Superman
Superman is not a traditional 21st-century superhero movie. Although it has a likeable lead, a love interest, and all other usual ingredients of these films, Superman can stand out by deemphasizing its doomsday-like threats, having the hero on fun, sporadic adventures instead of climax-centered activities, and featuring a villain who's able to leave a mark; all while being thrilling and enjoyable. Although succeeding in those aspects mentioned earlier, the movie is clunky and lacks a focused theme.
The film begins with an opening text telling how Superman stopped a war and lost his first battle. The text recalls how Superman creators- Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster- began their Superman comics with a text box paragraph. The problem with the opening text is that it presents some information that is inessential to the film's plot, yet also contextualizes crucial story beats, such as the Boravian invasion, that should've been shown, not told. The invasion storyline is crucial to the film's overall story, and not showing it hurts the experience, as it feels like something important is always missing, a detail cut off. Behind the text is an extremely long shot establishing the first scene's setting, similar to how many first panels in comics are framed from a distance to establish the setting.
The narrative clunkiness persists as the simultaneous development of four major plotlines unfolds: Lex Luthor's attempt to overthrow Superman, the invasion above, Superman's discovery that he was sent to rule over Earth, and the Pocket Universe catastrophe. The plotlines don't flow episodically but rather all together, making the film feel messy. While highlighting that Clark is human as he perseveres, gets frustrated, yet must push through, this theme doesn't encapsulate the film, as it spends time having adventures rather than continuing to develop and build its themes.
David Corenswet's voice as Clark Kent is moderately deeper than his voice as Superman. Corenswet isn't bumbling as Clark Kent, and possesses the same confidence and strength as he does portraying, rather than boyishness and youthfulness, making them overly similar and nondistinct. This could be to demonstrate that Clark Kent is the mask Superman wears, and Superman is human because he's a reflection of the human being he has become all his life as Clark Kent. However, this idea is not consistently displayed throughout the film. Superman refers to his "home" as the Fortress of Solitude and his parents as his biological Kryptonian parents, not his adoptive parents in Smallville. In the comics, Superman uses the fortress for hobbies and self-improvement, to relax and work undisturbed, to keep his trophies and souvenirs, conduct secret experiments with his superpowers, and have special rooms for each of his friends (Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Batman, and Clark Kent).
Lex Luthor is the best character in the movie. His hatred for Superman drives his obsession and focus on defeating him. He uses the word "alien" when referring to Superman. When Superman angrily and smashingly confronts him after dognapping Krypto, he sees how he enters the room, and rather than being his furious self, he acts cool and confident, as if Superman and Lex have swapped personalities. He acts confused, then makes a passive-aggressive mumble. He loses his cool several times and throws stuff around in fits of rage. He's so petty that he has a multitude of "monkey bots" who trash Superman online. The scene where Superman tells Lex why he's human is undermined by the distracting effect of the background sun popping in and covering the screen every time he moves his head.
The action really feels like Superman can zip and zoom anywhere at incredible speed. When Superman flies, he may have his arms forward, but he still wears a smile on his face, clad in a bright blue costume. Feels that the camera is pushed in rather than zoomed in. The camera is moving a lot.
This movie may be clunky, but it’s a thrilling and fun adventure. Its distinctness in the overabundance of superhero media leaves the film as hopeful for a happy time as Superman is a hopeful human. As the world remembers Superman today, many will also remember this film.
