There’s the old claim that test screenings don’t make a movie. Still, It’s interesting how James Gunn and Warner Bros have allowed “Superman” to test so openly given the inevitable leaks that could occur, not to mention the risk of having negative reactions pummeling advanced hype.
Yes, a few days ago, “Superman” had its first non-internal test screening — I only spoke to a few attendees. Suffice it to say, they both felt underwhelmed by Gunn’s film, and I’m being kind here. No need to taint the film further.
Now, reporting on two people who didn’t like “Superman” doesn’t mean much in terms of quality. I’ve heard of people being turned off by the inherent humor, and silliness, that comes with a James Gunn movie — which Superman seems to have in spades.
So far, based on what’s leaked, we’ve had the usual “scoopers” weighing on the reactions. MyTimeToShineHello says the reactions were “decidedly mixed.” According to “insider” Daniel Richtman, people he spoke to “loved it.”
Yesterday, scooper ViewerAnon shared, “The response I heard directly from Warner Bros was decidedly less glowing than Daniel [Richtman]'s post. Not to say it went terribly, but it’s a divisive film with a particularly silly tone. Some people click with it, some seem to bounce right off.”
I’m not sure how I feel about Gunn’s signature silliness for Superman. I guess if I really think about it, the Supermans I have known and loved have been Reeve, Cain, and Cavill. The first was relatively straightforward with moments of humor (just the first one, not the sequels). The second was, if memory serves, leaning into the camp but also more about the soap-opera-style relationship building. The third was pretty serious of course. But I feel like in all of them, Superman was played pretty straight, and maybe the side characters were allowed to lean into the camp or the melodramatics. If Gunn’s is too silly a la GOTG, I can see it falling flat.
You think Reeve was “straightforward with moments of humor”?
Were we watching the same movie? When was the last time you sat down to watch it? I mean, it’s such a classic, you can barely analyze it as a movie anymore, but… I mean, Lex Luthor and his gang is fundamentally comic relief. Luthor steals nukes by having his hot assistant pretend to have a car crash while Otis changes the launch codes or whatever.
Gunn has suggested it is a big influence, and I can see how that tone is a challenge outside of the context of having seen the 78 film as a kid, but the notion that you’re going to outsilly the first Reeve movie in 2025 seems absurd. Unsure as I am about Guy Gardner’s bowl cut, the bar is at “MISS TESSMACHEEEER!” here.
The bowl cut is, however, comic accurate
Sorry no, you are right, the first one is very campy. It’s been a while so I may be misremembering a bit. But what I meant was that Superman himself plays it pretty straight. (I think?) Lex was ridiculous. Do any of Gunn’s characters play the straight man? I’m mostly familiar with GOTR, though I did see Suicide Squad once; I just don’t remember much of it. I feel like every GOTR character is pretty ridiculous except for maybe Gamora but even she has moments.
Gamora is definitely the straight man in Guardians. Suicide Squad is a lot less even. Idris Elba’s Bloodsport is played mostly straight, the humor is in interacting with everybody else, and the same goes for Rick Flag, Amanda Waller and arguably Ratcatcher.
I mean, they’re comedies, but they aren’t gag-a-minute comedies. Some characters are much more out there than others, but every one of them has some heart, a thing they want but can’t have and typically a tragic backstory. Guardians 3 in particular is such an oppressively sad movie. That goes for the Creature Commandos spinoff, too, which while keeping the tone is just trauma city.
How that balance works in Superman I don’t know. The original Reeve movie plays Krypton very straight, but also very 50s sci-fi. If there is a baseline for reality in that movie it’s definitely the Smallville segment in the middle, where they set the stakes for both mortality and the version of Americana that Donner sees Superman as representing. The Metropolis segments are just a conservative parody of 80s society mixed with an over the top cartoon. Supes is played straight, and Reeve manages to suggest there is a real person there, to his credit, but… I mean, the superheroing he does is taking cats down trees and giving out corny speeches about how “statistically speaking flying is the safest way to travel”. A thief clocks him with a crowbar over the head and it goes “boing-ing”, leaving him shaking. Had the cast misunderstood the assignment even a little bit we’d be in Adam West territory.