SUPERMAN is terrific action superhero fun, with plenty of heart and surprises. One of James Gunn’s best movies, a new era of excellent Superman is here.
There’s plenty of familiar characters, from The Daily Planet crew to superhero teams to Ma and Pa Kent, to Superman himself, David Corenswet. Seven superheroes make their appearances, some you know and a few you may be seeing for the first time, and all perfectly cast. Especially noteworthy are Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Alan Tudyk as a comic robot in the Fortress of Solitude, and Milly Alcock, whose appearance in the film I won’t spoil. The focus is on Superman, with enough important scenes for the rest to leave us wanting more.
There’s plenty of supervillians, including a scary Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, a very different character from his X-Men role—and a bunch of henchmen, each with character and purpose.
James Gunn gives every character something cool or fun to do and as a director is authentic, irreverent, and thoughtful, even when he’s making goofy or off-kilter scenes. The movie’s secret weapons are casting, humor, and John Williams’ iconic theme, quoted with great efficacy by film composers John Murphy and David Fleming.
I thought the score was effective, varied, and respectful of Williams, while being modern and minimal. It’s amazing how art can seem different to different people. I will say the punk superhero sound is poetic in this style of cinema. The songs were a surprise that fit the tone of a new take on Superman.
We start in the arctic and travel the world, the scope of the story is wide, and builds a universe for all the characters. Henry Braham’s cinematography is outstanding in giving every location a unique, comic book look, elevated by the simultaneously grounded and over-the-top production design by Beth Mickle and costume design by Judianna Makovsky. They made a modern DC world look real. This is award worthy design.
Superman is a family film for kids 12+. The crowd we saw it with laughed, applauded, and stayed to the final post-credit comedy scene. It looks like a billion dollar hit.
I left the theater with hope and exhilaration. The greatest superpower is helping everyone to the best of our ability.
David Raiklen wrote, directed and scored his first film at age 9. He began studying keyboard and composing at age 5. He attended, then taught at UCLA, USC and CalArts. Among his teachers are John Williams and Mel Powel.
He has worked for Fox, Disney and Sprint. David has received numerous awards for his work, including the 2004 American Music Center Award. Dr. Raiklen has composed music and sound design for theater (Death and the Maiden), dance (Russian Ballet), television (Sing Me a Story), cell phone (Spacey Movie), museums (Museum of Tolerance), concert (Violin Sonata ), and film (Appalachian Trail).
His compositions have been performed at the Hollywood Bowl and the first Disney Hall. David Raiken is also host of a successful radio program, Classical Fan Club.
