Superman - DCs Saving Grace?

DC have been in quite a bad place in their movie department, particularly their cinematic universe. With so many main characters being executed so poorly to a point of being a betrayal of their core characteristics, and simply just bad movies, they've been digging themselves deeper and deeper into this hole as they try to rush keeping up with the powerhouse that is Marvel Studios. This newest movie, Superman, has been promised as the start of a new cinematic universe, clearing the way for some finally great DC movies - all spearheaded by James Gunn - and this movie does just that.

I should preface this review by saying I'm not a Superman fan. I haven't read any comics, however I know the core principles of what Superman stands for and should be. Saying this, I absolutely loved this movie. Every single moment perfectly encapsulates what I think a Superman movie should be. While it does have its fair share of flaws, the most important thing with any movie is the way it makes you feel. This not only makes me feel like a kid again - sitting down to watch a fun, silly, superhero movie - but also hopeful for humanity and the future of DC, and isn't that exactly what Superman represents?

David Corenswet does an incredible job at setting himself apart from every other actor who's taken up the mantle of the Man of Steel, while also paying homage to the late, great Christopher Reeve. They demonstrate amazingly the difference between Corenswet's and Cavill's Supermen in so many scenes. Namely the fight with that big monster planted by Lex Luthor. Throughout this fight we see Superman caring for any life, even the monster itself. He even stopped in the middle of a fight to move a squirrel away from the fray.

The way Superman's suit is used in this movie is incredibly fascinating, in that when he's at his lowest and he doesn't feel super at all, the colour is faded and the S is hardly ever a focal point or attracts your eye. However, once he visits his parents and rekindles the hope inside himself, every colour on his suit is much more flashy and vibrant, the S can be seen from a mile away and shines like a glimmer of hope for the people who's city is being torn apart by a black hole.

I'll finally get onto the story, because it is beautiful and so important. This not only perfectly represents what Superman stands for, but it also mirrors the political climate in the USA and Palestine, both in different moments. The people of the fictional country of Jarhanpur come together and stand up for their country, even against impossible odds, which is exactly what Superman was created for.

That child holding up the flag in the middle of a battlefield, just waiting and begging for Superman to appear was absolutely beautiful. It then cutting to him being relentlessly beaten down by Ultraman, being puppeted by this vengeful and envious billionaire, makes us that child. We're sitting in our seats, just hoping for Superman to get back up and keep fighting.

I have seen a few critiques that I feel I should address. First off I really don't like that a lot of the conversation around this movies flaws has devolved into calling anybody that says any bad word about it a 'Snyder fan' and booing them to no end because, as fun and beautiful as it is, this movie does have flaws.

I've seen people say this feels very tonally different, scene to scene. I'll be honest, this was valid in some moments. However, most of the time I felt there was a reason for this, it's not just a random tonal switch. I think it's mostly used to display the dichotomy between Superman and Lex Luthor, how they operate, and how their minds perceive the world. Another criticism I've seen is that this is too silly, which I think is a terrible critique. This is a comic book movie that feels just like a comic book, it's inherently quite silly. This is also Superman, I'd understand the problem if this tone was used for a Magneto origin story, but this Superman story isn't something that needs to be taken very seriously at all.

One critique I have, myself, is that I felt there should have been a little more world building and character building around Superman's family. I thought it was a good decision for this to not be an origin story, it's been overused millions of times before, but we could've got a little more of Ma and Pa Kent. I don't know where it could've fit, it may have even halted the movie entirely and this critique is way off base, but I feel they are integral to Superman, and more importantly Clark Kent, and they weren't given enough time to show it.

However, with all its flaws, I still absolutely loved this movie and I feel very hopeful for the future of the DCU, being taken up by James Gunn. All I hope is that he sticks to his word of making every project tonally different because that could definitely lead it to overtaking the MCU in the coming years. It may take a while but if it continues on the path it seems to be going down, I'll be there opening weekend for every single one of them.