Superman Review

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**SPOILER REVIEW**
• 0:00:00 - Introduction 
• 0:03:18 - No-Prize Time 
• 0:08:21 - Question of the Week 
• 0:09:05 - Superman Review 
• 1:05:53 - Sign off 
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Episode Transcript

(00:00):
This is a DynaMic Network Podcast. Hi and welcometo the Dynamic Duel Podcast, a weekly show where we

(00:27):
review superhero films and debate thesuperiority between Marvel and DC by comparing
their characters in stat-based battlesimulations. I'm Marvelous Joe and I'm his twin
brother Johnny DC. And in this episode we are goingto review the very first DC Universe film,
Superman. Hell yeah we are, heck yeah we are. Calmdown, calm down. Right off the bat Jonathan,

(00:51):
you're gonna fucking annoy me this whole episode Ialready know I just want to let you know that you
need to just be normal. I mean if we were reviewingIron Man for the first time would you be calm? I
would not but how dare you compare this movie toIron Man. Oh I'll compare it to Endgame. What did I
just say about annoying me? What did I just say?We're gonna review the movie and talk all about

(01:11):
spoilers so hopefully you've seen the movie.Before we do that we're gonna break down the latest
comic book movie news that came up this past weekwhich there was none. So really we're just gonna do
the upfront stuff and then get right into thereview. As always we list our segment times in our
episode description so feel free to check out theshow notes if you want to skip ahead to a particular
topic. Guys our artificially intelligent dualsimulator AJ9K has a quick message for our

(01:35):
listeners so listen up. Thanks AJ9K and thanks toeveryone who supports the podcast. Be sure to tune

(02:24):
into the other shows in the DynaMic PodcastNetwork this week including the console combat
podcast where hosts John and Dean simulatebattles between popular video game characters.
In yesterday's episode they determined who wouldwin between Banjo Kazooie and Yuka Laylee. Over on
the Max Destruction podcast hosts Scotty andGilly pit your favorite action heroes from film

(02:45):
and television against each other. This weekthey'll be finding out who would win between Alice
from Resident Evil and Selene from Underworld.And on the Senjo World podcast hosts Zachary
Hepburn speculates on fights between fanfavorite anime and manga characters. In his next
episode Zach's going to reveal who would winbetween Sasuke Ichihara from Naruto and Uryuu

(03:07):
Ishida from Bleach. Visit dynamicpodcasts.comor click the link in our show notes to listen to all
of the shows in the DynaMic Podcast Network. Butwith that out of the way, quick to the no prize. A no
prize is an award that Marvel used to give out tofans. Our version, the Dynamic Dual No Prize is a

(03:27):
digital award that we've put on Instagram for theperson that we feel gave the best answer to our
question of the week. Last week we asked, for thoseof you who have seen Superman in its opening
weekend, what did you think? Hey we got a fewanswers so let's go ahead and run down our
honorable mentions as well as the no prize winner.Our first honorable mention goes to Brandon

(03:47):
Estregard who said. Hey guys just wanted to saycongratulations to Team Marvel. You guys really
nailed it as the Reddit posting monkeys in themovie. Roll Oscar worthy stuff. Great job guys. Oh
man you would not believe the casting process I hadto undergo for the role of the Reddit posting
monkeys. Man, I went full method with it and wasjust hoping that that's what they would want from a

(04:10):
performance and luckily everything came throughand I got the role. I was the one that was posting
super shit in the movie. Let me guess you flung yourpoo at the casting director. That's how I got the
role actually. Yeah, for those who are missingcontext on what we're talking about in the
Superman movie this isn't too much of a spoiler.Lex Luthor trained a bunch of monkeys to talk shit

(04:32):
about Superman on the internet. Which isbasically my full time job on our Discord server.
There were a lot of funny scenes in the Supermanmovie and that has to be in the top five. I was
cracking up at the monkey scene. Thanks for theanswer Brandon. Our next honorable mention goes
to Alex Albro. Who said? Hey guys, I thought it wasgreat. Rated at 9.5. My wife rated at 8. Just really

(04:55):
good Superman show. I'm excited to see where theygo with the Hall of Justice and the Justice Gang or
Justice League or whatever they end up being. Wereally liked them. Mr. Terrific was great. I think
Nicholas Holt really stole the show. It was LexLuthor for me and I'm just excited to see where it
goes. It was a nice surprise to see Millie Alcock asSupergirl at the end and Crypto was great and
overall just a good way to end the weekend. Thanksguys. Okay, that is actually a spoiler but if

(05:20):
you're on social media it's already been spoiledfor you. There's been news articles about
Supergirl showing up and yeah, her cameo did notdisappoint. I totally agree with Alex, Lex
Luthor, Mr. Terrific, the Justice Gang. All of itwas great as I will expand upon in our review. Let's
see, Alex gave it a 9.5 out of 10 which on a five starscale equates to four and three quarter stars.

(05:43):
Let's see what Matt from Texas rated it. Hey guys,Matt from Texas here. Superman 4 out of 5 was a great
film. It had a little bit of issues, camera angles,some pacing, stuff like that, mostly minor but all
the actors did really well. David Cornswet asSuperman was fantastic. This is what Superman is.

(06:05):
Colorful, helps everybody, you know, does theright thing. He is a Boy Scout and that's exactly
what he portrayed in this film. Yeah, Supermanneeds to be redefined for a new generation every
once in a while. I'm not quite sure that HenryCavill find the character of Superman back in the
20's in the same way that Cornswet has now definedthe character for modern times. Yeah, he did a

(06:29):
fantastic job. Although as Matt says the movie'snot perfect, there are issues but they are minor, I
would agree. So great answer Matt. We want to give aquick shout out to CJ Kraft for taking the time to
visit our website and record an answer but thewinner of this week's No Price is Scott Camacho and
his daughter Rena. Who said? Hi, I'm Scotty Macho.Hi, I'm Rena Macho. And we are? The Machos. We just

(06:55):
watched the Superman movie. That's how you do aSuperman movie. That was awesome. I don't care
about his outfit though, I still don't like hisoutfit but that is how you do a Superman movie.
Rena, what did Supergirl say? I'm thankful forwatching my dog bitch. Oh my gosh. Yeah, again that
Supergirl scene was great. I've seen a lot of flakfor it online because I think a lot of people

(07:17):
haven't read Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow but itwas straight from that comic. Yeah, it's
definitely a unique take on the character who'stypically portrayed as similar to her cousin in
terms of demeanor and stuff like that. So yeah,Millie Elcock's Supergirl is probably at a left
field for a lot of people. Honestly, the wholereason we gave this no prize win to Scott and Rena is
because it was hilarious. Jonathan, how old wereyour daughters when you heard them say their first

(07:42):
curse word? I think my younger daughter Faith oncesaid piss not realizing it was a bad word. I can't
remember how old she was though. Is piss a bad word?I think so. I told her not to say it again. I'm
horrified that my two-year-old any day now isgoing to start saying fuck out of the blue because I
say it way too much in front of her. Yeah, you havethis podcast running in the background and all of a

(08:04):
sudden fuck DC. I'd be so proud. I'd be so proud. Fora great answer, Scotty and Rena, you guys win this
week's no prize. If you, the listener, want toshout out winning your own no prize, stay tuned to
later on this episode when we'll be asking anotherquestion of the week. And now that that's done,
onto the question of the week. What the highpraises that most audience members seem to be

