Mladen reviews ‘Superman’

Image courtesy of Warner Bros. and DC Studios.

“Superman” Starring David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, Nathan Fillian as Green Lantern, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, and others. Directed by James Gunn. 2 hours, 9 minutes. Rated PG-13. Theatrical release.

Mladen’s take

Unlike Del, “Superman” doesn’t suck. Del declined to see the film with me and Dusty, which is too bad. “Superman” is a lovably hokey piece of rollicking goodness that might have lit, if only briefly, the light of hope in Del’s darkening soul.

What can you say about the film? It resets the Superman universe to its origin. In today’s “Superman,” Corenswet does yesterday’s Man of Steel, Christopher Reeves, justice. Superman is once again a do-gooder, as well as a budding member of the “Justice Gang.” You’ll have to see the movie to understand the joke.

I take “Superman” to be, at least partly, a parable of our time in America. Lex Luthor, very nicely portrayed as Lex Luthor-y by Hoult, is after our hero. Why? Because Superman is an illegal immigrant who keeps a Homo sapiens harem that he plans to use to create a metahuman population of demi-supermen and superwomen to conquer and enslave mankind. Wait to see who’s responsible for the hatred, smack talk, and cancel culture on the internet, according to the movie.

“Superman” is filled with action. Superman v. Ultraman. Superman v. The Engineer. Superman v. The Thing with the Justice Gang assisting. Superman v. Planetwatch troopers. Superman v. Buildings. Superman v. Expanding Pocket Universe Trench.

In my book, however, the slickest donnybrook was the one waged by Mr. Terrific and his spheres. It happens about halfway through the movie. The battle had me entranced. It alone may force me to buy this film on 4K disc.

Oh, I imagine Dusty would be irritated if I didn’t mention Krypton the dog. Yeah, there’s Superdog in the movie. And, yeah, the very well done CGI dog is charming and useful and, behavior-wise, puppy-ish. I should add that Superman is only dog-sitting the metapooch for … who?

The fighting and the dog compensated more than adequately for the bits of almost maudlin person-to-person stuff peppered throughout the film. That Lois and Clark would end up boyfriend and girlfriend was never a doubt in my mind. And, don’t get me started on the peasants with their pitchforks facing a modern army bristling with SMGs, APCs, and tanks. Sheesh.

The “Superman” score pays appropriate homage to the original film’s music composed by John Williams. The soundtrack is very good, too. Got home after the film and downloaded “Punkrocker” by Teddybears and Iggy Pop.

“Superman,” though clumsy in spots, is an A-. The film is spectacular enough, despite its PG-13 rating, to watch on the very big screen. Though Dusty and I couldn’t see it in a Dolby or IMAX theater, consider dropping the extra several bucks to immerse yourself in the wholesome bombast that unfolds.

Mladen Rudman is a former journalist and technical writer. Del Stone Jr. is a former journalist and writer.