Superman Movie Review: From a Non Superman Fan

I watched the new superman film from James Gunn, how did i feel about it as someone who isn't a superman fan?

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
The new Superman movie, written and directed by James Gunn
has just been released and I got to check it out.
How does this film measure up with a non Superman fan,
Let's find out. Okay, so there will be spoilers here,
So if you didn't see the movie yet and you
care go check it out, then come back and watch
this video. Before we dive into this review, let me

(00:21):
just explain my level of Superman fandom. Yes, I am
a comic book reader. I enjoy comic books very much.
I have a huge comic book collection. I have seen
the previous Superman movies. I've played some of the video games,
watch some of the animated stuff. I've maybe seen one
or two episodes of Smallville, and never really watch the CW.
Arrow Verse Superman stuff at all. So in all my

(00:41):
years of being a comic book fan, I would say
Superman was never in my top ten or even twenty
favorite superheroes. So I wouldn't really call myself a Superman
fan at all. But I do have more knowledge than
a general person about his lore and things like that.
So that's my level of Superman fando. So let's start
with the story. One of my biggest gripes with the characters.

(01:04):
Superman is making his stories feel important or that the
stakes really matter for him, not just the people around him.
I never really feel like he's in danger or anything.
It is just that important to his survival, especially when
his main villain, Lex Luthor, is basically Jeff Bezos at
this point. And this was the first surprise I got
from this film. From the opening scene and throughout the

(01:25):
whole film, I really felt like Superman can be hurt
and beaten. When Gun opens the film, it's not too
a triumphant super guy flying through a crowd and smashing
a bunch of enemies. No, it's a vulnerable, superpowered man
laid out, half beaten in Antarctica. I was very intrigued
by this and captivated right out of the gate. But
a hero is only as good as his greatest villain,

(01:47):
right well, Lex Luthor was actually diabolical. With the little
dash of charm, you almost say you wanted the guy
to win. The way the story panned out was just magnificent.
I mean, all of these pieces that will move around
fit in together so wonderfully. Almost every scene in this
film was important in moving the plot along. There was
really not a lot of wasted material here, and it

(02:08):
wasn't just the things done by Lex or Superman. The
supporting cast really brought the heat here. Jimmy Olsen, Mister Terrific,
and even Lex's girlfriend all had something to add to
the plot. This was masterfully done in my opinion, and
even without the intense action, the story alone was enough
to keep me wanting more and watching this film all
the way through to the end. A lot of people
accused Gun of using the same Guardians formula over and over,

(02:31):
but this really was a refreshing take not only on
guns directing and writing, but on the character that was
used so many times in film and TV. It really
felt like a refreshing Superman film. The Chilla did look
really good, I mean visually, but when I seen that
they also throwing Guy Gardner, Halt, Girl, Mister Terrific metamorpho,
I thought, maybe there's gonna be too much going on here.

(02:53):
But the story was pretty tight and it had high stakes.
It was very entertaining, not too comedic, but also not
overly broody, and it felt like Superman. So let's talk
about the characters. David corn Sweat brought a level of
naive optimism that I haven't seen in Superman for a while.
I mean, it seemed like so many movies just decided

(03:14):
to go so dark. This is what I thought Superman
was supposed to act like in films, This is what
I thought Superman was supposed to be in comics. I mean,
this guy is supposed to be pretty jovial from what
I thought. We could leave all the sad, brooding stuff
for Batman, right. I didn't have any issues with how
he played Kark, Kent or Superman. Lois Lane. I didn't
feel she did anything too extravagant to elevate the character

(03:35):
in this film, but she also didn't fail and make
the character seem bad or crappy in any way. I
will say the scene where she got to stand down
and interview Clark as Superman did come across really well.
It just showed me that they could use Lois in
a great way. And I'm glad they didn't go the
damsel in distress route because that's just such an easy
and played out trope. Lex Luthor, portrayed by Nicholas Hulpe,

(03:58):
blew me away. I man, this guy. I felt the
pure visceral disdain for Superman so much. His facial expressions
and the things that he said in his dialogue. It
almost made me want to join up with Luther Court.
I really felt his pain here. You know, talking about
this movie, we have to talk about the Justice Game.

(04:19):
Nathan Fillyan as Guy Gardner I be been. This guy
just cannot miss. I will watch anything he's attached to,
anything that he's in, from Firefly to the Rookie. He
just brings it every single time, no matter what it is,
no matter what the genre. This guy is just like
a universal condiment. He's like Ketchup. He is the Ketchup
of the acting world. Just put him anywhere it works.

(04:41):
He's great. His Lantern was not only heroic and hilarious,
but also bad ass. I mean, please give us more
of this guy. Please tell me Guy Gardner has something
big coming in this universe. Hawk Girl also did really
well in this film. I did wish he had a
little bit more scene so we could see her shine,
but she never overstepped or it became cringy, as it

(05:02):
probably is easy to do as a Hawk Girl of
all things, it seems ridiculous, but she played a role,
but she managed to keep it in line and never
seem two out of place. I do wish there was
a word where we get her and the hawk Man
from Black Adam together, because I loved him in that
movie and I think those two together would be a
phenomenal team. Last, but certainly not least from the Justice Gag,

(05:23):
we got mister Terrific. Sometimes in the supporting cast you
get people who drag the film down. Sometimes you get
really good supporting characters, and sometimes you get a scene
stealing star, and that was mister Terrific. Here. James Gunn
turned one of the characters I was probably least excited
to see into one of my favorite characters in the movie.