(08:30):
giving Superman, the odds of it getting a sequelare really high. So with that in mind, what do you
want the sequel to the Superman movie to be about?Yeah, what do you want the story to be about? What
characters do you want to see in it? Who do you wantthe villain to be? Let us know. Record your answer
at dynamicdool.com by clicking on the redmicrophone button in the bottom right hand corner

(08:50):
of the screen, which will prompt you to leave us avoicemail. Your message could be up to 30 seconds
long and don't forget to leave your name in case weinclude you on the podcast. We'll pick our
favorite answer and award that person a dynamicdual no prize that will pose to Instagram. Be sure
to answer before July 18th. But let's go ahead andget into the main event of this episode where we

(09:16):
reviewed DC Studios first feature length film,Superman. OK, Superman, written and directed by

(09:39):
DC Studios head James Gunn, is the firsttheatrical film to be released under the DC
Studios banner, as well as the first film to be setin DC's new cinematic universe known as the DCU. A
gun was hired by Warner Brothers to launch a new DCcinematic universe after the prior one
established in 2013's Man of Steel failed to matchthe box office success of the rival Marvel

(10:05):
Studios. Despite Gunn's prior success writingand directing Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy
franchise, as well as DC's The Suicide Squad andPeacemaker Projects, I was initially conflicted
when I learned that he was writing and directingthe first film in DC's new cinematic universe
because I wasn't sure his raunchy yet heartfeltcomedic style of filmmaking would work for a

(10:28):
character like Superman. A notoriously raunchycharacter. What? No. Now, with each new trailer
that was released for this film, my expectationsgrew to the point where I was actually a little
depressed that Superman wasn't going to be able tolive up to my expectations. But to my surprise, the
film hit my expectations dead center. And I'mactually proud of this new start to DC's cinematic

(10:52):
universe. I'm still thinking about the film daysafter seeing it. And for anyone interested in
seeing the movie that hasn't already, be awarethat this is a spoiler review. So you should stop
listening now so you could go into the movie fresh.Yeah, I feel like there's too many people out there
who are willing to spoil themselves, justclaiming that it doesn't affect them. But you are

(11:12):
doing yourself a disservice, whether you admit toit or not. Seeing something unfold on the big
screen for the first time without prior knowledgeis absolutely the best way to experience these
stories. Yes, totally an experience, especiallythis film on the IMAX screen. It was incredible. I
saw it on a really big screen on a RPX theater. And Iwasn't aware at the time that I had actually

(11:33):
purchased RPX tickets. So I walk into theauditorium and I'm sitting way too fucking close
to the screen. That's all I thought. I was like, Goddamn, this screen is too big. I'm going to have to
like lean back in my chair to really enjoy this. Butdid you enjoy it? The movie overall? Yeah, I did.
Yeah, I think I have a few gripes with it, but theyare largely nitpicky bullshit that had more to do

(11:56):
with my own subjective feelings about worldbuilding and traditional story structures and
anything really substantial. OK, I could see thatand we'll get into that later. But I actually think
that this is James Gunn's best superhero film yet,or at least his most mature, because here he was
focused on reimagining characters through hisusual quirky lens. He instead set out to show how

(12:21):
radical true righteousness and unconditionalkindness can be in a world of moral relativism. The
film's whole thesis is that in a cynical,distrustful society, simply choosing to trust
and see the good in others becomes the ultimate actof rebellion. And with that simple, yet profound
idea, Gunn somehow made Superman cooler than he'sbeen in maybe a century. And it just transformed

(12:47):
him for this film into a countercultural iconwhile staying true to his spirit. It turns out that
you don't need to reinvent a classic character tofit the current zeitgeist. You just need society
to shift enough that the forgotten philosophiesof the past feel bold and new again, no neck
snapping required. I agree with you partly inthat, yeah, being kind is cool, but I'm not going to

(13:10):
say that Superman is countercultural. I wouldn'tgo that far. I would say more so in this film than he
has maybe ever been. Because you think society atthe current moment is so cynical that this type of
thinking is radical. I think radical is a strongword. I'm sorry, are you not on social media? Do not
look at comments. I think it's radical. I thinkit's more appreciated now, more than ever. I think

(13:34):
this was a better way to adapt the character formodern times than the whole dark and serious
approach that Zack Snyder took. That's totallyvalid. Yeah. Now, I loved Man of Steel and I've been
a staunch defender of its sci-fi approach to theSuperman lore. But if I'm being honest, after
seeing Superman and its more faithfulinterpretation of the character, it makes Man of

(13:55):
Steel feel somewhat like an Elseworld tale, likestill interesting. But definitely a departure
from who the character actually is. And that's notto say that this depiction of Superman was
perfect. He's much more pouty and easily agitatedin this film than he is in, say, the comics. But the
fact that he would go out of his way to save babiesand dogs and even squirrels is in sharp contrast to

(14:20):
the criticisms of apathy leveled at the ZackSnyder's take on the character. Right. Apathy,
because we saw Metropolis essentially destroyedat the nuclear level in the Man of Steel movie
without seeing Superman handle a lot of thecivilian saving duties of his role. Right. The Man
of Steel version of Superman is very much anobjectivist take, which focuses on the self and

(14:42):
selfishness, which is why you had, you know, potcan't say, OK, maybe you don't save those kids. And
while you had my can't saying, you don't owe anyoneanything. This take on Superman is very much at
odds with that. And it was pretty refreshing. Now,where I work, we have a saying that we shouldn't
make perfect the enemy of good. And I largely feelthat way about James Gunn's approach to Superman,

(15:04):
which was a really good interpretation. What wasperfect, however, in my opinion, were his takes on
Superman's supporting cast, particularly LexLuthor. Now, Lex has never been done right on film.
He was always supposed to be a mad scientist typecharacter that could invent challenges for
Superman that were essentially unfathomable foranyone else. Portrayals from Gene Hackman or

(15:28):
Kevin Spacey lacked the scientist aspect of thecharacter, while Jesse Eisenbergs was a little
too mad, even getting comparisons to the Joker.But Gunn's version not only involved a real estate
scheme, but also incorporated nanites, cloning,international politics and even a freaking
pocket universe. There is so much Silver Age askshenanigans going on here. And it was really cool

(15:54):
to see how unapologetically Gunn showcased hislove for that era of comics. Yeah, the film's plot
at times got a little bit bonkers. And a lot of thathas to do with Lex's pocket dimension
shenanigans. They took the story places that Ididn't think they were going to go literally. Oh,
yeah. Like, for example, the trash talkingmonkeys that we talked about earlier. Yeah, once

(16:15):
you go to trash talking monkeys online, you couldgo literally anywhere. There were just these
really idiosyncratic ideas that are a trademarkof James Gunn's that I wasn't quite sure fit in the
realm of Superman as much as, like, say, Guardiansof the Galaxy or something like that. But it was
nice that Gunn was able to put his stamp on theproject in that way, because it did feel very
Silver Age and therefore did communicate a lovefor the very comic booky version of Superman,

(16:41):
which is something that we haven't really seenfrom the character on the big screen. And it's
pretty fun. There's a lot of fun to be had withSuperman that we haven't gotten in a long time. I
was actually surprised by how much fun I hadactually, because typically I like a serious
approach to my superhero films. I don't like itwhen it gets goofball. And while this went
interesting places like you mentioned bonkers,it never felt goofy to me. You know, between it felt

(17:07):
at times a little bit goofy. What? When? Withcrypto? Oh, I'm sorry. What do you have against
crypto? I'm going to state right off the bat. Idon't like crypto. I thought he was annoying in
this movie. Every time he was not on the screen, Iwas relieved. Crypto was a total scene stealer
that everyone loved. You are on the wrong side ofhistory. Die your head in shame. I think crypto is a

