The Mosley Review: Superman

1978's Superman: The Movie instantly became the gold standard of how to bring the iconic superhero to the big screen in a way that was groundbreaking and made your heart soar. Ever since then, every adaptation in film, animation and television have tried to replicate or meet that level of excellence. Superman Returns was a great tribute film to the original while trying to carry on from Superman II. Even with all of its flaws, Man of Steel was an excellent reimagining of the character and I loved that we got a more mature version, but he wasn’t as accurate as he should’ve been. The versatility of the character has always been at the forefront of his comic book roots and there is always room to try something new with the character as long as you work within the confines of his core values. Now comes this new iteration of the character and honestly, its a mixed bag of accurate fun and clumsiness. Much like his dark and brooding counterpart, we all grew up knowing the character so the film thankfully didn't waste any time with his origin story. The film just throws you into an already living world that is both plentiful and chaotic. At times, I wanted this film to stop and take a breath before we’re thrust into the next massive set piece that introduces even more characters. What we got was a story that felt like watching a child's playset come to life and then having another kids’ toys thrown in and slammed together. Somehow it lands, but with alot of scattered pieces that don't really fit like they should.

David Corenswet takes the mantle of Clark Kent / Superman and he was great. He captures the core values of the character in the idea of all life is precious and standing up for what’s right. This is sort of a younger and a bit more naive Superman that sometimes just acts instead of thinking of the world's rules. I liked that we got to see his more emotional side and how he handles the stress of a personal relationship and balancing that out with saving others. Somehow that was rushed as well and we lose that connective tissue to his humanity pretty quickly as we are thrown into him fighting again. There is room for the character to grow into the "Man" of steel we all know him to be, but in my eyes, he hasn't earned that title just yet. Rachel Brosnahan was very strong and as fearless as I hoped as Lois Lane. She has agency in the film and I loved that she not only is focused on the job, but isn't the damsel this time around. The apartment interview between her and Clark was the highlight of the film and gives you a great insight into their relationship as they balance between the costumes they wear in the field and their lives behind closed doors. Skyler Gisondo was fun as fellow reporter, Jimmy Olsen. He has that boyish, go getter charm we love and his awkward comedic timing was great as he does some digging of his own. Although we don't get enough of him, Wendell Pierce was cool as Perry White and I liked his commanding presence.

Nicholas Hoult was absolute perfection as Lex Luthor. His brilliance, determination and almost demonic obsession with killing Superman was scary. He illustrates the characters' true psychosis of realizing he is not the apex of human evolution when it comes to knowledge. What I loved the most is his manipulative skills in bringing down Superman in the public and the pure rage in the last half of the film that reveals his hubris and pure evil nature. María Gabriela de Faría was intense and sharp as his assassin, Angela Spica / The Engineer. Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner / Green Lantern was pitch perfect. He nails the arrogant and pompous personality of the character as if he was straight out of the comics. Isabela Merced did an excellent job as Kendra Saunders / Hawkgirl. She brings to life her battle hardened will and edge when it comes to the facing the many foes in the film. There's more to explore there and I can't wait to see more. Edi Gathegi steals the film as Michael Holt / Mister Terrific. His technological intellect is on full display like I've never seen before and I loved that we see he was more than that. He had a wonderfully showcased fight sequence and I loved his confidence the most in the film. His chemistry with Superman was a buddy cop film I didn't know I needed. Another performance that I thought nearly stole the film was Anthony Carrigan as Rex Mason / Metamorpho. The character himself is a complicated entity that you could take anywhere, but even with his mutation, its his humanity that shined through. Anthony nailed it for the time we had with him and I liked the portrayal of his abilities.

John Williams' iconic theme "Superman March", returns in epic fashion and composers John Murphy and David Fleming gave it new life with the utmost reverence. The score itself was epic, emotional and I loved the rock infused nature to the action and theme. Visually, the film was stunning with the great use of vibrant colors and stylistic action that gave this new universe life. It was truly the most comic book looking film since Sin City. Now I know this is the cinematic beginning of the DCU, but I truly felt alot was thrown at you and not enough time to take in the sights. I know we'll get the chance to explore this new universe more with the characters that are introduced, but the story moves at such a break neck speed that you sometimes forgo the more important quiet character moments for more action. I hope that this is corrected in the future. Overall, this film gets the core of Superman correct and with its many flaws, it was a fun experience from beginning to end. There are 2 end credits, but they're more of a epilogue of the film instead a bread crumb to the next DCU film. Let me know what you thought of the film or my review in the comments below. Thanks for reading!