Okay, I accept that Hollywood’s reboot of Superman is for a new generation of moviegoers.
This generation, stupefied by Computer Generated Imagery (CGI), overused in the Marvel Universe pictures and according to Martin Scorsese “not film,” confuses audience eyes with smoke and mirrors, its rapid slam, bam and crash imagery.
Though based on comic books, a sense of credulity is rapidly lost.
DC (Detective Comics) invented Superman in 1938 and was known for its use of practical effects in the definitive 1978 Superman starring the late Christopher Reeve when the tagline read “You’ll believe a man can fly”, and I did.
It was a cultural touchstone. DC now gloms onto far too much CGI which may please its new audience, but which ignores seasoned, knowledgeable viewers.
Even its new character, Krypto, a disobedient pet dog, was obviously introduced to evoke laughter, is all CGI and looks it.
Krypto reminded me of Harrison Ford’s failed The Call of the Wild (2020) and his unrealistically moving CGI dog Buck.
Stick with the 1935 version with Clark Gable and Loretta Young where Buck is a real live St. Bernard.
After his success with Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad director James Gunn was offered Superman.
He said no. Offered it again, he should’ve stuck to “No.”
Superman (David Corenswet) needs to make peace with his alien Kryptonite heritage and with his human upbringing as Clark Kent, unfortunately not seen enough and not given enough to do at The Daily Planet in this new version.
As the Man of Steel he’s supposed to be the embodiment of truth, justice and the American way, but soon finds himself in a world that views these precepts as out-of-date and old-fashioned.
He’s pummelled with paper coffee cups, so disgruntled with Superman are humans engrossed in fake news social apps.
Superman is neutralised far too much in this remake. We don’t care much for cheering.
I wanted this film to succeed in every way possible.
However, Superman is treated as a stupid character who earns mocking from his earthbound fans. When we’re first introduced to Superman, he lies defeated by some super-dooper robot, obviously stronger than the Last Son of Krypton, the nemesis computerised and technically developed by Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).
He hates Superman only because he’s different.
Hoult gives a strong and believable performance and somehow creates an incarnation of Elon Musk.
Corenswet as Superman is charming, earnest, and somewhat naive.
He captures the essential contradiction at the core of the character, even with make-up giving him the forehead hair curl of Christopher Reeve.
He has the soul of the farm-raised, kind boy who just wants to do what’s good.
Smallville, where a rocket crashed into as field and the toddler from Krypton was raised by a farming couple as Clark, is in Lowell County, Kansas. Pa Kent (Taylor Pruitt-Vince) and Ma Kent (Neva Howell) spoke with deep Southern accents.
Well, Vince was born in Louisiana and Howell was born in Georgia, a long way from the Midwest of Kansas. There is great rapport among the Kent family, especially between father and son. This new version spares us its origin story.
Reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Breshahan) is believable and delivers a character you can definitely like. Jimmy Olsen (Skylar Gisondo) is also memorable.
Seems that whenever Superman comes out second best in fisticuffs, he’s supported and rescued by the Justice League: a full of it Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion, who insisted on having the bowl cut of his hair as depicted in the comics), grumblebum Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), and efficient Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi).
There’s a whiff of the original John Williams score extended by Gilles Nuytens. John Murphy and David Fleming contribute other music, all easily forgotten.
Superman should triumph over evil, not constantly have the tar knocked out of him.
