The app for independent voices
So. My husband and I just got back from seeing the new Superman film. You should know that I have superhero movie fatigue and think that after Avengers: Endgame, they should have stopped making these movies for at least 10 years because most of what came out after was basically trash—especially the DC Comics movies.
Anyway, here are my initial thoughts on Superman:
I’m tired of white savior films. And I initially thought Superman was going to be one, but James Gunn kinda/sorta subverted that trope. But only kinda/sorta. I appreciate the effort.
The only person we see die on camera is a Brown man, who is sacrificed as a way to add to Superman’s heroic arc. That shit bothered me. Why did we have to see that? What is it about the white imagination that drives it to be so voyeuristic when it comes to Brown/Black death? Do we have a term for “Women in Refrigerators,” but for race instead of gender? “The Black Guy Dies First”? I don’t know. (Speaking of Women in Refrigerators, Lois Lane, Hawkgirl, and Ma Kent are pretty much the only women in the film who aren’t gazed upon in obvious ways or flattened by the horny imagination.)
Speaking of that, I also detest when Black and Brown people, and sex workers, are used as shorthand for “seediness,” “bad neighborhood” and “urban decay.” Can we hang that shit up, please?
Mr. Terrific comes off a bit like…well, like the direction the actor was given was, “Hey, Idi, that’s great. No really, great job. But for this next take could you make it more…you know…Blacker?” My husband said: “Why are they making him act sort of like Chris Tucker?” Some of Terrific’s dialogue was legit cringe. Almost as bad as that Black guy in the 1978 Christopher Reeves Superman movie, playing a pimp of course, who sees Superman and says some ridiculous Blaxploitation shit to the effect of: “Say Jim! That’s a baaaaaaaad outfit! Whew!” EYYYYYYYYEEEE ROLLLLLLLLL!
All that being said, and quiet as it’s being kept, Superman is a straight-up pro-Palestine movie. And it wasn’t even low-key about it. Like it was a damn-near one-to-one comparison implicating Israel, Netanyahu, and Trump (but only Israel, Netanyahu, and Trump, and not, say, all of the Western world including the United States). I don’t know if that was Gunn’s intention, but it’s there—very obviously, at least to me—in the material. And it’s not lost on me that a woman of color (Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl) was given the opportunity to put an end to a dictator/warmonger once and for all. It’s also a pro-immigrant film on top of that. And again, quite obviously so. There’s even a speech that Pa Kent gives to Clark that can be interpreted as pro-queer and pro-trans. You think the MAGA cult is going to have a conniption? :)
Everybody in the film gave great performances (even Idi as the overdoing-the-Black-cool Mr. Terrific). Standouts include Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, Pruitt Taylor Vince As Pa Kent, and Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern). But Wendell Pierce as Perry White was something else entirely. Next-level. He deserved so much more screen time. The few minutes he was on screen, he commanded it; like he literally brought so much intensity and dimension in the little bit of time he was given that his performance reminds you what a great actor is capable of no matter what they’re given.
The chemistry between Lois (Rachel Brosnahan) and Clark (David Corenswet) was magnificent. I was wondering if they were going to be able to nail it or not. And I was not disappointment. The scene where Lois interviews Superman was really well done. This remarkably intelligent and courageous Lois is the one I was waiting for. And Superman himself is very, very likeable—if a bit incompetent and a bit corny and a bit of a doofus.
The absolute best scene in the entire film is Mr. Terrific’s fight scene. That shit was incredible! Not even the best fighting scenes in the best Marvel movies have come close to it in my opinion. I could watch that one part over and over again. I hope they remember this shit when it’s time for Wonder Woman’s fight choreography.
Superman is not a perfect film. As I outlined above, I had some pretty significant problems with it. But all and all, it was…fun. Like, a lot of fun. In fact, I haven’t seen a movie this fun in…a very long time. And I appreciated that it was having its fun while simultaneously reminding us exactly what it is that we, in the real world, are up against, must confront, and, eventually, solve.
3.9 out of 5 stars.