11 July,2025 07:11 PM IST | Mumbai | Johnson Thomas
Still from Superman
Superman, the latest instalment in the âman-of-steel' franchise has writer-director James Gunn, the most successful comic-book movie director ever, helming it and that in itself raises the level of curiosity way high. And I must say this is the most engaging and entertaining Superman movie in a long time though it might not exactly be a new take on the most iconic superhero. This umpteenth incarnation of the popular superhero, with David Corenswet as the Man of Steel, moves on without retreading the origin story.
Other than his metahuman abilities Superman is just as conflicted a human as you and me. He too feels the pain of rejection from the very people he is trying to saveâ¦and when they turn on him because of some suspiciously tainted evidence, his regret is deeply felt. The tainted evidence relates to what his parents Jor-El & Lara Lor van had intended for him on Earth. This Superman gets the emotions right.
Before we see Superman we get a very brief 300 year old history, in text form, explaining the arrival of metahumans on earth. The conflict here is about Jarhanpur, a country which has a resemblance to Afghanistan, being overtaken by Boravia (which could be a stand-in for Russia). Superman, who flew in to help the people of Jarhanpur returns back , all battered and bruised, seemingly on his last legs. That may be the first time in the film but its not the last.
The superhero alter ego Clark Kent is already working at the Daily Planet, is three months into a relationship with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), and is the only reporter who ever gets interviews with Superman until he passes the baton on to Lois.
In time, Superman finds that his age-old nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is behind this savage attack and he is using all the âalien' help he can get to discredit and destroy his rival. In this movie Superman is not only battling Luthor and his superhuman forces of evil but his own existential angst. The part where Luthor convinces the world into thinking that Superman is actually pure evil and has been tricking everyone with his fake good guy image is a little problematic because people get convinced too quickly and turn on him in a jiffy.
The film also has Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) aka The Justice Gang, and Krypto the super dog, the worst trained house dog ever, aiding Superman in his efforts to save the planet.
James Gunn's âGuardians of the Galaxy' films success probably prompted Warner Bros to choose him and it proves to be the right choice. This film is far more comic in tone with the villainy bordering on caricature. The climactic showdown here may not improve on Superman's credibility as the all-conquering superhero though. It's just not showy enough to do that. The section dealing with "pocket universes" and inter-dimensional beings doesn't cut much ice. But the dynamic action as seen in IMAX format is a definite advantage. Corenswet looks the part, his brand new suit is befitting and he is competent. If we had never seen Christopher Reeve and Henry Cavill before him, in the part, he would have been declared great but since their films exist, he pales a little in comparison, mainly in terms of looks.
Krypto is endearing, Luthor's social media obsessed girlfriend Eve(SaraSampaio) is suitably dotty, Superman's parents on Earth (played by Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) are touchingly endearing, Brosnahan's Lois Lane is fiesty and Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor, makes the most of his screen time with his comic book inspired villainy. Wendell Pierce as newspaper editor Perry White has little to do here though. John Powell's score with inputs from John Murphy and David Fleming soars high with all the callbacks to John Williams' iconic work in the first Christopher Reeve starer.
This potential relaunch of DC films is fast paced and imaginative, has bombastic action set-pieces and delivers enough entertainment. It may not be the best superman ever but you can't help but get persuaded by the âcrash, burn and resurrect' cycle that this film appears to takeoff on.
