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Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent.


Wisely, Superman eschews his origin story and drops us into a colourful and firmly established universe that’s been populated by “Gods and Monsters” for three centuries. Superman (David Corenswet) is the new kid on the block, yet the strongest ‘metahuman’ that ever existed, contending with a vibrant and chaotic world where traditional human foes like billionaire industrialist Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) have the means to create ‘pocket universes’ and release kaiju as mere distractions. And he’s not alone. Other superheroes and supervillains exist too—like the so-called ‘Justice Gang’ of Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced)—as well as his own super-powered and often disobedient dog Krypto.


Gunn’s approach feels like a live-action cartoon, with all the action and spectacle $225M can muster. It makes little sense to do otherwise in today’s cultural landscape, when you’re up against the enormity of the ever-expanding MCU, although simpler times when Superman was the only superhero in “our world” held greater appeal to me. It’s difficult to get truly excited by anything Superman does in this film, as his existence itself isn’t particularly unusual for humanity, as everyone deals with extraordinary situations every other day. The citizens of Metropolis are avoiding a giant creature stomping around town one day, the next evening there’s a gigantic bioluminescent starfish floating around (literally being ignored by Lois), and the city is later torn apart by a black hole… all in the same week! And when extraordinary people and extraordinary situations are commonplace, it feels very ordinary. 


The casting is a definite hit, as the crucial roles of Clark Kent/Superman and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) are beyond reproach. The actors have great chemistry and relaxed rapport, even if it’s disappointing to see the Clark Kent alter-ego situation has again been dropped. Lois not realising her sweet but nerdy colleague at the Daily Planet is secretly the man of her dreams, and the greatest of all superheroes, feels essential to me. It’s not the same when she’s dating Clark and, for her, his “secret” extends as far as him not really needing the glasses he wears to work.