Man of fun…..

And here we are – again. Only twelve years have passed since MAN OF STEEL was released as a starting point to a whole new DC Film universe, films that followed becoming quite divisive, causing a massive spilt between the fan-base, with its final film THE FLASH crashing at the box-office only a mere two years ago and yet we now get a second attempt to rival the huge success of MARVEL, with a brand new Earth and some new faces in these iconic roles.

Not only that, James Gunn has jumped ship, leaving his Guardians to look after their own galaxy and becoming the new head honcho of DC and to add more pressure, the starting point – Superman, despite the haunting shadows of Zack Snyder and Henry Cavill, still looming over a portion of the fan-base, unwilling to accept that the Snyderverse is no more.

With many believing that the Superhero genre is beyond exhaustion, there is a lot riding on Man of Steel 2.0,if this is yet another flop then serious questions will be asked and most likely we’ll never even get to see a new Batman in the near future, so SUPERMAN has to be “brave and bold” and needs to be faster than a speeding bullet from the opening frame to sell itself to the watching fan-base.

Wisely bypassing the origin story because lets face it, who really needs to see that again, oddly the film starts with a bit of reading, telling us that Earth is now aware of “metahumans” and that Superman himself has been saving the world for the last three years. It feels like we have jumped straight into the sequel, Gunn wasting no time in creating an already established world full of Superheroes. Don’t go expecting all the big DC hitters making an appearance, obviously all being saved for their own films, but we do have Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) all fighting the same corner while going under the name “Justice Gang“, simply because no one yet has thought that “League” perhaps sounds better.

But this is a Superman story and we need to believe that the man can fly and thankfully David Corenswet nails the role. He won’t win over Cavill’s fan-base but then no-one probably would in their eyes, but for me he felt like Superman and thankfully the on-screen chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan’s spikey Lois Lane sparkles with delight and its a shame they don’t get to spend as much time together and that is one of the film’s biggest flaws. Its the same with Corenswet‘s alter ego Clark Kent, we hardly get to see him as the reporter and what he can bring differently in that role. For a near two hour running time, I am guessing he is Clark for maybe fifteen minutes and even after all this time, with countless films etc, Donner’s 78 masterpiece with Christopher Reeve is still the king when it comes to the Kent/Superman storyline.

And that is the main issue with SUPERMAN 2025 in that there is so much going on that the film simply can not breath. Gunn rams the film with non stop action from the moment go, with the scene from the trailer of Superman battered and bruised, the starting point, before flying off for round two of more fist cuffs and mayhem. In one film alone we get a battle with Ultraman, a fire-breathing monster and a floating eye ball, not including Lex Luthor’s (Nicholas Hoult) scheming mischief that involves pocket dimension’s and more weird characters.

It all feels a bit too much, but I am guessing those who complained about the dark excess of Snyder’s visionary will no doubt love the comic book vibe that comes from the screen but those whose heart firmly belongs in a world where our hero snaps the neck of a bad guy, will loathe at the geekiness and the buoyant sense of fun that Gunn is clearly aiming for.

With the zappy pace, you never feel as if anything here is of high-stakes, each fight scene morphing into another, some jokes landing, many not and even the obligatory Gunn action set-piece with a tune bellowing out, this time from Noah and The Whales, doesn’t quite reach the standards we expect.

But, when it works, the film soars with delight, Krypto the dog proving to be a brilliant and welcome addition, a Superman you can’t take your eyes off and a Lois to potentially match the brilliance of Margot Kidder and of course the echoes of the John Williams theme always invoking much cherished childhood memories.

You may not believe that a man can fly anymore due to the overuse of CGI and this film has it in spades, but you still get a huge thrill seeing this iconic hero back on the big screen and if anything Gunn’s Superman and Snyder’s Man of Steel have one thing in common. In that both films need that sequel to iron out the flaws, only this time I am guessing Corenswet will get his chance in a few years time…

3.5 HATCHETS OUT OF 5