Watching the opening scene of James Gunn’s summer blockbuster "Superman," as overeager super-pup Krypto dragged Superman (David Corenswet) through the arctic tundra, I have to admit I laughed a bit incredulously, before realizing that Gunn planned to lean into the unabashed cheese that – until Zach Snyder’s reign of terror – made the Superman brand. Even setting the red tights aside, the dearth of cynicism left many to wonder how a sincere Superman would survive in the modern media landscape.
Luckily for audiences and the future of the genre, the new Superman and his director seem unafraid to go without the shield of sarcasm and moral ambiguity that superheroes have wielded for years.
In an interview with Rolling Stone Magazine, roughly a month before the film’s theatrical release, Gunn explained how and why "Superman" diverged from the previous work he’d done at Marvel Studios.
“In the past I would have done it making fun of the character, and I don’t think that’s what I do here. I’m less afraid now than I used to be,” Gunn said. “I’m less afraid of being goofy or sentimental, or boring or straight.”
Leaning into the unabashed goodness, sometimes bordering on naivety, of the principal hero very much paid off.
Overall, the film was a breath of fresh air in an oversaturated, increasingly trite genre, and a breath of relief for Warner Bros., grossing more than $600 million at the box office. For a little over two hours, audiences were transported to a world where unabashed kindness is the epitome of strength — an idea which has been steadily falling out of fashion probably since Christopher Reeve held the mantle, but one we now need more than ever.
Particularly touching was Superman's willingness to show vulnerability. Raw emotion defined a heartwarming scene with Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince) as he reconciled Superman's mission to "conquer" Earth with his personal commitment to protecting every life. Superman saves a squirrel before he saves the world - to him, no life is worth more than another, even if the squirrel freeze frame feels a bit ridiculous.
The film was sincere without being preachy, and well-paced even if some of its witty one-liners missed their mark. The cast of the Daily Planet staff, including the indomitable Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), is charming and noble in a more attainable way than Corenswet’s hero, while the so-called Justice Gang tests the audience’s credulity. Green Lantern (Nathan Filion)'s micro-bangs and the very existence of Hawk Girl have in previous DC adaptations been cast aside in fear of ridicule. But Gunn's movie embraces the absurdity with open arms. Nicholas Hoult, too, is compelling as billionaire manchild Lex Luthor, delivering a performance which is both cheekily satirical and biting. The additional villainous lackeys often felt unnecessary and unintimidating in comparison.
The film's unwillingness to mock the caped hero urged the audience to embrace Superman’s absurdity and radical empathy, inviting them to escape to sunny Metropolis for a little while. With a slew of sequels seemingly on the horizon for the DC Universe – the studio has already slated "Supergirl: Woman of Tomorrow" for next summer – audiences can be glad it has pivoted in a more promising direction.
However, Gunn’s adaptation is not entirely without teeth. Many right-wing commentators, such as Fox News’ Jessie Watters and Kellyanne Conway, were angered by Gunn’s insistence that Superman’s story is intrinsically an immigrant narrative.
“Superman is the story of America,” Gunn told The Times in an interview before the film’s release. “An immigrant that came from other places and populated the country.”
Amid President Trump’s push for mass detainment and deportation of immigrants — at times in squalid conditions or without due process – the movie understands it cannot afford to ignore the elephant in the room.
Like the rest of the movie, this too is a return to Superman's origins. The Man of Steel made his first appearance in 1938 and was originally dreamed up by Joe Shuster and Jerry Siegel, the sons of Jewish immigrants, to combat the rising tide of Nazism.
When asked about the backlash at the film's Hollywood premiere, Gunn held firm on Superman's story being an immigrant narrative. “People who say no to immigrants are against the American way," Gunn told Variety.
The boldness of Gunn and the film’s production team has paid off. The combination of Clark Kent's renewed corniness and the rejection of apoliticism has imbued this new franchise with a fresh optimism America's theaters sorely need.
