#43: SUPERMAN

 

STARRING: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion and Isabela Merced. Written and directed by James Gunn. Budget $225 million. Running time 125 minutes. Two post credit stings.

And so came Superman, with a huge weight of expectation on its shoulders and on the shoulders of its writer and director, James Gunn who took control from Zack Synder, cleaning house in the process and recasting the whole thing with newbie David Corenswet taking over from man of ham Henry Carvill in the titular role.

The film skips the need for yet another origin story and gets straight to it, with Superman (David Corenswet) literally crashing landing in the Artic having suffered his first defeat at the hands of a mech-suit powered individual called Ultraman. It won't be Supes only defeat as he seems to spend most of this film having the living shit kicked, or punched out of him. Over and over again, we witness Superman failing, forced to run away and recharge himself by the sun before racing back to try and save the day. Meanwhile Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) orchestrates his nefarious masterplan to rid the world of his arch-enemy and secure himself some prime real-estate in the process. Aiding Supes are The Justice Gang, a ragtag bunch of meta-humans including Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl and Metamorpho, and his adopted dog, Krypto. And of course Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) who likewise gives more than adequate performance. 

What follows is a good natured, very kind-hearted film, filled with lots of action, some great special effects and funny dialogue. Sadly, while it never threatens to scale the giddy heights of the 1978 classic it does entertain. David Corenswet is a worthy successor to the mantle and he brings a virtuous spirit to role. The film is fun and entertaining but never really soars, Superman seems lost among so many other meta-humans and his constant ass-whoppings become frustrating. Nicholas Hoult's Luthor is this film's MVP and he seems to thrive in the malice he brings to the role. There are a few rather big plot holes along the way and lots of Easter Eggs to get the fans excited, including some famous DC characters. And that's about it. 

For those of your interested there are two post credit stings. 

I liked this, but didn't love it. It flew but didn't soar and Superman wasn't super enough but it was still worth the wait.

8/10 

 

#42: M3GAN 2.0

 

STARRING: Allison Williams, Violet McGraw, Ivanna Sakhno and Jemaine Clement. Written by Gerard Johnstone and Akela Cooper. Directed by Gerard Johnstone. Budget $25 million. Running time 120 minutes.

The sequel to the 2022 grossed £181 million worldwide and scored a very satisfying 93% on Rotten Tomato. It was a tight, little horror thriller with a great premise and a genuinely creepy protagonist that didn't outstay its welcome. So it was a no brainer that we'd be getting a sequel, with a great little template to follow what could possibly go wrong?

Cut to three years later and M3GAN 2.0 has arrived and we found out exactly what could go wrong. 

This feels far more like M3GAN 3 than 2. Traditionally with a direct sequel we get more of the same just amped up to the Nth degree. It's usually only in the 3rd installment that the increasingly desperate film makers try to mix things up and oomph the anti to entice the audience back. And that's what this does in absolute spades but sadly it doesn't pay off. That said, this isn't a trainwreck by any measure, it still rather entertaining, it's just overloaded with far too much stuff, and M3GAN has gone from creepy girl-sized killer robot to a young woman with protocols to prevent her harming humans. And she's up against another killer AI female robot killer. This is much more science fiction than the original and the introduction of a super AI intelligence trying to escape into the real world feels awfully similar to a certain Mission Impossible film from a month or so back. 

Actually that said, you kinda of wish that there'd been a similar sort of showdown in MISS IMP: DR between Ethan and the Entity as we see here between M3gan and the AI, a physical kinda of showdown rather than the dimming of the lights we were given. 

This time round there's more humour, more gurning and more camp, but far less in the way of horror or tension. 

Entertaining while it's on, but utterly forgettable once it's over.

6/10