(05:44):
Kudos for Eddie Kuthagi for bringing a D list at
best to being a soul stealer in a Superman film.
I mean, who thought this was gonna happen. I don't
think anyone walked out of that film hating mister Terrific.
I hope we see a whole lot more of him
in the future. I really don't know how tied into
Superman he is in Superman Law. If anybody knows about that,

(06:06):
please drop it in the comments. But wherever he does
turn up next, I will be watching Overall, the Justice
Gang was just another amazing part of a great movie.
We also had Metamorpho, who I originally just didn't see
how he would fit into the film that was already
jam packed with so many things. But as I said,
James Gunn really put the story together. He fit him
in there in a way that made sense. It never

(06:28):
felt out of place. So many things that were done
in this film. I thought, just could it work altogether?
But he did it. We can't forget about Crypto, which
was a questionable edition if you ask me, I mean,
a super dog flying around in a film like this,
a reboot, reintroduction to a character seemed like a lot.
But we know James Gunn loves his little animated critters.

(06:51):
We got Rocket, we got Weasel. I mean, it's a
James Gunn staple. At this point. He managed to keep
Crypto from being too ridiculous by not over playing him,
but playing him just enough that you want to see
him here and there. I think James Gunn may be
on his way to direct in a Gremlins film. Someone
should think about that. Overall, the supporting cast was done

(07:12):
really well. I did have a small ripe with one
of the characters very small. But we'll get to that
where we're talking about the things that I didn't truly
enjoy about the movie. The visuals were nothing less than spectacular,
with fast paced action that you would expect from a
superhero film. You really felt the power and destruction from
these superpowered characters as they tore up buildings and things

(07:33):
all across the city. Gun managed to keep the action
interesting by throwing in a gimmick where Lex Luthor calls
out commands to a superpowered individual, like a college football coach.
Having a proxy fight Superman while using your commands seems
like a very diabolical, rich, powerless Lex Luthor thing to do.
It probably sounded really silly on paper, but in the

(07:56):
context of the film it was a basy I also
want to say, I like the they depicted Superman's flight
in the film. I mean, when he took off into
the sky, he kind of flew through different weather as
he went over across the world. You can see like
the little beads of moisture hitting his face. You know.
It was a real subtle but good touch. All right,
let's talk about my issues with the film, my very

(08:17):
small issues. Number one, My issue is there wasn't more
no seriously though, unless I miss something about Perry knowing
that Clark and Superman were the same person, I don't know.
I just watched the ones in the theater. Maybe I
did miss it. I just feel like the times where
they were leaving the office and getting in missed the
terrific saucer and he was picking people to come along
from the new station. I just thought that someone probably

(08:39):
should have asked about Clark. I feel like no one
in the film ever really noticed Clark was missing when
Superman was taken or off to fights. I don't know.
It's something very nick picky, and you didn't need it
in the film, because I probably wouldn't have liked to
have too much Clark kent. I mean, this is Superman.
I liked that we got a lot of Superman, but
I just kind of wish they threw something in there

(09:00):
about Clark disappearing. Also, I wasn't too fond of the
ultraman twist being a clone of Superman. It wasn't bad,
but it was a little cheesy to me. It's kind
of a small cop out. I know they needed it
for story purposes also, but I feel like they could
have worked around that and made ultraman something or someone else.

(09:20):
But that's just like a personal grind. But it's not
a big deal at all. But I also want to
speak about the engineer. Although we did get a decent
amount of screen time and action from her, I just
would have liked a little more backstory or wish that
they gave her a little tie to Superman of why
she also wanted them dead so bad unless I missed
it like I said, but just you know, a throwaway
line about something happened to a family member or something

(09:42):
would have been great. Overall, this non Superman fan was
wild by this film. Not perfect, but it was a
pretty solid film. It also proved that superhero movies don't
have to overly do origins over and over again to
be really good. This was a point where we launched
off I don't know how many years into Superman's career,
and I didn't really question it. With the really tight

(10:04):
story and a great supporting cast, I want to give
this film eight point eight. Yes, it is almost a
nine for me. It is a really great film. It
could have given us a little more here and there,
but man, it's definitely worth a watch and a rewatch
and a re rewatch. So what did you guys think
of the film? To all my Superman fans, I want

(10:25):
to see you guys drop comments and let me know
what you like, what you didn't like, what didn't work,
what did work for you? And everyone from the general
audience in all different levels of comic book fandom. Please
drop a comment down below. And if you know of
any great Easter eggs I was in the film, please
let me know so I can catch them when I
get my rewatch, which will probably be very soon. Well,
that's it for me today. It's been just dale. That

(10:47):
is my Superman review and I will see you guys
next time.