By Drew Dietsch
| Published
There will be endless takes on James Gunn’s Superman. Some will be part of coordinated efforts run by idiotic grifters, some will be from uneducated bores without anything interesting to say, and others will come from a place of sincerity that tries to lay out their perspective on this tentpole movie release.
A Superman For Sincerity
Sincerity is at the heart of Superman. It’s clear that James Gunn is using the original superhero to make an argument against irony, cynicism, and even the new era of centrist cowardice. This kind of message is undoubtedly going to ruffle the feathers of anyone aligned with those toxic beliefs, and it’s nice to see a blockbuster superhero movie feel like it’s actually tackling the problems of today’s world.
Anchoring this outside of the script is David Corenswet’s performance as Clark Kent. Gone is the stoic demi-god we’ve been stuck with in movies for nearly two decades. Corenswet captures the boyish optimism that has come to define Superman to fans of the comics and other iterations such as the television show My Adventures with Superman.
But it’s not just being charming and sweet-natured that makes Corenswet the best big screen Superman since Christopher Reeve. Clark’s story in Superman is one of self-discovery, forced to reckon with his alien heritage and the values he had instilled in him thanks to his adopted upbringing. Corenswet is presented with a barrage of issues and contradictions, and watching him struggle, sometimes fail, and ultimately succeed through a mission of empathy makes this Superman an all-time interpretation.
Superman Gets Superman
In fact, if Superman has one undeniable home run element, it’s Superman. There is a very clear mission in this film to Get It Right when it comes to the titular hero. Naturally, this has to incorporate the beginnings of a cinematic universe, but Gunn is willing to bypass a bunch of table-setting storytelling in favor of using the larger DC universe to strengthen the themes he wants to hit home with Superman himself.
Because once you look past all the giant monster battles, dimensional rifts, and evil sidekicks, it’s clear that James Gunn wants to actually use Superman to say something substantive. One of the popular monikers for Superman is “The Man of Tomorrow,” and no other Superman movie has really seemed to take that idea to heart like this one.
Selfishness vs. Selflessness
There’s no doubt that Gunn sees a problem with modern masculinity and a core issue he wants to tackle is the encouragement of selflessness. The main conflict of the story between Superman and Lex Luthor (an equally landmark performance from Nicholas Hoult) boils down to the idea that our humanity is defined by our willingness to help our fellow humans. Lex Luthor argues that he wants to help others, but his motivations are based solely on his selfish hatred for Superman, and end up being both destructive and apathetic towards actual people.
It’s been exciting to see the rise and rise of superhero cinema as the dominant action mythology in popular culture, but more and more disheartening to see that most of these movies and television shows don’t end up feeling like they are actually about anything worthwhile outside of basic character themes. Supermanlike the rest of Gunn’s DC output, is not afraid to openly be about topical/political issues. By doing so, Superman has an actual voice behind it instead of a visionless, corporate committee stamp of approval.
In an era where riding the fence has become a celebrated position, Superman dares to take a stand and make a case for the Man of Tomorrow that we need: an earnest, empathetic hero who won’t just sit on the sidelines when evil is clearly happening in the world. Does that mean things will get messy? Of course, that’s the nature of actually standing for something. Superman does have its messier elements, but they are in service of a superhero movie that wants to do what it can to actually help the world.
It sure would be nice to see that kind of noble sentiment more and more in the real world. Until that happens, at least we have Superman trying to inspire people to be real heroes.
