with the public- it takes a character who's often either been portrayed as being distant from humans (as seen in the gloomier Zack Snyder films), considered "too good to be true or believable" (as seen by the rise of popular "dark superman" archeypes like Invincible's Omni-Man and The Boys' Homelander), or just too powerful to put in truly convincing peril.

Luckily, director James Gunn knew the assignment.  It's pretty refreshing how he foregoes the usual Superman origin story recap, focusing on the early years of his career as he tries to manage both a conflict between two fictional nations (Boravia and Jarhanpur, which are locations from the original comics) and Lex Luthor's various schemes and plots against him simultaneously. 

David Corenswet gives a ton of Midwestern far boy heart to the titular character- as good a Superman I thought Henry Cavill was, the overwhelming haze of Snyder's direction limited the amount of depth he was allowed to show off. Gunn keeps things intense for Superman, but there's sort of a childlike energy and sense of frivolity to this Super-story that surprised me.

He's got the help of the eccentric Maxwell Lord-sponsored Justice Gang, consisting of the supersmart and dry Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi, giving us a "terrific" breakout supporting character), the ruthless Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and the swaggering Green Lantern Corps member Guy Gardner (Nathan Filion, having himself a good ass time). Not hard to see why this trio have become so popular and sold so many action figures, they're also great foils for Superman without upstaging or discrediting him.

Outside the suit he's well supported by Clark Kent's confirmed-to-the-audience girlfriend and fellow ace reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan, delivering the expected Lois attitude), Wendell Pierce's Perry White and Skyler Gisondo's lovable Jimmy Olsen, and of course his trusty dog Krypto. Yes, he's a disobedient pooch, but he's also just a little cutie who wants to play, and he does prove his heroism so he's still irresistably charming. But Luthor and the Boravian president (Zlatko Buric, eating up so much scenery and getting some hard laughs from me) have a secret plan to eliminate Superman, one that hits very close to home for him...

I've heard some critics knock Superman 2025 for being a bit overstuffed with content, but I didn't find it as overwhelming as Dawn of Justice was. But there's a clear narrative line of action that holds everything together I feel, that being the clash of Clark's inherent goodness and Lex's ambition and bitterness that he doesn't get the same public love Superman does, in spite of his success in technology and business. 

Nicholas Hoult's performance is theatrically scummy as he goes totally apeshit with plans on top of plans just to mess with Clark and prove he's better than him, which is anchored by Superman's focus on rescuing people and saving as many lives as possible (which leads him into disagreements with the Justice Gang's ruthlessness).

Warner Bros have wanted to work with James Gunn for a while, and given his success with the Guardians films, it's no wonder they wanted to try his style of filmmaking out with the DC cast after the Snyderverse proved so polarizing. Following the success of his version of Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, he's able to lend a bit of his punk energy and St. Louis native-natural weirdness to Superman's throwback sense of compassion, and it results in a damn fun time. 

And speaking as a fan of differing interpretations on established characters- lord knows I love my Roger Moore James Bond movies and my more dramatic American Sonic the Hedgehog stories- I can sympathize with Snyder fans feeling a bit left out, even if I'm not the biggest fan of it (the Snyder Cut of Justice League was a bit better, but it still had the Joss Whedon version's basic problems). 

But as someone who still cries for Rocket Raccoon in all three GOTG movies and also grew up as a fan of the Kids' WB Superman in the 90s, I was more than ready for a fresh take on Superman, and this was certainly that. It's kind of a blend of the DCAU Superman mixed with the Peace On Earth book, spiced up with some Gunn style- irreverence. Clark being human enough to be irritated by online trolls calling him "the Supershit" is a hoot.

Hey, I'm fine with the occasional anti-hero- I'm a massive Dirty Harry fan, and I also think Logan is one of the greatest comic book movies ever, but I don't necessarily enjoy them as the norm, and I generally gravitate more towards unironic protagonists just because they're often not in "vogue". Everyone loves a bad boy, but there's a reason why James Gunn picked the theme song he did for this movie. 

What makes Superman cool is that in his most engaging stories, he isn't trying to be "cool", just simply the right thing. Whereas the Snyder-movies were more concerned with the symbolism of the S-shield, this new 2025 Supes lets Clark and his flawed but earnest self take the lead, much to the story's benefit. 

Even if you're suffering from alleged "comic book movie fatigue", trust me when I say that Superman still might have something for you even if one's not that much of a superhero person. While it's got more edge than the 1978 Richard Donner movie, it has a nice mix of comedy, badass action, heartfelt moments and cosmic-level fun that long time comic fans should be satisfied with.