It is a great task to make a movie. That task becomes harder when the movie is about a legend. That would be The Last Son of Krypton, AKA Superman. He is of course the first comic book hero. The Man of Steel first appeared in 1938. He could perform great feats of strength and later learned to fly. He was a comic book staple, and then went into television, cartoons and later the movies. There were several movies made. Some were good, and some verged on mediocrity. This film flies and later flattens out. It later soars again.
This isn’t quite your father’s Superman. The two main principles, Clark Kent/Superman, (David Corensweet) and Lois Lane, (Rachel Brosnahan), are in a very open relationship. This means that our hero has shared his secret with our investigative reporter. This creates a few issues. The most trying is Superman taking sides in a war. When Superman sides with the underdog, he is defeated by the hammer of Boravia. He then flies to his fortress of solitude. There The Man of Steel receives medical attention, by sophisticated robots. They place him directly in front of the sun; which rejuvenates him. The robots are one of the best things in the movie. Our man from Krypton returns to Metropolis, where Lois questions his foreign policy decision. He faces other threats. This includes a tiny engineered creature that grows into a very large menace. Superman is holding his own, but is interrupted, by The Justice Gang. This is a group of comic heroes. They consist of Guy Gardner, (Nathan Fillion): a conceited Green Lantern with attitude, Hawkgirl, (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific, (Edi Gathegi). Guy Gardner is looking for praise and thanks. It is lavished but not on him. It is reserved for Superman.
All of the things happening are being observed by Lex Luthor, (Nicholas Hoult). The actor lends credibility to the movie. He has an array of acting credits in film and television. Acting is in his blood. His great aunt was Dame Anna Neagle, who was a British movie star. Hoult plays the character just right. Luthor is a captain of industry, but is overshadowed by Superman. This puts a burning hatred in Luthor’s heart. He manages to turn the world against Superman, by manipulating his reason for coming to earth. Superman having faith in the system surrenders to the authorities. He is turned over to Luthor, who imprisons him in a pocket universe. Luthor is a sadistic jailer, questioning his prisoner, while torturing him with kryptonite. The kryptonite is created by another prisoner, Metamorpho-The Element Man, (Anthony Carrigan). The actor underwent several hours in the makeup chair. Carrigan is able to convey a tortured soul who is forced by Luthor to generate Superman’s greatest weakness.
This could not be a Superman story without Lois Lane’s involvement. She finds out that Superman is a prisoner in Lex Luthor’s pocket universe. The tireless journalist asks The Justice Gang for help. Guy Gardner and Hawkgirl refuse. Mr. Terrific reluctantly goes after strong persuasion. He takes a the gang’s craft and his locator spheres. Lois and Terrific get into the universe and locate Superman. The Man of Steel is rescued and heads back to Metropolis. The escape leads to some spectacular CGI. Once back in Metropolis, Superman does spectacular feats, saving many lives. These heroic acts are just part of the reason Superman is still a comics mainstay.
The Justice Gang does get involved. They stop the country of Boravia from a brutal invasion of another country. All of the bad things that happen come back to the evil genius, Lex Luthor. It is up to Superman to prove this. This of course leads to the climax of the film. This does involved generated effects. It also leads to a verbal confrontation between evil and good. Luthor tells Superman that he is an alien and not human. This leads to a well delivered speech by David Corenswet.
Superman can accomplish almost anything. He can change the course of mighty rivers. He can survive almost anything. We are shown a glimpse of his humanity and his frailty. He is suffering from kryptonite poisoning. This mightiest of Metahumans, goes to his parents Kansas farm to recover. His earth parents are Jonathan and Martha Kent, Pruitt Taylor Vance and Neva Howell. There is a touching scene between Clark and Pa Kent. Superman says he isn’t sure if he should have interfered in a war. His father says that he has always made him proud. The humble beginnings in Smallville, Kansas, are what shaped Clark Kent.
There are always high expectations when making a film with such a strong character. James Gunn wrote the script and directed the movie. All scripts have something wrong or lacking. There are a few questions in the script. Why does a man from another planet, with extraordinary intelligence, not practice cyber security. Lex Luthor’s engineer, (Maria Gabriella de Faria), hacks into the fortress of solitude’s security system. Why does Superman surrender to authorities? This is the part of the movie that slides downhill. Gunn can probably explain it. Every movie does leave questions. The biggest question is why weren’t bigger heroes used in the movie? Superman is still the best movie since the very first ones starring Christopher Reeve.