You may have noticed that Hollywood has essentially given up on serving up original content. Gone are the good old days of my youth, when breakthrough movies like Star Wars, Back to the Future, Jurassic Park and Christopher Reeves’ Superman dazzled us with new ideas, mindblowing optics and things we had never before seen on the big screen. Those franchises are still alive and well, and most have added ongoing sequels, prequels and remakes in hopes of capturing the enthusiasm (and revenue) of those originals. Some are better than others, but there is often a stale feeling to the well-traveled ground of these storylines.
This could have easily been the case with James Gunn’s new Superman movie, but thankfully and to my utter delight it is not!
As the movie opens, we are not subjected to an enactment of the all-too-familiar origin story of the Kryptonian refuge. We all know the deal, we’ve seen it done multiple times in multiple formats and what we really need is to just cut to the chase. Superman did just that. We get a brief rundown on the current situation and the action begins.
You will find no spoilers here, but what ensues is the perfect balance of action, drama and humor, with fresh takes on some classic characters and the introduction of some new ideas about Superman’s Fortress of Solitude. We are also treated to a different take on what his Kryptonian parents wanted him to do upon arrival on Earth. David Corenswet’s portrayal of the Man of Steel hails back to the brilliant way Reeves played him, Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane is spunky and modern with all of the attitude we expect from the character, and Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luther is worthy of Gene Hackman and Kevin Spacey, who both played the role masterfully.
Brilliant acting isn’t enough, though, and the actual plot of this film really delivers the goods. You’ll laugh, you’ll cheer and you’ll cry, but most importantly you’ll leave the theater feeling really good about what you’ve just seen. That’s a rare feeling for this movie buff. More than that, though, you might just leave the theater with a fresh reminder that humanity does have redeeming qualities and we tend to come through for each other when it matters most.
My final take? The world really does need Superman…and, hopefully, Superman II.