(17:31):
scene stealer, but in the wrong way. No, dude, Iloved crypto. Like, I actually have no notes on
crypto in my review. I just loved him. He was toochaotic. And every time he was brought into the
story yet, it kind of detracted, I think, from thepot. No, there were times where he felt a little bit
deus ex machina e. And overall, the concept wasjust goofy. I think actually the film would have

(17:51):
been better if he wasn't included. I don't think hewas entirely necessary. I think he was included
just for merchandising or something. I don't knowto add a cute element to the movie. I could actually
see that, especially with the mid credit scene howit left off with like this super, super cute moment
between Superman and crypto, just havingprobably a majority of audiences leave with that

(18:13):
final moment, I think was perhaps a littlemanipulative. And maybe his appearance in the
film overall is a little manipulative. But I wastotally sold on it. Crypto was one of my favorite
aspects of this movie. And I totally couldn't seeit being as successful without him. I definitely
could. Well, you don't know what the hell you'retalking about, you dog hater. I love dogs. I have a

(18:35):
dog. I love my dog. I love this dog. Fuck this guy.But I don't love crypto. He's kind of a dickhead and
I'm not ashamed to say it. Hey, bad dogs deservelove, too, bro. Not bad dogs who are also just made
out of pixels. I don't care about them. No, cryptofelt real to me. I didn't feel like he was made of
pixels. I thought they did a really good job withthis CG. And actually, the CG throughout the whole

(18:58):
film, I thought, was a lot better than I've seen in alot of films as of late. Every time those crypto
pixels appeared on the screen, I just wanted tokick them right out of the movie. The hell is wrong
with you? Now, between Lex Luthor's hijinks andthe powers of Mr. Terrific Guy Gardner and
Metamorpho and I guess crypto, there are some deepcuts in this film that we've never seen on the big

(19:19):
screen before. And the fact that Gunn wasted notime explaining any of it, literally starting
this universe three years into Superman'scareer, but still having audiences beyond board
with the film, I think is a testament not only to howstrong of a filmmaker James Gunn is and to his level
of respect for the audience, but also to how much ofa cultural icon Superman is still to this day.

(19:44):
Absolutely, yeah. I mean, Superman needs nointroduction. Everybody already knows him,
which is probably why James Gunn was able to putaudiences in the deep end in this new DC universe
that he created. It's one of the more unsatisfyingaspects of the film, though, in my mind. Superman
is like if the Avengers movie was the very first MCUfilm in that it would still be good and enjoyable,

(20:07):
but it lacks the foundation that prior worldbuilding films would have set up. The most world
building we got for this new DC universe were likesix lines of text at the very beginning of the film
that is basically saying many humans have beenaround for a while. Superman introduced himself
to the world like three years ago. Let's get thestory started. I actually thought that was a

(20:28):
brilliant piece of world building. It was almostlike Star Wars ask the way you were kind of thrown
into that universe with just the opening crawl.Yeah, I mean, I can't knock this approach too much
because I understand why James Gunn did it. No onewants to see Superman's origin again because
we've seen it a lot. Whether it was in the Donnerfilm or the Man of Steel film, everybody knows that

(20:48):
Superman was a baby who was sent from Krypton. Andwe even got references to that in this movie. So his
backstory is essentially established. I guesswhat felt hollow to me were like the other
supporting metahumans that just kind of exist inthis world without a whole lot of setup. In a
perfect world, each of these characters wouldhave had the chance to live and breathe on their
own. But again, I understand, you know, how manydifferent superhero films have come out in the

(21:13):
past couple of decades? We're at the point nowwhere you can drop people in the deep end and they
won't feel like they're drowning because theyunderstand what these movies are about and
largely who these characters already are. I agreeand I could see where you're coming from, although
I would argue wouldn't that mean that characterslike Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Solo and Darth Vader
would have also needed some project that you wouldhave seen them in prior to Star Wars? Yes and no. And

(21:38):
I'm trying to articulate what felt slightlyunsatisfying about the film. I think the reason
characters like Obi-Wan Kenobi and Han Soloworked in a movie like A New Hope where you're
dropped into this world and introduced to thesecharacters largely without context is because a
movie like A New Hope followed a very traditionalstorytelling structure wherein being

(21:59):
introduced to the characters at the point theyenter the script felt organic and you didn't feel
like you were missing context because you werestill being introduced to the world. Here in the
Superman movie, the storytelling structure isnot traditional. There is no three act structure
here. It feels very episodic. It feels very muchlike a comic book series. That's to its credit and
to its detriment, I think. When I say to its credit,I mean because the plot of the film is very much

(22:24):
unlike what audiences are used to seeing fromthese stories on the screen. And therefore it
feels new and unique. When I say the structures toits detriment is because it makes the story feel a
little off in general. I could see that, you know,with the amount of stuff thrown at Superman in this
movie. The film felt longer to me than it actuallywas, though not at all in a bad way. Like, I was

(22:44):
surprised that this movie was only about two hourslong when so much happened in the film. The film's
pacing definitely moves forward at a steady clip,particularly in its second half, where it
seemingly feels like there's climax after climaxafter climax. It's like, what? Superman's about
to fall into a black hole. What? Bravian and JarhanPerr are going to war. What? Metropolis is being

(23:06):
torn in half. What? There's Kryptonite. What?He's joining in that night. What? There's a clone
in much the same way that Batman was veryreactionary to the Joker in The Dark Knight or the
Riddler in The Batman. The ultimate stakes set upby the film's antagonist aren't revealed to the
hero until after their plans have already been setin motion. So there's no telling just how far the

(23:29):
villain is willing to take things for the hero orthe audience. Typically in a three act structure,
audiences are made aware of the ultimate stakes ofthe film between the end of the first act in the
middle of the film. You know, that's when we seeAlderaan blow up. That's when we learn what the
matrix is. That's when Frodo is straight upstabbed and nearly killed. But the primary

(23:50):
conflict of this film seems to be will Supermanembrace his Kryptonian destiny or remain true to
his humanity rather than will Metropolis bedestroyed and actually thought that was a
fascinating approach. But speaking ofcharacterizations, let's move into our
character breakdown. Starting with Supermanslash Clark Kent, who was played by David Corrent

(24:13):
sweat. Now, his performance is extremely sincereand extremely likeable. I mentioned in our review
of The Batman that Robert Pattinson brought moreinterest to the character of Bruce Wayne than any
actor before him. And I'd say the same for Correntsweat. Again, I'd say the characterization isn't
necessarily perfect. My ideal Supermanpersonally is actually pretty stoic. But I do see

(24:39):
the appeal in Corrent sweat's performance, whodefinitely puts the man in Superman more than
anyone before him on the big screen. He'sdefinitely a more humanized character than like
Henry Cavill, right? You talk a lot about theappeal of DC comic books over Marvel in that DC
comics are a lot more iconic and more legend likethan Marvel comic books, whose characters are a

(25:03):
lot more relatable. Given that I feel like thisversion of Superman in this movie is more Marvel
like than any previous adaptation of thecharacter. How do you feel about that? You know, it
is what it is. I wouldn't disagree with you. It'sagain, not necessarily my favorite version of how
the character is portrayed because, you know, Idon't necessarily need my mythical characters

(25:24):
like Hercules, for example, to have so much of apersonality. But it doesn't hurt as long as they
stay true to the essence of the character, which I100 percent believe they did in this film. I'll let
it slide. You closet Marvel fan. What? No, I knewit. No way. Now, Superman begins the film as this

