Superman SPOILER Review Thread (NO TAGS NECESSARY)

[chintai80]

was talking to one of my friends about the movie and she would probably be considered a part of the general audience as she's not big into comic book movies.

and she loved the film.
she said superman is naive but is also endearing in this.

the general audience starting to see what superman has always been about.

but lot of them did not know that before because for over a decade on film superman has portrayed as a stoic and distant god-like being. the original message seemingly got muddled.

not saying that's a good or bad way to adapt the character.
but it's far from the characterization of superman from the comics and all other media that fans originally latched onto.

 

[Spider-Fan83]

not a review, but, a question...
(didn't want to post a possible spoiler in other threads)

does Perrys and Jimmy line near the end about "how long have they been hanging up?"...

were they just referring to her an Superman or was it implied that they know about Clark?

shouldn't the line been something like... "well Clark can't complete with that..." "who's going to tell the poor guy" both at the say time {pointing at each other} - "not me"

 

[AndrewGilkison]

Did Clark ever express any longing for Lois publicly to his boss or co-workers? Not sure why they would say things like that.

 

[dhandler01]

not a review, but, a question...
(didn't want to post a possible spoiler in other threads)

does Perrys and Jimmy line near the end about "how long have they been hanging up?"...

were they just referring to her an Superman or was it implied that they know about Clark?

shouldn't the line been something like... "well Clark can't complete with that..." "who's going to tell the poor guy" both at the say time {pointing at each other} - "not me"

Clark hasn't shown any sort of attraction to Lois that we know of so I think he just means Superman.

That said though Wendell Pierce made it sound like Perry knows the truth when he was interviewed at the premiere.

 

[Mach2Infinity]

9/10 for me. Apologies, incoming essay..

I had seen a bunch of 'out of theatre' reactions as well as online reviews which either raved about the film or said it was terrible. Even the ones that praised it, many did caveat with a 'but..'. Given my issue with James Gunn's sensibilities where he can insert too much humour, often fairly crass/vulgar I went in with tempered expections.

However, when I came out of the cinema, I loved the film and was thoroughly engaged from the first frame to the last. I was also feeling pretty emotional as a bunch of things in the film resonated with me: the sometimes haunting and moving score, Superman's kindness, warmth and compassion for all life, the electric chemistry between Lois and Clark/Superman with their love for one another and a very personal connection to the film.

Last year around the time they were filming, I had gone through an incredible painful and low point in my life. Thanks to two amazing best friends, time and healing, I managed to pull through. On a poetic note, to think whilst I was going through all that, they were filming the very scenes that I would later enjoy and find incredibly emotional deeply resonated with me and was incredibly meaningful. One of those best friends is here on SHH but out of respect for them I won't tag them. But they know who they are and to echo from another great 'Superman' film... "thank you is not enough for what you did".

Not to go off on a massive tangent, but it needed to be said.

Back to the film... there's so much to talk about. I guess I should start with the highlights. The score was a big surprise. I was expecting just a retread of the John Williams score. But whilst they use it, they mostly use a variation of it which was haunting but also rousing. The chemistry between David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnihan was off the charts. You just buy them unquestionably as a couple who fall in love. Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor is now my favourite iteration of the character, both psychotic and threatening, just an utterly contemptible figure (in the best way possible!). I thought the humour was mostly good and well-balanced, only a few gags that didn't land surprisingly. The effects were really well done and I was in an IMAX screen, don't personally understand how they were as bad or worse than the Flash supposedly (which was worse despite some occasional nice effects). I thought the cinematography was really good with some epic shots and the flying scenes were great. The scene between Jonathan Kent and Clark was incredibly moving, moved me as it deeply resonated. I really liked the Engineer and despite being a little underdeveloped, it made me eager to see an Authority film now. Ultraman whilst also underdeveloped was a powerful villain too. Mr. Terrific (especially) and Metamorpho were stand-outs for me. Jimmy Olsen.. what a guy lol. Loved what they did with him. I thought the casting for all the characters was spot-on. I really enjoyed the action and whilst it does move at quite a pace, I didn't find it off-putting. I have to say James Gunn's OTT humour was mostly pared back surprisingly. His best since Guardians 1.

