Review 753: Superman: Legacy

The opening text of Superman: Legacy establishes that 3 centuries ago, metahumans made themselves known to mankind, that Kal-El has been on Earth for 3 decades and that for 3 of those years, he's been Superman. It's this kind of economic exposition that James Gunn lives for, establishes everything we need to know about this new DC Universe and lets us know that we don't need to read a bunch of comics to understand what's occurring. 

Working as a journalist and keeping his identity under wraps, Clark Kent/Superman (Davic Corenswet) embarks on a journey to reconcile his galactic heritage with his human upbringing as Clark Kent, while the threat of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) looms large. Driven by his compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of mankind, Superman finds himself fighting for truth and justice - but his beliefs are out of place in a world that views this as old fashioned. 

Drawing inspiration from All-Star Superman as well as Fleischer Superman shorts of the 40's, Superman: The Animated Series and Superman: Birthright, but eagle eyed comic book fans will also catch inspiration from the Brainiac story arc, Superman: Ending Battle; Superman for All Seasons; and Kingdom Come. With Superman: Legacy, we're given a sense of pure delight not seen since the 1978 original with Christopher Reeve. Watching this film is like James Gunn getting out all of his Superman toys and having good old throw down with them.

Skipping over the lengthy origin story, James Gunn refreshingly thrusts us as an audience right into the middle of the action and by extension, this world, this is a DC Universe that already has metahumans, aliens even a giant Kejiu. This is one of the films many visually creative and wacky action scenes, including a hugely entertaining scene Mr. Terrific places a force field around Lois Lane while dispatching henchmen. Keeping the perspective inside the bubble with Lois with the fighting taking place in the background set to Noah and the Whale’s “5 Years Time.” 

The film also has some interesting political subtext in how the catalyst for the events of the film is Superman attempting to stop an invasion of the fictional country of Jarhanpur and Boravia. Despite James Gunn claiming it isn't the case, it's almost impossible to draw comparisons between recent real life invasions of other countries whose names will go unmentioned.

According to James Gunn, Superman: Legacy is a film about an "Immigrant that came from other places". Superman has always been a story of America. He's an immigrant the came from other places and populated the country. But fundamentally, this is a film about how basic human kindness is something we've lost. 

There's also an undercurrent of nature vs nurture that holds this film together. Underneath all of the goofy stuff, James Gunn's Superman: Legacy much like his Guardians of the Galaxy Trilogy ponders the question of are our destiny's determined by our nature or by the nature of our world. Over the course of the film, we see Clark/Superman struggle with an identity crisis of sorts, as he struggles to reconcile Clark may have his powers because of Kryptonian heritage but it was his parents Jonathan & Martha (Pruitt Taylor Vince & Neva Howell) that instilled him with this inherent kindness that he carries to his duties as Superman.

The action scenes are fantastic, James Gunn's influence from the recent Top Gun: Maverick as well as the Superman films of Zack Snyder and Richard Donner is very apparent here. While they don't match the visceral, hard hitting feel of Man of Steel, these scenes succeed in creating a similar sense of excitement and awe. The production design is absolutely gorgeous, that art deco aesthetic all the locations: the Fortress of Solitude, the Daily Planet, LuthorCorp Tower even Clark's apartment feel as if they were ripped right out of the Golden Age of comics. But it's Lex Luthor's pocket dimension that is easily the coolest set in the whole movie; a vast  that's more of a prison, torture chamber for Lex Luthor and his 

The cinematography is beautiful giving off a gorgeous  along with beautiful lighting that gives off a retro 40s vibe. The score by John Murphy and David Fleming is though at times the score adheres too much to the John Williams original theme for my taste and the soundtrack goes a bit overboard with the punk-rock songs.  

There's some good slapstick humour sprinkled throughout the new Superman courtesy of Krypto the Superdog. Their's is a complicated love with Clark finding it had to control him because he’s too busy 

For a film that clocks in at over two hours, Superman: Legacy moves at a brisk pace, this can be both a blessing and a detriment to the films story, characters and world building, there are too many things going on and too many characters to keep track of making this film feel   and as wonky as the storytelling was at times, the big moments still hit hard and

Taking on the role of the Man of Steel is hot up-and-comer David Corenswet who looks like a cross between Henry Cavill and Tom Welling who played Clark Kent in Smallville. If Henry Cavill's Superman was conflicted, confused, inexperienced, his Superman feels more evolved, more confident, more sure-footed in the sense that he's been doing this for 3 years and has gotten the hang of saving people and mineralising collateral damage. Not all is well in Clark's world however as there are still some elements that leave his life unbalanced such as his love life with Lois Lane as well as allying with other superheroes who see his ideals as outdated. Corenswet is kindhearted without being a pushover but also not afraid to throw a punch when necessary. He brought a likeable charm to the character while also channeling the Cary Grant swagger as well as the frustration from being under scrutiny for his heroic actions. He's such a good and hopeful character who's just looking out for anyone.                                                                     

There is a scene during the film's climax where Clark stands up to Lex Luthor with a beautifully worded speech about how he is just a human as everyone else. In-spite of his extraordinary gifts, he goes through self-doubts and defeats, but he has unshakable optimism, kindness and empathy. That was the moment where I unconsciously accepted Corenswet as Superman without thinking of Christopher Reeve or Henry Cavill or even Tyler Hoechlin. He's officially taken up the mantle  he plays an invincible character but doesn't come across as invincible playing him.