(25:46):
embodiment of unwavering optimism. A figure socommitted to seeing the good in others and
protecting life that it strains his relationshipwith the American public and even his
relationship with Lois Lane, when Loisessentially accuses him of being naive, pointing
out that while she questions everyone andeverything, he's eager to trust and see beauty in

(26:09):
everyone he meets. His reply that may be trust andkindness are the real punk rock reveals the moral
steadfastness at the heart of his character.Clark's unwavering faith in humanity isn't just
his greatest strength. It's what makes himpotentially more human than anyone else. I think
the scene that this clicked the most for me was whenhe was in Lois's apartment and the Justice Gang

(26:33):
were fighting. I think that was Mixed Spitalik inthe background. Yeah, weird, huh? Superman
called him a dimensional imp. But that was a greatscene as far as characterization goes. And when he
says that he's going to turn himself in knowinglygoing into a trap for the sake of this dog, who he
doesn't even particularly like just because it'sthe right thing to do, says a lot about his

(26:55):
character. And Lois realized that. And that'swhen she planted a big old smooch on him just for
being a good guy. Yeah, that was a fantastic scene.I loved that scene. Although I thought it was in
Clark's apartment, not Lois's. Was it? I don'tknow. Now, Superman's moral foundation was
shaken to its core when he learned what the fullmessage from his Kryptonian parents was,

(27:16):
essentially that they intended him to dominateand repopulate Earth rather than uplift it.
Reeling from this seeming betrayal, Clarkconfronts a painful question of identity. Is he
the benevolent protector he always believed hewas? Or is he a harbinger of conquest? In a tender
moment with Jonathan Kent, his adoptive father,he's reminded that his actions, not his origins,

(27:40):
define him and its Clark's choices, his failuresand the courage to keep stepping forward, despite
those failures, that shape who he truly is. By theend of the film, as he faces Lex Luthor and is called
an alien, Clark delivers the gist, essentially ofhis arc, that his humanity, along with Lex's and

(28:00):
everyone else's, is everyone's greateststrength when they're able to recognize that
humanity in each other. Yeah, it's so fantastic.Such a fantastic message. I freaking loved it. I
freaking loved this movie. What do you think,though, about the alleged message from Jor-El and
Lara about Superman's purpose being thedomination of planet Earth? That was a twist. I did

(28:23):
not see that coming. That was actually reallyinteresting. And I don't mind it, honestly. Like,
it's definitely a deviation from what we knowabout the characters in the comics, and it's
almost kind of sacrilegious in that way. Yeah, myhead cannon is that Lex is lying. And no matter how
many times they keep saying in the movie that it'sthe true translation, I don't really buy it

(28:44):
because it's so perfectly fit Lex's agenda. Thatcould be the case. And I love that the movie kind of
leaves it up to interpretation. For anyone upsetby the implication, you have to remember that this
is coming from Lex Luthor, who's not a trustworthysource, especially when he could easily create
new video footage with the engineer. Now, throughhis journey, Superman doesn't just save the

(29:09):
world. He reclaims his place within it, embodyinga radical kind of hope. His arc is a reminder that
being human isn't about where you come from, butabout choosing kindness and having courage.
Again, fantastic arc, fantastic angle for thecharacter. And I'm really glad that James Gunn was

(29:29):
smart enough to kick off this cinematic universewith this approach for Superman. Now, what did you
think about the suit? Well, as listeners know fromthis podcast, when the suit was first revealed, I
didn't really like it. I've been largelyambivalent since I don't like the texture of the
suit. I don't love the design. That being said, ithardly registered with me in the course of the

(29:49):
film. I don't hate it. It definitely grew on me aswell, I would say. I was thrilled about it at the
beginning, but this has kind of become, I wouldsay, my favorite Superman outfit, even though I
would have preferred something with a moretraditional logo just to put a more iconic stamp on
the suit. I think it really worked for this movie.The best Superman suit is the one from Superman and

(30:11):
Lois, the TV show. Maybe. Again, I don't need likethe abs. Why do I need to see your abs, you know? To
make me feel bad, is that what you're trying to do?So he can communicate that he could kick your ass
without having to say it out loud. I mean, I feellike the symbol on the chest should do that. But you
see Superman's abs in the comic books. I don'tnecessarily think you need to. All right. Moving

(30:34):
on to Lois Lane, she was played by RachelBrosnahan. Now I called it from the very
beginning. She was going to be the most perfectLois Lane to date on screen. And I was right. She
freaking nailed it. I loved hercharacterization. I loved her performance.
Mwah, Chef's kiss. Yeah, she was fantastic. Shewas definitely more like the comic book character

(30:57):
of Lois Lane than any other iteration I think we'veseen on the big screen thus far. Yeah, 100 percent.
She was true to character as the ultimate skepticthat she is. She's this sharp, relentless,
investigative journalist who questionseverything and everyone, including the man she
loves. After Superman's controversialintervention in Baravia, she openly questions

(31:19):
not just the ethics of his actions, but the veryfoundation of their relationship. For Lois,
trust is earned, never given blindly. Herinstinct is to push back against power, even when
that power belongs to Superman. And that makes hera really strong and independent character, which
she's always been in the comics. Yet, despite herdoubts in this film, she alone refuses to believe

(31:43):
Superman has any hidden agenda to repopulateEarth with Kryptonians because she knows and
trusts Clark in a way that no one else does.Throughout the film, Lois' arc is about
confronting her own fear of vulnerability andlearning to see the humanity beneath Superman's
invincibility. By the end, she realizes thatbeneath the cape is the same man who had a mighty

(32:06):
crab joist poster in a smallville bedroom, a manwhose open heart and unwavering faith in others
aren't weaknesses, but proof of his sharedhumanity. And choosing to stand by him and profess
her love, she overcomes her fears, embracing theidea that love, despite all the differences and
uncertainties, is worth it. The character of LoisLane is usually portrayed as a damsel in distress

(32:29):
in her history in comic books and film, which neverquite sat well with me because she has such agency
as a character and is really smart or supposed tobe, you know. And I really like how this film chose
to use that agency and that intelligence to haveher go and seek out resources and help save
Superman. Right, exactly. They definitely do notgo with the traditional version of Lois Lane that

(32:54):
needs to be saved. She's the one that does thesaving in this film, which is fantastic and maybe
different from what we're used to seeing with thecharacter. But I never once for a second thought
that this version was not true to characterbecause of that. What did you think of the romance
between the characters of Lois and Superman here?They definitely went a different route in that
Lois is in the dark on Superman's alter ego. So Ilike the fact that right off the bat, they know who

(33:20):
each other are. And really, there shouldn't be along period of time between Lois's discovery of
Clark Kent being Superman because of how smart sheis and how inquisitive she is. But that doesn't
mean that they're automatically like head overheels and love with each other. I actually thought
it was really interesting that Lois Lane would notbe sure And yeah, she probably believed Superman

(34:12):
to be naive, but she also found the good guyqualities about him to be endearing because they
had the strength of character and the strength ingeneral to boot. And she understood that kindness
is not weakness. Yeah, especially when you're asstrong as Superman. Moving on to Lex Luthor, he was
played by Nicholas Holt. Like Brosnahan, Ithought Holt's performance as Lex is the best to

(34:34):
date. His pettiness and overall emotionalitymakes more sense to me than it does for someone like
Superman because Lex, as the film explicitlysays, is essentially the embodiment of envy. And I
have suspect that Holt's performance was so goodbecause he actually auditioned for the role of

