Superman (2025, PG-13)

Here we are, at the first theatrical release of the new James Gunn-led DC Universe. While it’s not a perfect movie, it really delivers on the things that matter. Namely, this is a film that just gets Superman, at his core, and that’s simply beautiful to watch. I’m all about that!

Amid controversy over Superman halting an armed invasion overseas, Lex Luthor sees a prime opportunity to turn the public—and the U.S. government—against him. Superman only ever wants to do good, which can feel suspect in a world where people are used to everyone having an agenda. When Lex hits at him in deeply personal ways, Superman fights to uphold what he stands for, inspiring friends and allies to help him.

When you get into the nuts and bolts of the story, the plot is a little messy and overstuffed at times. It has a lot of moving parts, and I’m not sure all of them fit together. But where it fumbles a bit on the mechanics, it always succeeds where its heart and themes are concerned. The film is inherently political, given Superman’s position as an undocumented alien refugee, the powerful billionaire as the main villain, and a major plot point about a dictator with genocidal intent. These themes are afforded weight without feeling heavy-handed, and threaded through them are Superman’s more overarching themes about hope, kindness, and compassion.

Okay, let’s talk about Superman himself. The main thing I’d previously seen David Corenswet in was the Ryan Murphy miniseries Hollywood, where he didn’t make a huge impression on me, but it’s clear that he was practically grown in a lab to play Clark Kent. The line between his Superman and his Clark is very thin. Whether he’s wearing the glasses or the cape, he’s wholesome—he honest-to-god says, “Golly!” in the first five minutes of the movie. He’s adorkable. He’s earnest—I love absolutely everything about him telling Lois that he’s punk rock. He’s sensitive. He makes mistakes and gets overwhelmed. He wrestles with his choices. His first concern is always to protect the innocent—while the metahuman heroes in the Justice Gang prioritize beating the bad guys, Superman is the one racing around to rescue the bystanders (including the dogs and squirrels) getting caught in the crossfire. As Clark, he clumsily navigates the crowded city streets with delicacy, anxious not to jostle anyone with his large, superpowered frame. As Superman, he tries to jump back into a fight while he’s still injured, and he drinks cocoa when he’s upset. I love him so much!

Corenswet does an excellent job anchoring the ship, but he’s one of many strong cast members playing excellent characters. I haven’t seen The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, so I’m not super familiar with Rachel Brosnahan, but she’s a fantastic Lois. She’s tough, sharp, and supremely capable, she’s not the best at dealing with her emotions, and she’s 100% willing to throw down for journalism and/or Clark. Brosnahan and Corenswet’s chemistry is great together, and I love watching them go toe-to-toe. I always enjoy Nicholas Hoult, although going into the film, I couldn’t quite picture him as Lex. But he totally nails the xenophobic genius billionaire with an all-consuming obsession to take down Superman. I also really enjoy Anthony Carrigan (NoHo Hank!) as Metamorpho and Wendell Pierce (who I remember best from The Wire) as an effective Perry White. And while the Justice Gang is one of the weaker points of the film for me overall, I adore Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific. I’ve seen Gathegi in a number of things over the years—I first saw him on House, and he had a previous (regrettably short-lived) role as a superhero in X-Men: First Class—but he’s just stellar here, smart and badass and witheringly hilarious. The film also features Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Alan Tudyk as one of the robots in the Fortress of Solitude, and a handful of cameos (in terms of both actors James Gunn likes and characters from the larger DCU.)

I can’t end this review without mentioning Krypto. I’m already on the record as loving DC League of Super-Pets, so I was primed to like Krypto anyway, but I really love how the film depicts him. Yes, he’s adorable and saves the day on more than one occasion, but he’s also a flying menace! Krypto is a rambunctious pup whose idea of play includes leaping on an injured Superman after a fight and nipping at his heels, and it’s awesome!

Warnings

Violence, thematic elements, language, drinking, light sexual references, and scary moments for kids.

Y tu Luna también: DC League of Super-Pets (2022, PG)

Even before we get into the Diego Luna of it all, I genuinely loved this movie. It’s funny, it’s sweet, and it’s packed with both animal hijinks and animal feels. An endearing family film that’s honestly one of the best modern DC offerings out there.

For Krypto, life as the Man of Steel’s best friend has been full of love, fun, and chasing bad guys. But as Superman has been getting closer to Lois Lane, Krypto is feeling hurt and left out. When Superman is kidnapped by a new supervillain in town, Krypto needs to put that hurt aside to rescue his owner. To do so, he has to team up with a ragtag group of shelter pets with newly acquired superpowers, care of an orange kryptonite meteor.

