Will we disagree over Superman?
The Average Dude has many friends and is a big fan of respectful debate. So, when one of my most trusted buds came into town, I treated him to some very decent Mexican food and a show at my favorite moviehaus. Plus, it was Cheapskate Tuesday there. Bonus.
My friend Drew is a father of three…6, 4 and fresh out of the oven. So, he has very little opportunity to sit in a dark theater reclining seat and escape the heat for a couple of hours. The Average Dude was more than happy to swoop in to the rescue. And since we’re in the dead zone of August, I thought it might be cool to get an unbiased East coast opinion on my favorite movie of the summer. Complete with Average Dude snarky commentary. Take it away, Drew…
Superman: Hits Hard or Pulls Punches?
I will admit, I wasn’t the biggest Superman fan. Sure I’ve seen the original movies with Christopher Reeves, the attempt with Brandon Routh (Say what now? That movie had one of my favorite Superhero scenes of all time!), and the Snyderverse short lived run with Henry Cavill. So, a few years have passed and now we have another attempt and again replacing the lead actor with a new face taking on the mantle. Cue the Snyder fan “Boos” (yeah, Snyder was overly ambitious but I get it. It was a superhero arms race) and out of the sky dropped David Corenswet. Literally, this Superman falls out of the sky as his introduction (Nice one!).
So what did I think? Let’s start with a quick recap. Superman is not at all what I expected. Clark Kent has been Superman for 3 years now. The fact that James Gunn did not decide to go with another origin story is awesome (Agreed). Fans of DC all know how Superman came to be, we don’t need a recap. And if you need a recap, then you probably aren’t a fan.
The story begins with Superman already hurt and we are introduced to Krypto, the cute but not so helpful dog. The relationship between Superman and Krypto is great. Neither one “needs” each other, but they both care for each other which is a great take on the relationship between man and dog and one we don’t see often. Maybe in Turner and Hooch? Anyways, enough about that for now. Back to the rundown. (This I also agree with and hadn’t considered the non-traditional master/dog relationship. But this will play into one of my favorite moments of the movie.)
James Gunn does a great job of setting up the quick back story here. We get to see the message from Superman’s parents with a great cameo there. I won’t spoil it. And then back to the action as Superman goes back to help the people of Boravia which pretty much the rest of the movie goes into a conflict in Boravia. Of course there’s more like Clark and Lois’ relationship, dealing with Lex Luthor and his shenanigans, and a few other things that I don’t want to ruin.
The first time we are introduced to Lex Luthor played by Nicholas Hoult. I have to admit, when I saw that casting choice my first thought was “ehh really?” (me, too). But man, what a performance, Nicholas Hoult did a fantastic job bringing that character back to what it should’ve been. (Very much agree here. As far as Luthors go, I would rank them Hackman, Hoult, Rosenbaum Spacey and Eisenberg) Not what Jesse Eisenberg gave us. Guy saw Batman was in his movie and had no idea what villain he wanted to play. 1 minute he was Lex, next minute he was Riddler, then somehow he was himself. No, Hoult was a great choice for the role. We really got to see how power hungry Lex is, how much he hates Superman, and really how brilliant he is. His portrayal was a great counter to Superman in this movie.
Enough about Lex, what about the Justice Gang?! I absolutely loved that this rag tag group of superheroes was brought into this movie. I was afraid that James Gunn was trying to fit too much into the movie, but man this movie would not have been the same without them. Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner was perfect (He was perfect).
And it’s hard to think Nathan Fillion who plays John Nolan in The Rookie (Never saw it) could play another character that is so opposite of John Nolan. But man, he was awesome as Guy Gardner. Efi Gathegi is part of the team as Mr. Terrific. I really like this actor and it’s about time he got a role as a superhero. Last run was as Darwin in X-Men First Class and his character had so much potential that was ultimately wasted. As Mr. Terrific he brought so much to the table and I really think he shined in the role. I can’t wait to see him in more projects.
There was also Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl. Not the best part of the team, I guess she does instigate some things with Guy Gardner to get him to go off on hilarious tangents. But ultimately, I didn’t think she was the strongest part of the movie. Hopefully with more projects she’ll get better. Altogether, having the Justice Gang added more to the movie. (The Justice Gang – one suposes is the precursor to Justice League – is a dysfunctional group to say the least. The Maxwell Lord character will have a lot to do in the new DCU)
Okay, okay, okay enough about the superheroes. What about Clark/Superman and Lois’ relationship? After all, there really is no Superman without Lois right? (uhhh, no Lois without Superman, I’ll grant you. But Superman can stand alone. Or fly, if you like) Rachel Brosnahan is our new actress to take on the role of Lois Lane. This take on Lois was pretty good in my opinion (Also agreed. No offense to Amy Adams, but new Lois is really better). She wasn’t the typical damsel in distress and was a good support for Superman. Some humor in there too with an interview she does. Again, I won’t spoil it but this scene showcases the acting and characters very well. This take on Lois might be my favorite take.
Last, but not least, we get to see Clark Kent’s life. Mostly through his interactions with his coworkers at The Daily Planet. I honestly was not expecting this breakout character, but Jimmy Olsen was a favorite of mine (meh). Skyler Gisondo came out of nowhere with this role. I remember him from Vacation, playing the oldest Griswold son and how wimpy he was. Seeing him as Jimmy Olsen though was great. Side question, anyone else get Marty McFly vibes from him or just me (I did not, but interested if anyone else did)? Anyways, Jimmy’s character is loyal, smart, and humorous. He helps Lois tremendously in the film, which ultimately helps Superman. If this character does not continue in future projects, I’ll be disappointed. (I’d like to see the whole ‘Superman’s Pal angle, complete with Superman signal watch).
So final thoughts, I loved this movie more than I thought I would. I think this take on Superman showed not only his life as a superhero but his struggles with his human side and the choices he makes. To me, it made him even more likeable to see him struggle with some choices he had to make and ultimately come out on top. Seeing this, I think makes him more relatable versus just seeing Superman at his prime and basically nothing stopping him but a green rock. Plus, Superman’s speech after the climactic battle was a favorite of mine. (I liked that speech just fine, but the line that got me was Superman talking about rescuing Krypto. “He’s a dog!” Yeah. And he’s not even a very good one. But he’s out there alone… and probably scared.” On that line alone, it established the Superman-sized heart he has. At that point, I’m sold) I think I could go on and on about just that scene alone and why it is important for Superman’s character. But, for initial thoughts, I’ll just leave it at that. Altogether, I would give this 4.5 out of 5 stars. Honestly, I’m ready to watch it again to see if there is anything else I missed.
***So yeah, we agreed pretty much on everything. I initally gave Superman a 4.2 because the the horrendous break in Superman cannon coming from the translation of the message from Jor El and Lar El. Gunn has apparently listened to the HUGE backlash from the SuperFan community and has said he will retcon that mistake in the digital release. If so, that will vault the movie up to 4.5 status for me. Thank you for hearing us, JG!
Thanks for the guest review, Drew. We seem to agree on most points and I like your take on things, though I’m still trying to find the Marty McFly vibe. Still, I think we can make you a regular feature on the Average Dude Movie Review! Feel free to comment any time you have a differing opinion. I’ll be sure to correct you! ;D ***
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