By CYNTHIA BIDDLECOMB
Los Alamos
Do we really need another “Superman” movie? Perhaps you are asking yourself that question, as was I before seeing the new release on July 11. My answer is, why not tell the tale again? The new film is both entertaining and action packed, with a few tweaks and some new characters. There’s even a humorous disobedient super dog named Krypto.
So, why not? Each generation has had their own version of the story of the “Man of Steel” since Action Comics #1 introduced him in 1938. Now, Writer/Director James Gunn has provided a telling of the story for a new generation. Maybe it is time.
This reviewer is old enough to have watched the old black and white reruns of the television show “Superman”, starring George Reeves. (“Look! Up in the air? It’s a bird? It’s a plane? It’s Superman!”) The 1978 feature film starring Christopher Reeve (no relation to George) was my favorite version for a long time, and it made impressive box office revenue in its day. The 1993-1997 show “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” gave adult TV viewers an exploration of the relationship between the two characters. Then, “Smallville” in 2001-2011, made for teens and young adults, explored what it would have been like for Clark Kent to grow up in small town Kansas.
So here is a Superman for 2025. David Corenswet (House of Cards, Twisters) plays the buff Clark Kent/Superman with his square jawed sense of duty and compassion for humanity. Rachel Brosnahan (TV’s The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) plays Clark’s feisty co-worker/girlfriend Lois. Daily Planet photographer Jimmy Olson is played by Skyler Gisondo (The Social Dilemma), and Wendell Pierce (Selma) plays Editor Perry White. We also get to know Clark’s parents in Kansas thanks to a couple of scenes.
The evil genius bad guy throughout the Superman legacy, Lex Luther, is chillingly presented here by Nicholas Hoult (Mad Max: Fury Road). Lex is surrounded by his tech-minions unquestioningly sharing in his intent to destroy Superman. Lex has engineered a couple of scary meta-humans to assist him in the effort, Engineer and Ultimate Man. But, some other meta-humans pop in, supposedly friends of Superman, to help sweep up the bad guys: Mr. Terrific—who deserves his own movie—played by Edi Gathegi (For All Mankind); Guy Gardner, one of the Green Lanterns, played by Nathan Fillion (who was TV’s Castle); and Hawkgirl, Isabelle Merced (TV’s Dina in The Last of Us).
There could be spin-offs from this film. It may even rate making a sequel: there are enough characters to pull one off. Indeed, Clark’s cousin Supergirl shows up to get her dog Krypto at the end. So, maybe Superman really will live again in this version of the much-beloved tale. Superman is rated “PG-13 for violence, action and language,” so bring the family!
