James Gunn's Superman: Kindness is Punk Rock

Comparisons

Henry Cavill is a nerd. He disagreed with a lot of the writing done for his character, but received pushback from Snyder against his criticism. He starred as this grounded-in-reality, god-like savior that has hope learned through struggle. Yes, he has a softer side, but the public isn't allowed to see that. He's stoic and he operates under the assumption that he is completely alone in his ideals and actions. He's also less connected with his parents and Krypton compared to Gunn's characterization.

David Corenswet is also a nerd, and when he created discourse around the character's writing and directing, Gunn actually listened. They had discussions and workshopped the character together, and the result is fantastic. He is relatable and values all life (i.e. the squirrel and avoiding killing the large creature), and his greatest strength is his humanity. He is pure and he stumbles over his words, just like you or I would.

Jokes fly around constantly in Gunn's Superman, and the violence is far more campy and chaotic, but not overwhelmingly stressful or gory. The color grading and saturation of the movie thrust audiences into a cartoon-like viewing experience, and Superman's quirky, Kansas-raised remarks brought the character to life. It's a nice contrast to Snyder's, where we feel this apocalyptic angst, reinforced by the dark colors used and the grand scale of the violence. The larger-than-life scale of blockbuster action adds to the character's inner struggle because he is constantly battered and broken by Zod. Kal-El is burdened with godhood and the suffering of the crumbling, hateful world around him. Lovely!

Getting Political

Hawkgirl's action of dropping (and killing) President Vasil Ghurkos of Boravia in James Gunn's Superman serves as a focal point for discussion regarding different moral stances within superhero narratives and, as the sources suggest, can be seen as a metaphor for real-life political divisiveness. The actions of the heroes don't go unnoticed in the plot, with Mori stating, "I guess metahumans call the shots now." Of course, her super strength and violation of Superman's valued no-kill rule incite fear and almost seem hypocritical. The jump from saving squirrels to killing world leaders (fictional...) gave me whiplash. Is fighting fire with fire always effective?

We also have to consider her biography. In ancient Egyptian times, Chay-Ara and her lover Prince Khufu were killed by Hath-Set with a knife forged from Nth Metal. This created a bond between them, causing the duo to be reborn multiple times throughout the centuries. Can you imagine being an immortal warrior princess who has died and seen her lover die numerous times, but always comes back and is forced to fight for one side or the other? That would drive anyone a little insane. Is she a hero, or has she evolved to become a bloodthirsty warrior? 

This sets the scene for the parallels that Gunn pulled no punches to include. Certain opinionated individuals were not satisfied with the strength of these parallels (Ben Shapiro, Kellyanne Conway, and Dean Cain), and a pattern emerges with these individuals. Conway even said "We don’t go to the movie theater to be lectured to, and to have somebody throw their ideology onto us." 

They weren't happy with the stone-cold portrayal of, again, certain individuals, such as world leaders who hold certain philosophies. The movie drew on current events that affect a huge part of the world, so naturally, some people weren't going to agree with it. 

But Gunn won't have any of that. According to HuffPost: When asked if he thought the movie would play differently in blue states versus red states, Gunn responded, “Yes, it plays differently. But it’s about human kindness and obviously, there will be jerks out there who are just not kind and will take it as offensive just because it is about kindness.”

“But screw them,” he added.

I love James Gunn.