(34:54):
Superman in this film, but lost the role toCorenswet. Oh, for sure. He can easily identify
with Lex's envy in that way. That's a great point.And I really like how this movie brought about the
theme of envy for Lex and the idea that he admittedto it and leaned into that was kind of profound for
the character I felt. Yeah, absolutely. Like he'sintelligent enough to recognize his own faults in

(35:16):
a way, but also justify them. It's interesting.Now, this film, Lex orchestrates this complex
array of schemes that includes cloning Supermaninto Ultraman, manipulating global politics by
arming Baravia, inciting war for profit,creating a pocket universe prison, engineering
villains, and even fostering public distrustagainst Superman. His schemes are part

(35:40):
selfishness, part pettiness, and they reflecthis dual nature of his unparalleled genius yet
deep rooted in security. Lex's motivation in thefilm explicitly is pure undiluted envy. He admits
that envy consumes him and that he cannot stomachhumanity's idolization of Superman because it

(36:01):
highlights humanity's collective weakness andhis own perceived undeserved inadequacy. His
rage isn't just about hating Superman. It's aboutproving that humanity doesn't need gods or
saviors, that human intellect and willpower suchas his alone should define the future. Through his

(36:22):
obsession, Lex becomes something of a tragicfigure, a genius so terrified of his own
insignificance that he would rather destroy theworld than see it uplifted by an alien and foreign
ideal. He's a profound character that nothingnailed him in this movie. Absolutely. And
admitting his whole weakness of envy thing,because of that self-interestpection, he was

(36:44):
able to dive deeper into the why of his being and thewhole philosophy behind that, which I think is
incredibly profound when a character can speak totheir own truth like that. Oh, totally. I feel like
it came away from this film understanding Lex in away that I never really have before. A lot of the
characters even, including Superman. Yeah,there's a lot of characters in this film. I just

(37:05):
wanted to touch on those three specifically, butthe roster is huge, including Jimmy Olsen, who was
played by Skyler Gizondo, who I thought nailed thecharacter, even though his depiction as a pussy
magnet. That exactly was, I think, unique to thecharacter, but I thought it worked really well for
this story. It was funny. He was one of many DailyPlanet cast members. Not all of them worked, I

(37:31):
felt. I felt they were largely background noise.Yeah, really the only one that stood out to me was
Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard, but even with him,I'm not sure why he was included in Mr. Terrific's
hovercraft towards the end, or really any of theother Daily Planet staff other than Perry White,
Jimmy Olsen, and Lois Lane. I don't want to say thecast was overstuffed, but there were definitely

(37:53):
some superfluous characters. For sure. Ofcourse, there was also the roster of the Justice
Gang, which I don't love the name of Justice Gang,I'll be honest. I think it eventually will be
Justice League, just based on trailers fromPeacemaker Season 2. But if it were up to me, I would
actually prefer Maxwell Lord's team to sort ofsegue into a Justice Society. I don't understand

(38:16):
why they wouldn't just call them the JusticeLeague to begin with. Like, why circumvent the
formation of the Justice League in this way? Idon't know if that has to do with the fact that
Superman, Batman, and Wonder Woman are notinvolved in it, or maybe the fact that they're
being somewhat indecisive this early on in theuniverse, as to whether they want it to be the
Justice League or Justice Society. Who knows, Idid not care for it though. I'm on Team Hawk Girl in

(38:40):
that instance. Except Hawk Girl kind of sucked inthis movie, played by Isabella Merced. Yeah, I did
not like her characterization at all. Way too muchscreaming for no reason. She didn't do nearly
enough damage to the kaiju with her mace. Shebasically just tapped the fucking thing. And I was
like, okay. You think hitting it in the eyeballwith that mace would hurt it? But yeah, she didn't

(39:03):
do anything. Hawk Girl doesn't scream in the comicbooks, so like she's not Black Canary, right? She
does, and I've actually seen some instances whereshe does have a canary cry, but I feel like that's
just bad writing. Because yeah, shetraditionally does not have that. And it's not
like it did anything anyway in this movie. Herenthematal mace should have knocked out the
kaiju's eye. I'm just gonna say it, but it didn't.Yeah, I had real problems with Hawk Girl.

(39:28):
Hopefully she redeems herself in Peacemaker.We'll see. I did love the other members of the
Justice Gang though, namely Guy Gardner, theGreen Lantern, played by Nathan Fillion. He
friggin killed it. Guy Gardner is not my favoriteGreen Lantern, as I've mentioned in prior
episodes, but I thought he was perfect for thismovie because he was just a great foil in a way for a

(39:52):
Superman. Like he represented the cynicism of theworld. Yes, exactly. But I also liked the fact that
each character, including Guy Gardner, was ableto showcase their power in this really impressive
way. Like Hawk Girl was really the only one whodidn't get the opportunity to do that. But the most
impressive was actually Mr. Terrific, in myopinion, played by Eddie Gathage. His moment

(40:15):
where he's taking on the soldiers at Fort Cramerwith his T-Spheres was so cool. One of the best
action scenes in the movie, I would say. I do likehow they showcased his multitasking ability in
the course of that fight, in that it felt like he waskind of everywhere at once fighting everybody
through his T-Spheres. I like the T-Spheres ingeneral. I want the T-Spheres. I guess it was maybe

(40:37):
a little bit vague exactly what they did, at leastto newcomers, but I think people would be
impressed nonetheless. I mean, in the comics,they kind of do everything. So it was appropriate.
I also just really liked Eddie Gathage'sperformance. I kind of hope that he leads his own
spin-off, maybe, Justice Society show later on. Idon't know. That'd be cool. I need to see more Mr.

(40:58):
Terrific. That's all I know. Metamorpho joinedthe Justice Gang at the very end of the film. He was
played by Anthony Kerrigan, who played him alittle bit more meekly than I think he's depicted
in the comics. But I did like the fact that they madehim a family man, because that's really important
to the character in DC Comics. Is his son like thatin the comic books? Green? Yeah. Interesting. I

(41:20):
really loved the special effects behind hispowers. It was weird, especially when he was like a
flying head, it would just have like tentacles.Yeah. After he turned his body into acid and
sprayed those guys. Yeah. Yeah, reallyinteresting. But of course, there's also Lex
Luthor's own superhuman crew, which included theengineer who was played by Maria Gabriela de

(41:40):
Ferreira, who was better in the movie than Ithought she would be. Like, I didn't think she
really belonged in this movie based on thetrailers, just what I know of the character. But I
thought James Gunn made good use of her, being thatshe was a creation of Lex Luthor to tackle
Superman. But is that true to the authority comicbooks? Does she have any association with Lex
Luthor? No, not initially. She was a wild stormcharacter, a member of the authority that was

(42:05):
brought into DC Comics later on. I guess in thatregard, she just still feels random to me. Well,
that's what I was afraid of, but I didn't get thatsense, because she was a part of a team called
Overwatch, created by Lex Luthor to bring downSuperman specifically. So I kind of liked the idea
that he was working on these experiments to createsuperpowered individuals capable of taking on

(42:27):
Superman. And I thought her power set was reallycool. I was horrified when she was like flooding
Superman's mouth with nanites trying to drownhim. That was wild. I wonder why Lex didn't give
himself superpowers. I don't necessarily thinkhe wants them. I think he wants to prove that he's
better than meta-humans. He's always kind of beenanti-meta-human. Just being in control of them as

