‘Superman’ a film full of heart and fun
By Wendell Gaa
“Superman” is thus far my favorite film for this summer season, quite possibly for the year 2025. I’m happy to acknowledge this given how previous cinematic treatments of arguably the most iconic comic superhero ever have been mediocre at best, disappointing at worst, at least as far as critical reviews go.
Written and directed by James Gunn, this is no doubt what I feel is the best film adaptation of the Man of Steel since 1980’s “Superman II” starring the late Christopher Reeve.
Like many other movie fans, I personally feel that Reeve was the best actor ever to don the super suit and he truly embodied the finest virtues of what Superman/Clark Kent is all about, the super being with messianic god-like powers raised among humans on the planet Earth after escaping the destruction of his own home planet Krypton, and yet he uses his powers for good and to help protect humanity from global danger and destruction in large part due to the values of love, compassion and courage imbued upon him by his earthly adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent. Looking at the bigger picture here, one can clearly see how Superman is a metaphor to the success of an immigrant’s life in a foreign land.
In the post-Christopher Reeve era, we have seen two actors put on the cape and super suit on the big screen, Brandon Routh and Henry Cavill, who respectively portrayed the superhero in 2006’s “Superman Returns” and 2013’s “Man of Steel.” While I enjoyed both of those films, this new “Superman” movie exhibits a dose of inspiring energy and excitement by James Gunn with the likes not seen since the classic Christopher Reeve films.
This latest “Superman” adaptation does not feature an “origin reboot” story in the same manner the two previously mentioned films are. We start off seeing Superman who is already the world’s most well-known superhero suffering his first major defeat after battling a metahuman called the “Hammer of Boravia” and is forced to find refuge in his Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica, which is his “Krypton-inspired” homebase on Earth. In this process, we meet his adorable superpower dog Krypto, whom I just know will be one of the most beloved “pet” characters in the history of cinema! After finding some time to heal from his initial loss, he returns to the city of Metropolis where he meets up with Lois Lane, his girlfriend and fellow reporter colleague at the Daily Planet newspaper, and who is the one person in his life who unceasingly believes in the inherent goodness of Superman/Clark Kent and his role as a protector of global humanity. Such an unconditional love will surely become crucial as the film’s events progress wherein Superman is set up by his archnemesis, the unscrupulous Lex Luthor, to unknowingly reveal to the public that his Kryptonian parents Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van had called upon him as an infant to take over the world as its conqueror and take many wives in order to resurrect the all-but-extinct Kryptonian race.
Global opinion soon turns against Superman and being the manipulative master strategist that he is, Luthor capitalizes on this by exerting his domineering corporate influence throughout Metropolis and the world while Superman voluntarily surrenders himself to the U.S. government to face the consequences of all the recorded “unintended” damages caused by his past heroic actions. Unable to bring down Lex Luthor and his minions all by himself, and having lost public trust, Superman will need the help of his lover Lois and fellow superheroes Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, and of course Krypto, to bring down the bad guys and win the day.
Without trying to sound too unimaginative, “Superman” is yet another reason why I enjoy going to the movie house, it is full of heart, fun, and enthusiasm which the whole family will enjoy, regardless of whether you are a comic book fan or not. I am really glad to see how James Gunn poured his devotion and focus into breathing a desperately needed sense of life, respect, and appreciation into what I would say is one of the most central and inspiring figures in modern mythology.
While I wouldn’t say that David Corenswet is the best actor ever to portray Superman/Clark Kent, he is most definitely the one person who is depicting the silver screen character in such a way that past and present generations who have been and are admirers of the Man of Steel will venerate and cheer on in this new DC film universe so brilliantly created by Gunn, a filmmaking superhero in his own right.
