Superman Review - The Best Superman Movie

In my opinion, James Gunn's Superman is one of the best films I've seen recently, and easily the best Superman movie to date.

From start to finish, the film maintains a relentless pace with no dull moments. The way it portrays not just Lex Luthor as the villain, but also LexCorp and those operating under its influence, is brilliant. Gunn has beautifully brought current political realities to the screen, openly exposing how wealthy individuals subtly control people through social media to achieve their goals, the puppets disguised as politicians, and their actions focused solely on tormenting the public without an ounce of concern.

I hope James Gunn is safe after speaking so explicitly, rather than hinting. Scenes involving monkeys creating #hashtags were well done, but it was also somewhat frightening to realize how some people are manipulated like those monkeys, made to listen and dance to someone else's tune.

The film adeptly handles every emotion—love, comedy, leadership (which I consider an emotion), sorrow, and triumph. At the same time, it juggles a multitude of characters, like a ration shop queue, along with robots, a dog, and "some others" that are hard to categorize. The writing is magical, giving importance to all of them.

There isn't much to fault in the screenplay. If I had to pick one thing, it would be portraying Superman as incredibly weak. Not just weak, but also indecisive and less intelligent. While this might fit the screenplay's narrative, it feels a bit unfair to Superman. And then, Lois Lane flying a plane so perfectly is just plain ridiculous. 

Finally, a bit of personal anecdotes, this was the first film I watched in IMAX. While the grandeur of the big screen was impressive initially, it quickly faded. Whether it's a small TV playing in a barber shop or a palm tree-sized screen in IMAX, content is king. Since this film was engaging and perfectly handled its themes without boring me, I felt satisfied with the money I spent. Though, I only bought the IMAX ticket because of a 50% discount—I'm a shrewd one too!

So, this is a good start for the DCU, and definitely a must-watch film.

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Postscripts:

• P.S. 1: Something just came to mind: when Superman first appeared in Action Comics, he gave hope to people suffering from depression at the time. Many years later, in an era where people are more entangled in depression than ever before, I hope this Superman instills confidence.

• P.S. 2: For those who question whether so much politics is necessary, just consider that all of this is being done to you. Furthermore, the politics are blended in at the right proportion, without being an overdose, and it even comes across as an entertaining satire, so there are no issues at all.

• P.S. 3: If you bring children, you might need to cover their eyes during two scenes, or in one scene, cover their eyes and in another, say, "My phone fell, can you bend down and look for it?" The choice is yours.

• P.S. 4: Despite all this, I still haven't forgotten the trauma of watching Pushpa 2 on the screen next door in the same theater. That wound will never heal.