We’ll start with the (mild) nitpicks first. Yes, the plot is a little formulaic and the themes are laid on pretty thick—it is a kids’ movie, after all. As soon as Krypto starts waxing poetically in the voiceover about how he and Superman are the only friends either of them needs, it’s blatantly obvious that 1) Krypto’s going to be jealous of Lois, and 2) Krypto will have to go on a journey as he works with and gradually becomes friends with the shelter pets.  And while the action overall is a good blend of cool and comical, the tail end of the third act gets a bit muddled.

Other than those quibbles, though, it’s pretty much all stuff to love. Plenty of animal humor—obvious gags, like dogs peeing, but also Animal Farm references, a pig realizing the smell of bacon makes her mouth water (“There’s so much to unpack here,”) and a recurring bit about a guinea pig who wants it made very clear that guinea pigs are nothing like hamsters. And beyond that, there are plenty of other nice comedic beats and sly jokes. I especially like the headline “Wealthy Person Actually Goes to Jail,” and there’s a fun moment where Lois, seeing Superman burst out of his apartment window to do battle with a villain, ruefully says, “Why does this always happen on date night?”

A purely fun animal-superhero romp would make for some light, entertaining laughs, but DC League of Super-Pets also has a huge amount of heart. I will fully admit that I teared up more than once—right from the opening scene, where we see Krypto and baby Kal-El comfort each other as they’re evacuated from Krypton, the film doesn’t pull its emotional punches. Not to mention, the fact that the rest of the super squad is made up of shelter pets inevitably pulls at the heartstrings. Ace the guarded boxer, PB the needy pig, Merton the geriatric turtle, and Chip the anxious squirrel don’t have owners to love them and care about them—they’ve only had each other, and in Krypto’s impatience for them to get their act together as fledgling superheroes, he would do well to remember how fortunate he’s been compared to them. There’s an excellent bit of commentary where the main pets look on as, invariably, visitors to the shelter leave with an adorable, uncomplicated kitten. “Wow, first day!” one of them exclaims on the way to their forever-home. “Being a rescue animal is easy and fun!”

What’s more, I really found myself vibing with the mere concept of superheroes having pets, which is so warm and humanizing. Superman and Krypto’s relationship is adorable, and I love watching the rest of the Justice League react to Superman’s goofy dog-owner voice (side note: the Justice League is used sparingly but well—their intro is a fantastically cool scene.) Superman works hard, so it’s nice to think of him curling up on the couch in the evenings with Krypto, and even the Man of Steel can get trapped in a never-ending game of fetch.

For the main voice cast, we’ve got Dwayne Johnson as Krypto and Kevin Hart as Ace, and while both are more or less doing their usual personas, it works for these characters and creates a nice dynamic between the two dogs. They handle the comedic and heartfelt parts of their relationship well. Kate McKinnon is delightful as Lv1u, a lab guinea pig with a flair for the megalomaniacal—her line readings regularly had me laughing out loud. Vanessa Bayer is sweetly funny as PB, and Natasha Lyonne is a hoot as Merton. John Krasinski is also a really solid Superman: stalwart and heroic, but also kind of a dorky goofball, as he should be. The film features additional vocal performances from Keanu Reeves, Ben Schwartz, Olivia Wilde, Yvette Nicole Brown, Jameela Jamil, Jemaine Clement, Dascha Polanco, Daveed Diggs, Lena Headey, and Keith David. Phew!

Diego Luna plays Chip, a nervous squirrel whose newfound superpowers cause him to wildly shoot bursts of electricity everywhere. Even before he’s almost killed in a fire, gets superpowers, and is recruited to fight a supervillain, his worries frequently get the better of him, and his present circumstances only amplify that.

I appreciate that it’s not that Chip is a coward. Rather, specifically, he’s anxious. He gets paralyzed by indecision, overwhelmed as he considers all the possible bad outcomes of any given situation, and his powers make that even worse. He can’t control them very well, so he’s afraid of accidentally hurting one of his friends with them, or letting them down if he can’t make them work when he needs to. When he gets worked up, he reflexively wraps his tail around himself, and it’s the most adorable coping mechanism around.

Although DC League of Super-Pets is the first animated performance from Luna that I’m reviewing for Y tu Luna también, it’s far from the first I’ve seen—I’ve previously posted about Maya and the Three, and I’m looking forward to giving a more in-depth perspective on Luna’s work in that one, along with his other animated performances I've checked out. So at this point, I can call it: Luna really is a great voice actor. All of his animated characters endear themselves to me, and even though his voice doesn’t sound drastically different from role to role, the characters still feel distinct.

