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“Superman” is a great comic book adaptation. It’s silly, somewhat predictable, and even a bit dumb, but it’s also colorful and optimistic like the best stories of the hero in the comics.
The film premiering this Thursday (10) in Brazil is still a great first step for the new cinematic universe of DC – certainly much better than the dark tone imposed by the success of Christopher Nolan’s trilogy and overused by Zack Snyder in his works.
Despite its many problems, “Superman,” directed and written by (and new co-president of the publisher’s studio) James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”), revives the genre by exploring a somewhat forgotten concept—in this case, a hero who genuinely cares about saving people.
Okay, help make this specific hero extremely powerful. Without fragile humans (and squirrels and dogs) around, he is basically invincible.
However, this version of the character surpasses an exorbitant amount of expositional dialogues – which exist only to explain concepts to the audience – and inexplicable situations more with optimism than with super strength or heat vision.
David Corenswet (“Twisters”) isn’t intimidated by the mission of being the fourth to wear the cape and the S on his chest, and he builds an innocent and sincere Superman, although his Clark Kent (the protagonist’s secret identity) doesn’t have much space.
Next to her, Rachel Brosnahan (“The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) meets expectations with a competent and charismatic Lois Lane.
From the main trio, only Nicholas Hoult (“X-Men: Dark Phoenix”) slightly falls short with a Lex Luthor somewhat out of tune.
Compared to the grand performances of the past – Gene Hackman, Kevin Spacey, and even the over-the-top Jesse Eisenberg – your bald billionaire fails to balance the cartoonish side of the villain and confuses “cold and calculating” with “apathetic” at some moments.
Perhaps it’s the script’s fault, by far the worst ever written by Gunn in this genre. The director is right to bet on the audience’s prior knowledge and not retell the hero’s origin, but he loses control when he needs to explain a world in which superpowered beings are already “common.”
Just like stiff dialogues – which frankly underestimate the intelligence of the viewer -, an entire parallel storyline about rival nations and invasions by American allies seems like an addition, a piece that never fully fits with the whole.
It is even admirable the attempt of the message about borders and international interests with undeniable echoes in current conflicts, but the lack of subtlety and naturalness result in a tedious allegory.
A brilliant foundation for the future of DC
In “Superman,” the title character is the most powerful being in a world accustomed to inhabitants of that type. Despite being admired, the hero becomes the target of suspicion after preventing a fictional allied country of the US from invading its neighbor.
It seems complicated, but the plot quickly takes on a quadrine-like tone – even though it gets lost towards the end – and becomes a good excuse for well-made action scenes, a charismatic cast, an inspired soundtrack, and the humor of a film that knows not to take itself seriously.
In other words, it’s impossible not to see Gunn’s mark, who used the same tricks in his other four genre films (three “Guardians” and one “Suicide Squad”).
At the same time, the optimism, light, and color of “Superman” distance it from the tone of Marvel, which has been gradually losing its shine (even though
“Thunderbolts*”
recover a bit).
All of this makes the movie and the filmmaker the ideal foundation for the new integrated DC universe in cinemas.
But rather than offering a good diagram for fictional characters like Wonder Woman or Aquaman, it’s interesting to imagine how a Batman would fit into this world – probably more like Adam West from the 1960s than the
emotional distress from the character’s last painful adventure in the cinema
.
For the first time in a long time, fans of the publisher can have hope. It remains to be seen whether the general public still wants to believe that a man can fly.
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