It's been a very tumultuous time for DC Comics' film division. With the DCEU sputtering towards the end of its run, as a DC Fan, I just couldn't wait for James Gunn's attempt at rebooting the entire DC Movie franchise. Of course, as someone that has a Marvel cinematic universe pedigree, you'd expect that Warner Discovery had finally found the right man for the job. Paired with Peter Safran as the main architects, I initially wasn't too enthusiastic as I wanted to see
Zack Snyder's DCEU be given a proper ending. But you'd eventually have to move on. And as a true DC Fan, the first and foremost priority is to support every film that they are releasing and just judge them after you've seen the whole film. Of course, coming from David Zaslav (Warner Discovery CEO), to hear him say that he values Superman and has chosen Superman as the franchise starter in this reboot, I knew that Warner Discovery is making the right decision in this reboot. But just to back track a little, in case you're wondering why Snyder's DCEU had to have that direction and tone that was grounded in realism when they kicked it off with Man of Steel, one must not forget that the template for DCEU had always been the success of Christopher Nolan's The Dark Knight Trilogy. That was technically the main reason why DCEU had that serious tone as compared to Marvel's standard pop corn movies.The unfortunate thing however with DCEU was that Snyder just wasn't able to deliver his entire vision without the
meddling of Warner Bros. executives. So aside from
Man of Steel (which was the only 100% Snyder's vision), we ended up with a very uneven slate of DC movies. With the constant meddling making the franchise non-cohesive and weird. But enough of the past. It's time to move on from all that and look to the present with a renewed hope. And it all starts with the new Superman movie by James Gunn.
The advance screening didn't actually feature the whole movie, it was only the first 30 minutes of the film. With most of the footage already been released as part of the trailers. But this time in its full sequence and context. I'm not going to spoil the film for you, but all I can say is that it starts with a bang that quickly establishes David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent. With action sequences that's a joy to watch, in broad daylight as compared to Man of Steel's dark hues. Of course, since this is a James Gunn film, humor is always a staple (I totally enjoyed the Peacemaker series). But I don't think they were done in bad taste as compared to Joss Whedon's Justice League where forced humor was applied. I love the dynamic between Superman and Krypto as well as his super robots. Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane I could say is on of the best Lois Lane portrayals in the big screen (never was a fan of Amy Adams and Kate Bosworth's takes), evokes a lot of Margot Kidder if I might say. Lex Luthor was menacing, but I need to see more to be totally convinced that Nicholas Hoult could better Kevin Spacey's take. I feel like there's still some Jesse Eisenberg in there. Jor-El and Lara also appeared in the movie (not spoiling who the actors/actress were). Tonally, the movie strikes the right balance and fears that it would be too goofy are unfounded. It has some classic Christoper Reeve Superman feels to it but updated to be more in line with the modern superhero movies. Superman Returns was dour, Man of Steel was dark. But this one just had the right tone for a modern Superman movie. The justice gang didn't make an appearance in the preview, so I couldn't
say if their presence here would distract the movie's focus on
Superman. So that remains to be seen. As a die-hard Superman fan, I'm totally excited for this movie to be a blockbuster. If my only basis is the 30 minutes, I could say I've seen enough to probably say that this is the modern Superman movie that we have all been waiting for. It's less serious than the past two Superman movie but it does not border on the post Snyder DCEU's (Shazam/Flash and the likes) level of comedy. At least with what I've seen so far. But yes, James Gunn is on a good start here. Can't wait to see the whole movie and judge it in its entirety!
Leaving behind some photos of the whole day event that I've attended. From the Look Up Fan event in the morning, the Red Carpet Fan event in the late afternoon, and the special screening in the evening. Full photos can be seen on our Facebook Page:
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| Look Up Fan Event where we were made to wear Superman t-shirts and capes as provided by WB and formed a giant S that was shot by a drone as seen on the screen |
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| Peter Safran, Rachel Brosnahan, David Corenswet, James Gunn makes an appearance |
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| The cast did their rounds shaking our hands and thanking us for joining them |
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| Red Carpet Fan event in the afternoon |
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| There were fireworks, short interviews, and a lot of autograph signing. |
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| Popcorns and drinks were provided |
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| Some merch we got from the event |
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| The shirt and cape we wore in the morning |
Full Event photos can be seen on our Facebook Page:
