The most politically radical statement made by James Gunn’s “Superman” is that goodness in all things, and for all people, is worth fighting for. In the entire cinematic history of the original superhero, there has never been a film that has so pointedly doubled down on the idea that Superman’s aw-shucks good nature and kindness are his greatest strength, and in many ways, the thing which separates him the most from the rest of us. He may be an alien from another world, but at the end of the day, Superman is just an adopted boy from Kansas who loves his parents, his dog, and his girl. What could be more human than that?
James Gunn is no stranger to finding the gooey relatable center in a group of rapscallions (“Guardians of the Galaxy”) or downright villains (“The Suicide Squad”); you might say he does it better than any modern filmmaker. But Superman’s heart of gold is often viewed as a crutch, with filmmakers spinning the Man of Steel into darker, broodier territories. Common knowledge is often to repaint Superman into modern geo-political strife and anxiety, one of compromise and enhanced interrogation, of coups and wars, and turning the other cheek while genocides run rampant half a world away. In this modern reality, we mere mortals are left with few options to deal with the existential cruelty of that world. We at best can scroll our phones in ascending horror, bemoan our own ignorance, or, worst of all, force ourselves to believe, or be convinced by capitalistic interest, that pain and death are unchangeable absolutes so long as they do not happen to us. Superman, though, feels quite to the contrary. James Gunn does not bring Superman to us, instead he brings us to Superman; spinning a film that is as hopeful as it is entertaining, where honoring the sanctity of all living things is the best that a human can aspire to achieve, and even the Last Son of Krypton needs a helping hand every once in a while.
I knew that “Superman” was special from the first five minutes of the film, which opens in the icy tundra of Antarctica with simple titles bringing audiences up to speed: Superman is the world’s most powerful metahuman, he came to this planet as an alien child fleeing destruction and was given sanctuary by the kindness of Kansas farmers. We all know this. Yet it is the final two titles that are most important: 1. Three weeks ago, he had stopped an ally of the United States from unlawfully invading and slaughtering a neighboring nation, and 2. Three minutes before this very moment, Superman lost his first battle. In short order, Superman/Clark Kent (David Corenswet) crash lands in the snow, bloodied and bruised, calling for help. Soon, he receives that assistance from Krypto, his rambunctious cape-wearing dog, who nearly steals the movie, and is drug to the crystalline palace known as the Fortress of Solitude in an attempt to heal and rejoin the fight still in progress. James Gunn knows that the power of a hero is not that they can throw a punch, but that they can get back up after taking one; something that most modern action movies fail to realize. In his vulnerability, Corenswet endears us to THIS version of Superman more so than any of his predecessors through the relatability of his problems and his insistence that he is simply trying to do the best he can. Once returned to his home in Metropolis, life does not get easier for him. World-renowned reporter and Clark’s girlfriend, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), sees him as reckless, not questioning the morality of his actions in stopping war, but certainly the wisdom. An early sequence where Lois interviews Clark as Superman may as well be the mission statement of the movie, with Clark becoming befuddled and defensive at Lois’ dogged insistence that while saving lives was good, he should have considered the consequences before acting as a representative of the United States. “I wasn’t representing anyone but me and…and…doing good”, stutters Clark exasperated. “People were going to die.” Clark cannot understand why saving lives could be considered dangerous. He has the power to do good; why would he not use it? This is not a film about how Clark comes to learn that this belief is wrong, but instead one that dares to convince us that he is assuredly right and the rest of us need to get with the program.
Lex Luthor has never been more fundamentally understood on film than here, with Nicholas Hoult playing the glowering tech billionaire as a petulant genius who cares not one bit about the destruction of either planet or people in pursuit of his evisceration of Superman. His plan largely plays on the inherent reliability of Superman’s goodness, creating catastrophes for Clark to swoop in and save while Luthor and his goons seek out increasingly heinous ways of destroying the “alien” threat, including stealing information that paints Superman as a conquering alien colonizer and locking away Krypto in a private inter-dimensional prison along with thousands of “political dissidents”. When Lois asks Clark why he would give himself up to the government for questioning and potential imprisonment, he simply shrugs and says, “They’ll probably take me to where Krypto is. I’m sure he’s scared”. This was just one of many, so many more than I would have imagined, times I was crying in the theater. Gunn weaponizes Clark’s passion for preserving life, showing him time and again placing himself in the path of pain or destruction to rescue both people and animals of every shape and size. Even the potentially necessary death of an alien kaiju saddens him. “We could have brought it to an intergalactic zoo or something,” bemoans Clark. Perhaps goodness IS radical after all; it certainly feels that way sometimes.
I have never much cared for Superman. I never understood the appeal of someone seemingly unsullied by doubt, an all-powerful being who always rang fascist adjacent to me, although that might be more because I read “The Dark Knight Returns” as a kid. What Gunn finds in the Man of Steel is more human than any depiction I have ever seen, one steeped not in the benevolence of a god but in the kind heart of a farm boy raised right. A scene with Clark and his adoptive father, Jonathan (Pruitt Taylor Vince), gives more insight into the guiding light of a good man than any grand Kryptonian crusade ever could. “Parents don’t get to choose who their children are. We give them the tools to become who they want to be,” says Jonathan. “And I am so proud of who you have become.” It goes unstated in this film that the “S” on Superman’s chest is not an “S” but the Kryptonian symbol for hope. In my mind, that concept always felt abstract because a shape has no inherent meaning beyond how it is used, by the actions taken by those who bear or wield it. For the first time, that symbol means something more to me; the same thing it means to a child in the film who raises a homemade flag of it over the war-torn ravages of his country. It means Superman, just like John Williams’ thundering horns mean Superman, just like believing that every life is precious and worth fighting for means Superman. Hope means Superman, and Superman means Hope. I get it now.
James Gunn’s “Superman” is old-fashioned in a way that feels primal, elemental, and absolute. This version of the character owes more in style and temperament to swashbuckling do-gooders like Indiana Jones for his eagerness to take a licking a keep on ticking, as well as his insistence on punching fascists in the face and not apologizing for it. There are some imperatives in this world that require no moral ambiguity; saving lives and freeing the unjustly imprisoned are just a few of those. That is what Superman has always stood for, and this film is as unambiguous about it as the sun.
Quite possibly the best Superman movie ever made is playing in theaters across the nation. You may not believe a man can fly, but you’ll certainly believe he can do some good.
Do yourself a favor and look up.
You’ll be glad you did.
“Superman” is playing at Prytania Uptown, Prytania Theatres at Canal Place, and The Broad Theater.