Clark refuses to give into being as cynical as his detractors because that's just who he is believes in virtue and the inherent goodness of people. He will look up because that's why he was sent to Earth. 

Rachel Brosnahan from House of Cards and The Marvellous Mrs. Maisel is particularly well chosen for the role of Lois Lane. Lois is an equal and opposite force to Corenswet's Clark. She has Superman on his back foot a lot throughout the film. He opens the door to her questions and she is in there relentlessly in pursuit of the truth which she can't help herself. She's trying to figure out how does this guy who is an alien, whom she is in a relationship with fit into her life. She is undoubtedly attracted to him and there's feelings there but she is cynical. Their scenes of intense and playful banter 

Nicholas Hoult, however, steals the show as Lex Luthor, this version is an egomaniacal, obsessive, ruthless, even spiteful. Lex doesn't want to be replaced; he's been considered one of the greatest geniuses of our times who's clearly done great things for humanity, is an incredibly intelligent scientist. Even in a world with other heroes, he was still considered the greatest guy in the world. and all of a sudden Superman comes along who's an alien from some other planet, from his pov, he didn't work to be strong, he just is strong, he shoots laser beams out of his eyes and everybody loves him and that's just so infuriating to Lex. He then turns that envy into an almost religious belief that he's been given that by god so that he'll destroy Superman and save humanity. Ultimately, his hatred of Superman is fuelled because his presence is just a threat to fragile ego. The sad irony is that while Superman (the alien) has all of these godlike powers, Lex is the one with the God complex. Just because he believes that he's better than everyone makes him a textbook narcissist. 

Sara Sampaio is also a lot of fun playing Eve Teschmacher, Luthor's personal assistant and girlfriend in yet another example of the film taking cues from Superman (1978). A social media obsessed, vapid, ditzy, woman who seems utterly devoted to Lex and love the bad boys... and proves to be smarter than her admittedly good looks would lead you to believe. She's hilarious and a great source of comic relief.

Skyler Gisondo from The Righteous Gemstones and who you may also remember from Paul Thomas Anderson's Licorice Pizza also makes an impression as Jimmy Olsen. Not quite as plucky as Marc McClure from the Richard Donner films, nor as forgettable as Sam Huntington from Superman Returns or as disposable/blink-and-you-missed him as Michael Cassidy from BvS. In this version, Jimmy is presented as a ladies man, this change took me by surprise 

The Justice Gang are a lot of fun and make for some inspired foils for the Man of Steel. They feel like  James Gunn's response to corporate superhero teams like the Seven in Amazon's The Boys. They're definitely more trigger happy than Clark would allow and are less conscious of collateral damage and prioritise neutralising the threat over the safety of others. They're ruthless with the way they do things Some of them get more focus than others though Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific is easily the standout. Nathan Fillion is superbly cast playing Guy Gardner, capturing the cockiness and the arrogance associated with the character; he's a jerk, he thinks he's the best and he's got a real sore spot about thinking that anybody might be considered better than he is: a superiority complex and while Kenda Saunders/Hawkgirl felt a little underused and only gets a handful of lines, Isabela Marced's sass and spunk certainly shone through. Hawkgirl is certainly the most ruthless of the gang 

Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover), Steve Lombard (Beck Bennet) & Metamorpho (Barry's Anthony Carrigan and whom eagle eyed DC fans will recognise as The Mist from The Flash (Season 1) however, feel like afterthoughts in the grand scheme of things. 

I'm not sure quite how I feel about the Kents being reimagined as Southerners who serve as comic relief as well as the usual emotional support to Clark. Jonathan, in particular, has a very warm and touching moment with Clark whilst recovering at the Kent Farm. He's unassuming, he's a loveable, kind and wise. I generally still prefer Kevin Costner & Diane Lane. Hell, I even prefer Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thatcher from the Richard Donner original when it comes to these characters.

Did it reignite my excitement for comic book films? Not really, I think I've had my fill on 

The film is intended to foster a new shared DC comics universe on both the big and small screens and will probably succeed. Did it reignite my excitement for comic book films and this new universe? Not really, I think at times it tries to bite off more than it can chew and there's a bit of been there, done that. Does Superman: Legacy get the job done for its intended audience? Yes, I believe it does. 3.5/5.

The Anonymous Critic