The lowlights.. again some of it is Gunn's humour. Namely the running gag with Jimmy and Eve Teschmacher I found was unnecessarily cruel at times but people did laugh, maybe I'm too sensitive. I also thought the depiction of Ma and Pa Kent just verged on caricature at times and played a bit too much on the country bumpkin or hick stereotype. I think some characters needed more scenes and it probably was a little overstuffed so some character development suffered as a result. I also know there is an even better and longer cut of the film. It's clear that Gunn cut a fair bit after some test screenings.

So ultimately, I highly recommend the film. It's bright, it's colourful, feels like an actual comic book film that's unashamed of itself finally. Wonderful performances, Corenswet is Superman and Brosnihan's Lois Lane for me. Its central themes about kindness and hope couldn't have come at a better time. It certainly did for me. It left me wanting a Superman sequel and to see where the DCU goes next. Bring on Supergirl!

This film is still in my head. It's the score, the performances, that magnificent speech, Lois, Clark/Superman, Mr. Terrific, Metamorpho, poor Malik, Ma & Pa Kent, cinematography and Superman embodying the qualities of compassion, love, kindness and humanity. I've always loved Superman but this film made me see him in a new light. As James Gunn said, we've had the super but not always the man and whilst we got plenty of super, we very much got the man.

The one scene I will give credit to Joss Whedon from the theatrical cut of JL is when Bruce says the world needs Clark, because in spite of all his power, he fell in love and got a job. He's human, impossibly so. I cannot wait to see how he interacts with the future Batman. Because whilst I loved Cavill's Superman and Affleck's Batman, their scenes together were criminally much too brief. But to see this hopeful and light Superman meet a dark and maybe jaded Batman is just cinematic dynamite. Something like this.

Now after all these years, I finally got what people who adore Superman love about the character on an emotional level.

 

[Mach2Infinity]

I took a break from the Hype for a bit because I kept getting some annoying pop-up ad that my ad blocker wasn’t taking care of. To make matters worse, I’ve been dealing with this weird vision issue that makes it difficult to read text on my phone. And then right before this movie came out I started having Man of Steel/BvS flashback panic attacks, worrying that it was going to get critically panned and bomb lol. So, I just avoided all coverage of it until the RT score hit. Obviously that all turned out fine and I’m glad that my fears were all for naught. But did I like it?

I loved it. Start to finish. The movie grabbed me from the opening crawl to the final post-credits scene. Corenswet was the Superman I’ve been waiting for since Reeve hung it up. He’s charming, charismatic, kindhearted, dorky and adorable. And Brosnahan is the BEST Lois Lane ever. While I love Margot Kidder and I have a soft spot for Amy Adams’s Lois (it’s not her fault the movies she was in sucked), Brosnahan takes the character to new heights, showcasing her journalism skills, while also displaying heroics and a tough exterior that even the Man of Steel has to work hard to get through. As someone who was championing BOTH of these actors for these roles long before they were announced, I feel pretty damned good about my casting skills hahaha. Announce Superman 2 at Comic Con, James! I need to see more of them now!

And that brings me to the man who put it all together. Gunn is as the right person for the job. While even I had my concerns about him (I’m a big Gunn fan but even I wasn’t sure initially if he was the right director for Superman), he really nailed it. He made a Superman movie that exists in a truly fantastical world but also a world that feels very much like our own in more ways than you might think. It always bothered me in comics where they would have Superman refusing to intervene when dictators were committing human rights atrocities, because why the hell wouldn’t he? Granted, as Lois astutely points out, actions have consequences, no matter how well-intentioned they might be. But still, Superman is a character that I don’t see as willing to sit something out just because it might look bad politically. And that’s why it’s good to see him (and later the Justice Gang) standing up to a dictator Putinyahu in this movie, even if the government doesn’t approve.

And of course, Lex. Hoult crushed it. Best Luthor ever, hands down. Vicious, evil, brilliant and straight-up scary. While I liked Rosenbaum and Hackman, neither of them comes close to a performance like Hoult delivers. I HATED him by the end of this movie, and I mean that in the most complimentary way possible.

