Director: James Gunn
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced 
Certificate: 12A
Run Time: 129 mins

Superman is the hotly anticipated reboot that kick-starts the new DC Universe, after the variable quality of films in the DC Extended Universe made the studio rethink their strategy. James Gunn is fronting this new cinematic universe, along with producer Peter Safran, with Gunn directing this initial outing. Gunn has had plenty of success in the superhero genre with his Guardians of the Galaxy series in the Marvel Cinematic Universe, as well as The Suicide Squad, which was undoubtedly one of the best entries in the DCEU. He’s consistently proven his chops and particularly excels with establishing well-rounded (often C-list) comic book characters.

Pearl and Twisters star David Corenswet inherits the Man of Steel mantle from Henry Cavill and he is pitched against arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who has plans to turn public opinion against the superhero. Interestingly, Gunn decides to drop audiences straight in the action three years after Superman has established himself on Earth, bypassing the typical comic book origin story. As you’d expect, Clark Kent (Superman’s human identity) holds a job as a reporter for the Daily Planet in Metropolis, where he works alongside Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) – who already knows his identity and they are in a burgeoning relationship – and Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo).

While Superman has many of James Gunn’s hallmarks and its fair share of entertaining moments, it is also very ramshackle in its construction. The film begins horribly, then somewhat finds its feet after 40 minutes or so and is entertaining enough before an overlong third-act end-of-the-world climax. I totally understand that Gunn wants to avoid the typical origin story and instead drop the viewer right in the middle of the action. While commendable in its ambition, I found it difficult to really connect with any of the characters at first and to get around the lack of back story, there’s a ton of really clunky exposition. If you want to set up a wider cinematic universe and this is your first film, it needs to lay some kind of framework down and remind you why you love these characters in the first place. While I’m not saying that needs to be in the form of an origin story, what Gunn’s settled on instead just doesn’t work.

The overblown CGI-heavy third act climax is another element that doesn’t deliver – and it’s something that Gunn has struggled with before, especially with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and even The Suicide Squad, to an extent, which was pretty perfect up to that point. Typical big city end-of-the-world antics just don’t cut it anymore in comic book films. If this is the best Gunn can come up with the series’ inaugral film, how are the stakes going to be topped in future films?

I also never really connected with Superman as a character and I think that’s because there are three plots going on at once and how they intertwine is very messy. While David Corenswet is certainly very likeable, the way he’s characterised is thin – he’s always just a good guy, but with no meat to the bone. For all its flaws, I much prefer Zack Snyder’s depiction of the superhero in Man of Steel, who gives the character bundles of pathos and makes him break his moral code (which proved highly controversial).

Rachel Brosnahan fares much better as Lois Lane – this is possibly the strongest rendition of the character to date, with the actress giving a nuanced performance. While Nicholas Hoult makes for a sinister Lex Luthor and I liked that Gunn tried to vary the character by having a dedicated team of supporters that genuinely believe in his mission, he needed more humanising to really empathise with his intentions. As things stand, like Superman, Lex Luthor is rather empty.

On the positives, Gunn does a great job of introducing empathetic C-grade comic book characters, such as Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and an abrasive Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), who make a strong impression. I also liked how Gunn tries to vary Superman’s origins, with an interesting portrayal of his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan), as well as Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell). Finally, Gunn makes more of a deal of the The Daily Planet, and a sub-plot involving Jimmy Olsen is an inventive piece of storytelling.

The film’s interestingly shot too by Gunn’s regular cinematographer Henry Braham. He shoots the film in almost Hunter S. Thompson-like fashion, with the camera often roving and swirling around characters in an unbroken take. Visually, Superman has all of Gunn’s usual heightened aesthetics and a sequence in a portal in the second act is the film’s highlight and just the darkness the film needs.

While John Murphy and David Fleming’s score has its moments, the duo never develop any memorable themes and although some would disagree, the referencing back to John Williams’ score felt lazy and tired. At least Hans Zimmer tried something different with his exceptional score for Man of Steel and didn’t feel the need to revisit the past.

While Superman is ultimately an enjoyable watch with a lot of plus points, I didn’t exactly love it either. It suffers from cluttered storytelling, a script rife with exposition in the first act and many of the characters are underdeveloped. As a James Gunn film, it certainly feels like he’s been reined in a bit and just like with Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 2 and 3, he’s a director that thrives when he’s not constrained to a 12A rating. Still, there’s a lot of good here and I’m interested to see how this cinematic universe is going to develop.