(42:50):
opposed to joining them. Right, yeah, he usesthem. Like the clone of Superman in this film,
Ultraman, which I don't love that they named himUltraman. I don't understand why they didn't just
go the bizarro route with this character. Yeah,they were trying to keep it this secret or
something like that, as if fans didn't alreadyknow or highly suspect that this was going to be a

(43:10):
Superman clone underneath the mask. Well, Iwasn't 100% going in. Like it was a genuine mystery
who the character of Ultraman was to me. I was kindof actually disappointed when they revealed that
it was a normal looking, for the most part,Superman clone. Would you have preferred a
disfigured looking one? Yeah, I would have muchpreferred like if Lex Luthor was still working on

(43:31):
perfecting his clone technology. And maybe thatwould lead to Superboy in a later film. I don't
know. I didn't love what they did here. For all Iknow, that version of Superman being sucked into
the black hole maybe ends up in some bizarrouniverse and comes back later on disfigured. But
we'll see, I guess. I think it would have been moreexpedient if you replaced Metamorpho in the movie

(43:52):
with Metalo. And Metalo could also serve in theengineer's role as well. Oh, just made of like
nanites? Yeah. Yeah, Metalo and bizarro? Thatwould have been awesome. And I think more
reflective of Superman's traditional roguesgallery. Not gonna lie, I would have loved to have
seen that. I can't even deny that. But let's move onto the story highlights. Visit

(44:57):
dynamicpodcast.com where we settle the debateand settle the score. Superman crash lands in
Antarctica three minutes after being pummeled inMetropolis by the hammer of Baravia, who is
seemingly the mid human champion of the nation ofBaravia, an ally of the United States, whom

(45:19):
Superman stopped from invading its neighboringcountry of Jarhenpur three weeks ago. Superman is
taken to the Fortress of Solitude by the unrulycrypto, the super dog, where he is healed with the
help of his robot assistants and a concentrateddose of solar radiation. All while an
inspirational yet incomplete recorded messageof hope from Superman's Kryptonian parents,

(45:41):
Jerell and Laura, plays in the background. Onceadequately healed, Superman flies back to the
city of Metropolis, though he and his Antarcticfortress are noticed by the engineer who works for
and was created by Alex Luther. Again, brilliantuse of the opening crawl as it were for this film. I
guess many humans emerged three centuries ago andin this movie, Superman is 33 years old. I'm not

(46:07):
sure why they went with the number three, but Ithought it totally worked timeline wise. Yeah, I
don't think there was real significance to thenumber three. It was just kind of a coincidence
that all these occurrences lined up with thenumber three. It made me interested in which
metahumans emerged three centuries ago. Likewhat century would that have been? The 18th
century, I guess? The 1700s? You can't wait tolearn more about that, but I also liked that they

(46:30):
build it as ushering in age of gods and monsters,which is the name of the first chapter,
essentially, for James Gunn's DC universe, likehis phase one. Were you surprised that Bradley
Cooper was Jerell? No, that was actually spoiledfor me beforehand and not even on social media,
like it was a news article. I was pissed. InMetropolis, Lex and his team are alerted to

(46:53):
Superman's return and issue instructions to thehammer, resulting in Superman's defeat once
again. The injured Superman is helped to his feetby a friendly food vendor named Malik, while he's
also criticized by the public for hisintervention in the foreign conflict. The hammer
departs, flying to Fort Kramer, a nearby militarybase, where a series of interdimensional

(47:13):
gateways through a pocket universe takes him toLex Luther's command center, and it's revealed
that the hammer is Ultraman, another creation ofLexes. The hammer of Baravia is an original
character to the story, yes? Yes, yeah, he's not inthe comics. I do gotta say I really like Lex
Luther's fight system that he has set up againstSuperman, where he calls out like specific moves

(47:36):
to Ultraman to defeat him. That was really cool.Yeah, he essentially plotted like thousands of
moves to go against Superman, which is wild. Ithought that was really cool. It's like Lex Luther
playing a video game against Superman with like athousand buttons. I was surprised that the war
suit that the hammer of Baravia or Ultraman war wasnot Lex Luther in a battle suit, because I totally

(47:59):
thought that was going to be the case from thetrailers. I thought that was a really cool suit,
and I kind wish Lex Luther would use it later on.Yeah, that would have been cool. Or at least you
think he'd put on like a raptor suit or somethinglike that. Oh yeah, yeah, I guess that's green and
purple. More traditionally, Lex's colors. Thatwould have been cool. Nicolaar Kant arrives at the
Daily Planet after getting his first front pagenews story published about Superman's fight with

(48:22):
the hammer. While Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsenquestioned the hammer's motive and Superman's
actions, the president of Baravia, VassilGurkos, criticizes Superman during a televised
press briefing and insists Baravia's invasion ofJarhanpur was to liberate its people from its
oppressive government. Lex Luther meets with USmilitary executives at the Pentagon, presenting

(48:45):
Ultraman, the engineer, and an army of flyingarmored soldiers known as Raptors as a military
unit known as Planet Watch, pitched as the best andonly method of neutralizing the alien threat that
Superman presents as all Kryptonite has now beenremoved from the planet. Though the executives,
including Rick Fleck Sr., are hesitant to allowLex to kill Superman, they give Lex the authority

(49:09):
to hold Superman for questioning. You mentionedthat the story did a good job of showing the
multiple sides of Lex Luther as a villain as he'sbeen portrayed in the comic books as like, you
know, an evil scientist, a businessman. When I sawLex in the Pentagon speaking with generals and
stuff like that, I could easily see a route to himbecoming president in maybe like a sequel or a

(49:30):
third film in a trilogy down the line. Yeah, thatwould be interesting. I've always loved that
storyline with Lex. It was really cool in thecomics. Now, I have to imagine that Planet Watch is
a precursor to Stormwatch in the comics, which isrelated to the authority and maybe one of the
reasons they went with the engineer for thismovie, because the authority is a film that James

(49:51):
Gunn has been planning to be a part of this Gods andMonsters chapter in the DC cinematic universe.
Now, Lois arrives at her apartment only to findClark there cooking dinner. It's revealed that
the two are having a secret romantic relationshipand that Lois knows Clark is Superman. After
agreeing to allow Lois to interview him asSuperman, Clark nevertheless becomes agitated

(50:13):
by her questions and leaves. Meanwhile, Lexarrives in Antarctica with Ultraman, the
engineer, and his current girlfriend EveTessmucker, who all infiltrates Superman's
fortress, destroys his robots, kidnaps crypto,and steals the recording of Superman's
Kryptonian parents. To prevent Superman frominterrupting their infiltration of the

(50:34):
fortress, Lex has his team unleash a distractionin Metropolis, a small alien creature that grows
into a skyscraper sized kaiju overnight. Now,there's a lot of things in this film that they don't
really explain, and it makes me wonder if there wasa longer cut of this film earlier on. Things like
the kaiju. When did it grow? Why did it grow? Wheredoes it come from? Things like that. Yeah, I

(51:00):
definitely had those questions about it as well.Like I was maybe missing something, or maybe it was
some kind of easter egg to the comic books. Like hewas a well-known character for DC fans, but I never
got those answers. No, the kaiju. I mean, there arekaiju's in Superman comics, but I think this one
was original to the movie. As Superman protectsMetropolis from the kaiju, the Justice Gang
arrives, with its members Guy Gardner, a GreenLantern, Mr. Terrific, and Hawk Girl ultimately