Other things… loved Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl and Gardner. Hope we get to see a lot of them in Peacemaker. And as an 80s Superfriends fan, I totally geeked out over the Hall of Justice. Jimmy was great (though I could have done without him body shaming Eve). I wish we would have gotten more from Perry White and the DP crew; hopefully that rumored Jimmy Olsen series features a lot of them. The Superman robots were cool, and Krypto made me wish I still had a dog. Adorable and lovable. Hell, give Krypto his own show too lol.

Jon and Martha Kent were awesome; I especially loved that pep talk that Jon gave to Clark. And it was a nice, subtle touch for Lois to see Clark’s humble beginnings for the first time. I’m a bit iffy on how Jor-El and Lara-Lor Van were handled; love Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan but sending Kal-El to potentially conquer earth isn’t an idea I love. To be fair though, Smallville did something similar and perhaps more than any other comic book superhero, Superman on the whole has taken things from other media that featured the character (Kryptonite, for example, originated in the old radio show). So like it or not, Smallville is just as relevant as any other version. Also, John Byrne’s Krypton was a very cold and analytical society (though that lack of humanity didn’t extend to Jor-El and Lara).

Anyway, I’ll share more of my thoughts over time but all I can say is that this is the Superman movie I’ve been waiting for my whole life. Just an awesome thrill ride with a lot of heart that had me cheering, laughing and crying throughout. Up, up and away!

9.5/10

Really enjoyed the review, it's excellent. Agree with every single point other than the DCEU movies sucked but appreciate it's not for everyone!

The casting was spot-on in the film I have to say. It's a shame there wasn't more scenes with the Daily Planet and Clark. But it had a lot to do in two hours. I hope in future film we see more of Clark the journalist. Other than BvS:UE, we've not seen much of Clark's skill and maybe renown as a journalist? Although I appreciate it's probably not to outshine Lois' journalism. Which I really appreciated in the film as well as her not needing saving and in fact helping to save Superman!

 

[chintai80]

man i know we will almost 100% not get this - but i would love for corenswet's superman to interact with pattinson's batman.

battinson for sure is just going to stay in matt reeve's pocket batman universe.

but he definitely has the acting range to play the dcu batman if called upon.

if they pull some weird rdj ironman to doom thing, and have battinson play 2 different batman's in 2 different cinematic universes, it's gonna be hilarious.

 

[Deck Rickard]

Really enjoyed the review, it's excellent. Agree with every single point other than the DCEU movies sucked but appreciate it's not for everyone!

The casting was spot-on in the film I have to say. It's a shame there wasn't more scenes with the Daily Planet and Clark. But it had a lot to do in two hours. I hope in future film we see more of Clark the journalist. Other than BvS:UE, we've not seen much of Clark's skill and maybe renown as a journalist? Although I appreciate it's probably not to outshine Lois' journalism. Which I really appreciated in the film as well as her not needing saving and in fact helping to save Superman!

Thank you! And yeah, i totally would be down to see more Daily Planet journalism both from Lois and Clark. And more Perry! I love Wendell Pierce so much and I hope he is featured more prominently in a sequel or that Jimmy series that they are supposedly making. I’m holding out hope for a special extended edition of Superman (LOTR style) that has a lot more with the DP crew. I think we’ll see it.

Anyway, glad you enjoyed the film so much too! And nothing wrong with liking the DCEU stuff too; it’s not my thing but it has its good points.

 

[chintai80]

definitely wish we got to see more daily planet clark kent and team.

but the movie had so much going on, they had to focus on superman's story.

hopefully that jimmy olsen series is gonna happen and we get the cast back for some fun.

get jimmy to transform into some weird mutant and superman gotta figure out how to change him back like in those1960s otto binder written stories haha.

 

[Lily Adler]

definitely wish we got to see more daily planet clark kent and team.

but the movie had so much going on, they had to focus on superman's story.

hopefully that jimmy olsen series is gonna happen and we get the cast back for some fun.

get jimmy to transform into some weird mutant and superman gotta figure out how to change him back like in those1960s otto binder written stories haha.

Or Jimmy becomes Flamebird and becomes a jaded sidekick mad with power.

