The new Superman movie, which came out last week, had a lot of high expectations around it as the beginning of a new DC universe. Although DC has had a relatively successful track record with Batman-related films recently, including Joker (great), Joker 2 (not so great), and the TV show The Penguin, they have yet to take a good whack at the man in blue. Until now. Directed by James Gunn, head of DC Studios, and starring a fresh-faced David Corenswet, Superman lives up to its potential, with some flaws.
Superman has a good-natured amiability and a pace that hits all the expected beats, making it, in other words, a good popcorn movie. It is a DC movie that feels like an old-school Marvel movie, and I mean that as a compliment. It took me back to both The Avengers and Captain America: The First Avenger, both in terms of its style and its dialogue. The dialogue is full of banter and peppered with one-liners. The dialogue is consistently witty, but never laugh-out-loud funny, just like Marvel’s during its prime.
There is a problem that Superman suffers with that I feel like is applicable to many superhero movies: its genericness. Superhero movies tend to be visually flat in my opinion, a consequence of constant CGI and drab color palettes. However, Superman finds space for some beautiful moments. For example, there is a scene where Lois and Superman meet in Superman’s apartment. They are having an intense conversation while members of the “Justice Gang” (a nascent version of the Justice League that includes Green Lantern and Hawkgirl) are fighting a fluorescent space blob in the background. It is the most beautiful moment in the movie, hands down.
As mentioned earlier, there is a Justice Gang in this movie, which is part of James Gunn’s plan to build a new DC cinematic universe. He does a good job of it, adding other heroes such as Mr. Terrific and Metamorpho into the mix. We can assume more standalone movies will be coming, and eventually a Justice League movie. With Superman, James Gunn has made a movie that is a bit generic, but a good start for the DC universe.