Here at last: James Gunn’s reboot of the DC Universe in his own vision. After Zack Snyder’s turn fizzled (his and other films in the DC Extended Universe often made plenty of money, but were never hits with the critics), Warner Bros turned the franchise over to James Gunn in their latest attempt to rival the juggernaut that is (was?) the Marvel Cinematic Universe. James Gunn made a name for himself there too, as the writer/director of the popular Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy of films. Can he inject something new into DC as he did at Marvel, and maybe the superhero genre as a whole? If Superman is any indication, the answer is yes.
Gunn made it clear from the beginning that this wasn’t going to be an origin story; everyone already knows where Superman came from. And sure enough, when the movie begins, Superman has already been saving the world time and again for 3 years now. In fact, we don’t even get to see his latest battle. In the opening scene, we are told in text that Superman has recently prevented a war between two nations (Boravia and Jarhanpur) and in retaliation, an armored metahuman going as the Hammer of Boravia has targeted Superman and amazingly, just handed Superman his first loss. As the movie begins, Superman is lying in the snow outside his Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica, bloodied and unable to stand. He whistles for his trusty dog Krypto, who arrives to help carry Superman inside the Fortress for healing.
I’m hesitant to give much more away than that opening setup, because the film is a wild ride with plenty of surprises (more superheroes!). If you’ve seen the trailers (and you probably have, Warner Bros has been hyping the snot out of this one) you know Lex Luther is behind it all, as he usually is when Superman is involved. We also get teases from some of the past DC characters whom James Gunn wants to bring over into this new DC playground, including John Cena as Peacemaker.
I loved this film. In complete opposite to Snyder’s vision for Superman (and I did enjoy his Man of Steel and the director’s cut of his Justice League), Gunn’s Superman is a bit of a throwback to a cleaner cut Last Son of Krypton. He’s a do-gooder, an eternal optimist, and a true hero (he even saves squirrels when they’re in danger!). This film hammers home that Superman is Earth’s greatest hero, and the result is exhilarating. You can’t help but cheer for him, even when the world turns its back on him. After a couple upcoming TV shows (another Peacemaker and a show on the Green Lanterns), the next film will come in about a year with Supergirl. I’m pretty hyped about all of it.
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