Where James Gunn’s ‘Superman’ Falls Short

We've had more than enough time to digest James Gunn's first big project at DC Studios. The reboot of Superman has gone down a treat with most fans. This one right here included.

However, it does miss a few bullseyes that should have been easy and obvious for Gunn to hit. Let's dive into those...

Not enough Superman tropes

There are a lot of iconic things that tend to come with Superman movies. We kind of got them with Henry Cavill and Zack Snyder's iteration, but this time around we got pretty much zilch.

The changing in the phone booth. Ripping the shirt open to reveal the S emblem. These are all things that Superman fans eat up. They were nowhere to be seen. You would think that Gunn would want to cater to these little Superman tropes that everyone loves. Modernise how they're done in some way, by all means, but still include them!

Not enough Clark Kent

In total, this movie gave the grand total of one scene with Kal-El donning his nerdy, reporter Clark Kent persona. It's a big thing in Superman lore to see Clark switching between hero, reporter and his normal self. To only see the more iconic Clark Kent persona once makes us feel like we've been robbed of some good material. It was the same situation with 2013's Man of Steel, with only the final scene showing mild-mannered Clark Kent. But at least that made sense from a story perspective; it was all building up Clark establishing that dual identity of his.

Now this does mix into our last point and justifies why we didn't get any of those costume change moments. It may also be that the story was just so chocker block that Gunn couldn't include nerdy Clark as much as he wanted. That being said, it's such a big part of Superman lore. Maybe tone down the introduction of so many other characters and cater more to the dual identities of the title character.

Lois knowing Superman’s identity

Surely I'm not the only one who is sick of this now. Pretty much every iteration of Lois lane since 2010 has been aware that Clark Kent is Superman. Erica Durance's Lois in Smallville. Amy Adams' Lois in the DCEU. Bitsie Tulloch's Lois in Superman & Lois/Supergirl. And now Rachel Brosnahan's.

It was a fun idea back in the day after decades of Lois always being kept in the dark. We also get that Lois is supposed to be a Pulitzer Prize winning journlism; "surely she'd know pretty quickly, let's not insult her". But this is a big part of Superman. Clark keeping his identity a secret, even from Lois, and the push and pull that causes in their relationship. Heck! This version of Clark Kent even has glasses that literally hide his identity. It was the perfect opportunity to play around again with Lois Lane not knowing the nerd she works with is the superhero she loves.

Hopefully Corenswet's Man of Steel will give her that amnesia kiss from Reeves' era.

Superman being too sensitive

One thing needs to be noted here. We get where Gunn has gone with this. He wants to show more than ever that Superman can be just as vulnerable as us. Even in his most private moments. But, to do it in certain ways in this movie? It just felt too much at times.

Examples. Superman pouring his heart out to Jonathan Kent about not knowing who is now that he knows what his parents really sent him to Earth to do. Valid. That works. The moment when a kind food vendor is killed in front of him for doing nothing but believing in Superman, and he lets out that heartbreaking cry. Valid also. We get behind that.

But...publicly moaning about his rights when being taken in by the government? Come on. And getting so defensive with Lois during that interview scene? Not Superman-y. A brilliant scene that is well acted, but in the context of Superman, it doesn't feel right. Superman, in my opinion, should be a bit more "stiff upper lip" in those moments if he feels he is so right.

Hopefully this is something we see in this Superman's growth as the DCU expands and continues.

No original score

We've had those old iconic superhero themes played here and there in current iterations. The only Spider-Man jingle from the cartoon series has popped up in a few of the last movies and trailers. But, they aren't used as the main theme.

The fact that our latest Superman composers, John Murphy and David Fleming, have basically piggy backed everything off John Williams' popular score is a real bomb I think.

It sounds good, but it would sound better if the entire score wasn't a rehashed version of something we already know. Zack Snyder and Hans Zimmer were bold enough to jump in and do their own thing, which was great. And it worked!

Every iteration should have it's own score and music. This just didn't feel enough and hung too much onto the past. The more original thing was the Clark and Lois love theme, and it was good. Murphy and Fleming should have stamped their own original Superman score here.

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What are your thoughts on this iteration of Superman? Agree or disagree with my thoughts? Let me know your thoughts in the comments!