In the case of Chip, Luna continually threads the needle between comical and sympathetic. Chip’s fretful spiraling can shift from ridiculous to sad on a dime, and with Luna’s performance, both make sense. He gives it his all on some truly goofy lines, like, “She just took out the whole Justice League, and they all have opposable thumbs!” and, “But what if the demonic laser gato devours me?” Nice work all around.

Recommend?

In General – Definitely! It’s sweet, it’s funny, it’s cool, and it has pets and pet owners being adorable while also being superheroes. What’s not to like?

Diego Luna – I would. This is a supporting role, but Luna makes the most of every line and plays Chip with a lot of fun and heart.

Warnings

Comic book violence, a little gross-out humor, scary images for kids, mild language, and thematic elements.

 

Superman Smashes the Klan (2020)

I really liked this comic. It’s the first Superman-related anything that I’ve read, and while it’s definitely a throwback, a fleshed-out version of a story drawn from a plot on the old Superman radio serial, it appealed to me quite a bit, and I love the ways it explores America, race, politics, and Superman alike.

It’s 1946, and Metropolis is taken with Superman, the hero who’s faster than a speeding bullet and can leap tall buildings in a single bound. While the city speculates as to what gave this man such incredible abilities, the appearance of a mysterious green rock sets Superman on a path to unlock secrets of his past. Along the way, he combats a white supremacist terror organization known as the Klan of the Fiery Kross. In addition to his usual allies, like Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen, he’s helped by Roberta and Tommy Lee, two Chinese American children who’ve just moved into Metropolis with their parents and have been on the receiving end of the Klan’s threats.

First of all, I just love the fact that the Superman radio show did a serial about Superman taking down a fictionalized version of the Klan in 1946 (revealing actual Klan rituals thanks to a guy who infiltrated the group – check out the Drunk History story!), and it’s cool that this comic brings that story back for a new audience. Written by Gene Luen Yang, who did American Born Chinese, this story is geared toward younger readers but offers up a sophisticated look at hate groups in America. The Klan of the Fiery Kross is frightening and dangerous, threatening real harm to the Lees and others in Metropolis who they feel “don’t belong,” but the comic also covers the sense in which they’re pathetic guys playing at having a glorious purpose, as well as those at the top who use the ignorance and bigotry of the lower ranks as a tool for their continued profit and power.

I also like the story we get about the Lees. Told mainly through the eyes of Roberta, we meet a socially-awkward girl who feels out of place away from Chinatown, who balks as her older brother quickly makes friends with the white kids in their neighborhood. While Tommy leans into the Orientalist jokes with easy good humor, Roberta doesn’t know where she fits, and she hangs back as more of an observer. But that places her in a prime position to pick up on important clues as things kick off with the Klan, and as the story goes on, she starts to gain the confidence to speak up for herself, defending her ideas as well as standing up for her culture.

What’s really cool, though, is how all this ties in with Superman. There’s a lot that’s neat here. Of course, there’s Superman, he of “truth, justice, and the American way,” giving a full-throated defense of multiculturalism and standing between the Klan and those they would terrorize and hurt. These days, when antiracism is viewed by some as anti-American, it’s great to see such an iconic hero standing up for the American ideals that America itself hasn’t often lived up to. There’s also the way the Lees’ story has connective threads with Superman’s own history. Yang certainly isn’t the first person to recognize Superman as an immigrant (more technically, as a refugee, a concept which Supergirl explores a bit more,) but what he does with that idea is really neat, especially when it comes to Superman’s abilities; there’s a nice lampshade on Superman’s changing powers over the years that ties in really well with the larger story Yang is telling.

I appreciate that, while there’s certainly a “golly, gee willikers!” vibe to the whole period-piece aspect of the comic, the story 1) uses the past to explore modern ideas and 2) Lois Lane remains perfectly awesome. There are those who would look on this age as “the good old days” or America’s “golden age,” but the story doesn’t shy away from the darkness and racism that existed in that so-called “simpler time.” And some might suggest that writing confident, intelligent, ambitious female characters in period pieces like this are actually anachronistic since “this was before women really had inner lives,” but women have always been women, and all that’s ever stood in their way has been their lack of opportunities, not their lack of interiority. I know that other projects have explored similar ideas in the past in recent years, but the more, the better! And if those stories are written to be accessible for kids? Better still.

Warnings

Strong thematic elements (including racism and hate crimes,) comic-book violence, and racist slurs/imagery.