 

[theastsunnn]

I don’t expect much out of these movies anymore. I’m old more important things to worry about but I still didn’t like this much. Was rushed, too many characters and I just don’t like Gunn’s style at all. I prefer Superman to be respected and a little more honorable and less clumsy. Not getting questioned and barked at by teammates. Hated how immature Clark was. Flustered, frustrated and angered by questions like you don’t know how the media works. We spent no time with his parents and they are giving heart felt speeches in their first scenes.
Lex was dumb. Waste of a good actor. Get this marvel tone out of here and bring back the dark or at least more serious for DC. DC only cars about money and figures they would just copy marvel. It’s a shame. If Batman starts rattling off one liners I’m going to be done with super hero movies for good.

 

[Avenging Angel]

Lois getting powers would be interesting. Curious where Gunn would take that storyline.

 

[GreenKToo]

This batman needs to be the polar opposite of this Superman.
Gruff, unapproachable, dislikes most people, etc, But they would be two sides of the same coin.
And for some reason, he likes clark/Superman.
He would be one of a tiny group of people that Bruce actually cares for.

I think Jensen Ackles or Colin Farrell would be my top two picks. I'd be ecstatic with either one.

 

[chintai80]

This batman needs to be the polar opposite of this Superman.
Gruff, unapproachable, dislikes most people, etc, But they would be two sides of the same coin.
And for some reason, he likes clark/Superman.
He would be one of a tiny group of people that Bruce actually cares for.

I think Jensen Ackles or Colin Farrell would be my top two picks. I'd be ecstatic with either one.

this also describes Mr. Terrific from this movie haha.

 

[Lily Adler]

Lois getting powers would be interesting. Curious where Gunn would take that storyline.

 

[Lily Adler]

This batman needs to be the polar opposite of this Superman.
Gruff, unapproachable, dislikes most people, etc, But they would be two sides of the same coin.
And for some reason, he likes clark/Superman.
He would be one of a tiny group of people that Bruce actually cares for.

I think Jensen Ackles or Colin Farrell would be my top two picks. I'd be ecstatic with either one.

 

[dhandler01]

I doubt they have Colin play Batman since he is Penguin in the Reeves Universe.

I know Batman is going to be older but I bet they are younger than those guys.

 

[theastsunnn]

Dc deserves better than just copy and paste from marvel.

 

[dhandler01]

Ok...

 

[Lily Adler]

Just give me this in the future:

 

[MAN O STEEL]

If there's one thing I would have changed in this film if I had control would be how Ultraman was ultimately dealt with. Hear me out. When Superman says, brain beats Braun and calls for krypto. Krypto destroys the cameras, no longer allowing luthor to call out hits for Ultraman to fight Superman with, therefore the fight was more even keeled and Superman could start dominating. Now from here is where I would have changed it. I would have had Ultraman still trying to attack Superman but while fighting Superman takes a more defensive blocking style while talking Ultraman around to realising that he's far more than Luthors lapdog, to keep talking Ultraman around to realising his potential, to reach his humanity, ultimately leading to not a redemption for Ultraman but a slight bit of true conciousness coming through from Ultraman that, like the end of Superman and Lois, Ultraman, like Doomsday/Bizzaro merely allows himself to be taken into that black hole, so as not to hurt anyone anymore.

It'll be Supermans humanity that wins that duel, his compassion and seeing something more in someone than a beast.

That's just me I guess. That's how I would have done it.

 

[Deck Rickard]

This batman needs to be the polar opposite of this Superman.
Gruff, unapproachable, dislikes most people, etc, But they would be two sides of the same coin.
And for some reason, he likes clark/Superman.
He would be one of a tiny group of people that Bruce actually cares for.

I think Jensen Ackles or Colin Farrell would be my top two picks. I'd be ecstatic with either one.

You had me until the Ackles mention lol.

 

[Herolee10]

Mister Terrific riding on the back of Krypto was definitely not on my bingo card for this year.

 

[AVEITWITHJAMON]

Had my 2nd viewing last night and enjoyed the movie just as much. The flaws are still there but Gunn nails the characters for the most part and that makes the difference. Some great and entertaining action also but some really good character and quiet moments.

 

[donuts]

Dc deserves better than just copy and paste from marvel.

Which is not what's happening, by the way.