(51:25):
killing the kaiju to Superman's dismay. While thepublic celebrates the hero's victory, Lex Luthor
reveals on a new show a repaired and full recordingof Superman's parents, their inspirational
message of hope, followed by their wish that theirson Cal-El rule over Earth's citizens and spread
his seed to rebuild the Kryptonian lineage.Devastated by the revelation, and with a public

(51:49):
sentiment turned against him even further,Superman realizes Luthor must have stolen the
message from his fortress. Upon flying there,Superman finds his robots destroyed and Krypton
missing. While President Gerkos meets with LexLuthor in his pocket universe, the two revealed to
be in cahoots. The kaiju scene was a great actionscene for not only Superman and showcasing how

(52:13):
heroic he is with the saving of like dogs andsquirrels and stuff, but also just a great
introduction, I think, to the Justice Gang. I waslooking forward to this scene from the trailers,
and I thought they pulled it off really well. Yeah,it was interesting how Superman was largely
serving in a support role, like preventingcollateral damage while the rest of the heroes
took on the kaiju directly. Yeah, set Supermanapart from other heroes. They just wanted to kill

(52:37):
this thing. He didn't. He wanted to take it to likean intergalactic zoo or something. I thought that
was cool. Despite confronting Lex Luthor aboutKrypto's whereabouts and getting no
information, Superman returns to his metropolisapartment after spending the day looking for the
dog. There, he and Lois discuss their strainedrelationship before Superman reveals that he's

(52:57):
going to turn himself into the government forquestioning, figuring that may help lead him to
Krypto. While Superman is arrested by Ultraman,Rick Flagg Sr. reveals that Superman is to be held
in Lex's custody for the time being. Superman isescorted through the interdimensional portal at
Fort Kramer to Lex's pocket universe, where he isplaced in a prison cell with metamorpho, whom Lex

(53:21):
has neutralized and tortured Superman bycreating Kryptonite. Superman spots Krypto
being experimented upon and realizes Lex has nointention of ever releasing either of them.
Meanwhile, Lois and Jimmy try to find theconnection between Lex and Baravia, resulting in
Jimmy reaching out to Eve, who turns out to beJimmy's obsessive ex-girlfriend and the two

(53:44):
agree to meet. I like the Kryptonite effect in thismovie, where it really made Superman feel more
alien and really feel much more affected by theKryptonite element than in other screen
adaptations where it just looks like he's sick tohis stomach or something like that. Yeah, it
definitely looks like the Kryptonite waspoisoning his blood here, and it actually did.
Kryptonite is so inconsistent, I'm glad that ithad lasting ramifications in this movie. After

(54:09):
Jimmy meets with Eve to ask her to findinformation, Lois visits with the Justice Gang to
ask for their help, and though their leader GuyGardner refuses, Mr. Terrific tracks Superman to
Fort Kramer. After Lex kills Malik in a game ofRussian roulette in front of Superman to force
information out of him, Lois and Mr. Terrificarrive at Fort Kramer, where Terrific defeats the

(54:32):
soldiers there to uncover the portal to Lex'spocket universe. While Mr. Terrific searches for
Superman using his T-Sphere, Minimorpho agreesto help Superman escape their prison cell in
exchange for the rescue of his also imprisonedinfant son, Joseph. Though Superman manages to
rescue Joseph and Krypto, he struggles againstthe Raptors and is knocked into an anti-proton

(54:55):
river before nearly getting sucked into a blackhole at the center of the pocket universe.
Eventually, Superman manages to escape thepocket universe with help from Minimorpho. Along
with Mr. Terrific and Lois, the Supermancontinues to suffer from Kryptonite poisoning,
and Lois takes him to the Kent Farm in Kansas whileMr. Terrific stays behind to try to close the

(55:15):
portal. I feel like using Super Breath to escape ablack hole makes no sense in any sort of reality.
Okay, well how would you have done it? You could. Idon't know, squeezed my flying muscles a little
bit harder or something like that? I have no idea.But Super Breath had me scratching my head during
the movie. Well, I think it was Super Breathcombined with Minimorpho's tugging that really

(55:37):
got him out of there. I did think the anti-protonriver was really cool. Did not expect to see
anything like that in the Superman movie. Yeah, itwas a cool special effect. For sure. Why do you
think Jimmy Olsen didn't like Eve? Because theimplication was that he was kind of shallow and
thought she had weird looking toes and that's whyhe didn't like her? I mean besides the obvious
personality reasons, if she was so clingy I wonderwhy they even inserted the toe thing. Yeah, it does

(56:02):
kind of make Jimmy look kind of bad. It had to be apersonality thing. I don't know. Furious as
Superman's escape, Lex abuses Eve, who textsinformation to Jimmy out of spite, though she's
caught immediately upon doing so and imprisonedin the pocket universe. Though Jimmy is
disappointed to see the information Eve sent was aseries of selfies, Lois recognizes that the

(56:25):
background of each selfie contains criticalevidence that reveals Lex's plans. Despite
warnings from his team, Lex overloads the portalgenerator at Fort Cramer causing a destructive
rift to grow between realities that beginstearing Metropolis apart and Lex's desperate bid
to attract Superman. While Clark has a heartfelttalk with his adoptive father Jonathan Kent about

(56:47):
Jor-El and Lara's full message, Metropolis'scitizens evacuate the city and Baravia's army
gathers at the border ready to invade Jarhenpur,whose citizens call out to Superman for help as
their people do not have an advanced military todefend them. There's a few scenes in this movie
that not gonna lie got me choked up, one of thembeing the discussion between Jonathan Kent and

(57:11):
Superman. Oh for sure, yeah really heartfeltstuff. But also the Jarhenpur scene with the kids
lifting up the flag, that was real touching. Forsure and not just for us as audience members but
also like the characters from the Justice Gang whodecided ultimately to go help despite their
criticism of Superman doing the same thingearlier in the film. As a parent hearing the wisdom

(57:32):
of Jonathan saying that parents aren't fortelling their children who they're supposed to
be, we're just here to give them the toolsessentially to make fools of themselves. I really
liked that message. Oh yeah so good. Letting yourkids make their own choices to become who they are
going to be on their own is a challenge I think as aparent because you want the best for them and you

(57:53):
kind of end up wanting to control their lives insome way but the wisdom of not doing that just
struck Yeah telling someone who they are ingeneral is just going to build resentment on their
part. Totally yeah. Now despite seeing theJarhenpurian people call out for him on
television, Superman is notified by Mr. Terrificabout what's going on in Metropolis. As

(58:14):
Metropolis is being destroyed, Lois and Jimmyreveal to Daily Planet editor and chief Perry
White that Lex had given military arms to Baraviaat a discount in exchange for half of Jarhenpur's
conquered land which would serve as the site for atech haven as well as provide him with billions of
dollars in oil reserves. The three of them alongwith several other Daily Planet journalists

(58:38):
write a story exposing Lex in Mr. Terrific'shovercraft while Mr. Terrific and Superman
themselves are attacked by Ultraman and theengineer after working to protect Metropolis's
citizens. After the engineer nearly drownsSuperman in nanites, Superman flies into space
and crash lands back in Metropolis knocking outthe engineer along with her nanites and also

(59:01):
damaging Ultraman's mask which reveals that he'sa clone of Superman. What did you think of the way
Superman defeated the engineer? I liked it. Iliked how he took issues into his own accord. You
know he didn't have outside help to come in andrescue him at the last minute like you would expect
maybe from a situation like this. He had to use hisown wits being a character who isn't necessarily

(59:21):
known for his high intelligence. It was adesperate move on his part but it made sense and it
worked. Yeah I agree. I totally thought with Mr.Terrific being there that he was going to disable
the nanites in some way but I loved that they came upwith a unique way for Superman to overcome his own
challenge. A way that even Lex didn't foreseecoming. Yeah it was also hardcore. Even the

(59:44):
engineer was like I'm not going to survive this andLex was like the only one they're protecting is
Superman. That was genius. That was good. As GuyGardner, Hawkeye Girl and Metamorpho defend
Jarhan Perr from the Baravian army going so far asto even kill President Girkus, Ultraman
meanwhile pummel Superman under the fightdirection of Lex Luthor. With help from Crypto

(01:00:06):
however, Superman is able to disable Lex'sobservational drones and knock Ultraman into the
pocket universe's black hole. After defeatingthe Raptors as well, Superman, Crypto and Mr.
Terrific crash into Lex's flying command centerand after a brief debate between Superman and Lex,
Crypto attacks Lex, injuring him while Mr.Terrific hacks Lex's systems to reverse the rift

(01:00:30):
destroying the city. Once the Daily Planet'sexpose outs Lex as manipulating the war between
Baravia and Jarhan Perr, Lex is arrested and hispocket universe prisoners are set free including
Eve who embraces a reluctant Jimmy. Superman andLois also share a kiss. This whole third act was so

(01:00:51):
action packed and so fun to watch. I do have to callBS on a code fixing that rift between dimensions
though. I don't know how that's possible. Kind ofthe whole Silver Age zockiness at work there.
Yeah. But the rest of it I loved. Do you think theJustice Gang will come under the same kind of
scrutiny that Superman did for interfering in aninternational conflict going so far as to

(01:01:12):
assassinate a world leader? I was actuallywondering that. I think with revelation that Lex
was manipulating them and that President Gerchoswas corrupt, probably gives them a bit of
leniency. Maybe. I really didn't appreciate howthe whole Crypto attacking Lex comedic beat in the
film was a direct ripoff of the puny god scene wherethe Hulk beats the shit out of Loki in the Avengers

(01:01:38):
film. It was like this same exact joke. That's abeyond the reasoning of the antagonists just
being more of a force of nature and beating the shitout of the villain because they can. For me it was
almost the same exact moment. Okay so that's only alot to happen once in storytelling for all of

(01:01:58):
history? At least for superhero films? Yes. No.I'm sorry. It was way cooler when Crypto did it. Now
back at the fortress of solitude as Supermanundergoes healing treatment from his now
repaired robot servants, a drunk super girlarrives and is reunited with her dog Crypto. After
she leaves, Superman watches videos of himselfgrowing up with his adoptive parents, the Kents in

(01:02:21):
Kansas. In a mid-credits scene, he and Cryptooverlook the planet from the moon and in an
end-credits scene, Superman chastises himselffor being a jerk after pointing out to an irate Mr.
Terrific that the city was not seamlesslyrejoined after closing the rift. I gotta say both
the mid-credits scene and end-credits scene wereentirely worthless. Like I did not need to see

(01:02:43):
them, I regret wasting my time. Well it's been saidthat DC Studios is not going to make the mistake of
recent Marvel Studios films in setting uppromises that they can't deliver. It wasn't
really necessary, it was cute, it was comedic. I'mglad I stayed for them. I think to that end they
should just not have mid or end-credits Why eveninclude them if it's just going to be pointless?

(01:03:06):
You know what? Just let DC do what it's going to do.You don't need to worry about it. I did really like
the ending how Superman started watching thevideos of Ma and Pa Kante as opposed to his
Kryptonian parents. That whole switch-up was Ithought a great culmination to his arc because it
spoke to how he started defining himself. Iactually kind of loved how they played up more on Ma

(01:03:27):
and Pa Kante in this movie than Krypton. Even withPa and Ma Kante being portrayed as the simpletons
that they were, to Clark they were still moreimportant because they were the ones who raised
him than his Kryptonian parents. You know in Man ofSteel we got a really brilliant take on Krypton and
I wasn't really sure that this film could improveon something like that and I'm kind of glad it

(01:03:49):
didn't even really try to. Like Krypton isinteresting but beyond it being the planet he came
from his real origin story is his upbringing inSmallville by Jonathan and Martha Kent and I'm
glad that this film acknowledged that. YeahKrypton is irrelevant to his actual character.
This film really puts the causation of Superman'smorals and ethics on the Kants which kudos to the

(01:04:13):
film. Yeah there's a lot that this film gets right.It surprised me in a lot of ways. I thought it was
profound in more ways than I would have thought itwould have been. It was a soaring reminder that
true heroism lies not in mites but in the radicalchoice to see goodness in others. I thought it was a
bold heartfelt and fun start to the new DCuniverse. I loved this movie. It's not perfect but

(01:04:37):
it's really close so I'm giving it four and a halfout of five stars. A fresh rating on Rotten
Tomatoes. Yeah I think viewing it on a surfacelevel doesn't quite seem as profound as it
actually is if you look deeper. You know that wholemessage is the essence of Superman. At least how he
should be and beyond that I think the film was just alot of fun and a lot more true to the tone of the comic

(01:05:01):
books and true to the characterization. You can'treally ask for much more than that from a superhero
film. So yeah I think four and a half stars is a solidrating. I cannot wait for the Supergirl movie
after this. I cannot wait to see Batman. I reallyhope they incorporate Robert Pattinson's The
Batman into this universe because I think it wouldwork perfectly. I'm so stoked to be a DC fan right

(01:05:22):
now and see what they have coming up. What a time tobe alive. And I gotta say Marvel's Fantastic Four
has a lot to live up to after this movie. Oh it's upfor the challenge and then some. You'll see. It is
going to get trounced by Superman. No wayFantastic Four has a chance. R.A .P. Marvel
Studios. Calling it now. You know what I like. Igive this movie zero stars. Well thank goodness it

(01:05:46):
doesn't matter what you think. And also I'llremember that in my review of Fantastic Four.
Never mind. Never mind. But that does it for thisreview. AJ9K help close this out. Thanks for
listening to Dynamic Jewel. Visit the show'swebsite at dynamicjewel.com and follow us on
Instagram at dynamicjewel podcast. You cansupport the show on Patreon at patreon.com slash

(01:06:10):
dynamicjewel and joining a tier that works for youor by rating and reviewing Dynamic Jewel on Apple
Podcasts, Spotify, Podchaser or on our website.Don't forget to listen to the other shows in the
Dynamite podcast network including MaxDestruction, Senjo World and Console Combat. In
our next episode we will be doing a quick break fromthe reviews to do a team duel this time pitting the

(01:06:35):
Justice League International versus the WestCoast Avengers. It's the Justice League versus
the Avengers again. Yes like a rematch or like agrudge match where this time the Avengers are
going to be kicking all kinds of ass. Not as much asthe Justice League. You'll learn. But that does it
for this episode. We want to give a big thanks to ourexecutive producers John Straussky, Zachary
Hepburn, Dustin Belcombe, Miggy Mathen-Geehan,Nathaniel Wagner, Levi Yatn, Austin Wazalowski,

(01:07:00):
AJ Dunkerly, Nick Obanto, Scott Camacho, GilCamacho, Adam Spees, Dean Molesky, Devin Davis,
Joseph Kirsting, Josh Leiner, Mike Williams,Oscar Galvez and Paul Graves for helping make this
podcast possible. We'll talk to you guys nextweek. Up, up and away, true believers. I'm so punk
rock that I despise punk rock.