“Krypto. Get the toy.”

Drake’s rating: Wait, superhero movies are fun now? Well, sign me up!

Drake’s review: There’s a thought among fans and creators alike that “Batman is Batman.” That is, his Batman persona is the real one, and Bruce Wayne is the disguise. And that’s fair, considering Batman is by far the more interesting of the two personalities, the Dark Knight detective who keeps Gotham City safe from a variety of weird villains while Bruce Wayne is pretty much just a rich playboy who owns a mansion and takes in the occasional circus orphan.

And along that line of thought is also the consideration that Superman is really Clark Kent. He’s not Superman, not really, he’s just using the blue costume and red cape as a disguise to do good deeds, but inside he’s a farm boy from Kansas. Sure, he was rocketed from a distant planet, but that’s just his point of origin. Clark isn’t really the Kryptonian Kal-El anymore than he’s Superman. It’s just a facet of his cultural background that he can appreciate without fully embracing.

Of course the character of Superman has veered towards being more or less Kryptonian or Kansas farm boy, depending on who was writing him at the time. But I think it’s very safe to say that James Gunn, in writing and directing Superman, fully embraces the idea of Clark Kent (David Corenswet, Twisters) being the real character. Sure, Superman is faster than a speeding bullet and can bend steel in his bare hands, but he still gets flustered by tough questions from Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan, Burn Country) and puts himself in Lex Luthor’s hands because he wants his dog back.

Well, not his dog, exactly, but still. The point is, Gunn’s Superman is Clark Kent 100% of the time. He’s an imperfect human being who does his best to do the right thing and fights the good fight, even if he doesn’t always win.

Take the film’s beginning, for example. After a text reveal that tells us that superhumans have been around for awhile, and that Superman revealed himself to the world three years ago, we find out that this movie is beginning with Clark’s first loss. And that’s a pretty gutsy way to start a Superman movie. It seems the Man of Steel inserted himself in international affairs, stopping the country of Boravia* from invading neighboring Jarhanpur, and that’s brought about repercussions in the form of an armored heavyweight calling himself the Hammer of Boravia. And this Hammer unceremoniously kicked Superman’s butt minutes before the movie’s beginning.

That single loss isn’t the focus of Clark’s concerns, though. Again, he’s really a kid from Kansas, not an unbeatable icon, and he’s got a lot of things going on in his life. And those things include his job at the Daily Planet, a sometimes tumultuous relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane, and the occasional kaiju-sized monster stomping through Metropolis. But at least Superman has help with that last problem, in the form of a trio of other superheroes including Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, and Green Lantern.

And to be fair, Clark has help in other places as well, including at his Antarctic Fortress of Solitude where his robot assistants help him heal from his fight with the Hammer. And of course Krypto the super-dog. Well, Krypto’s often more playful than helpful, but he is loyal and at heart he’s a VERY GOOD BOY.

Now if you’ve seen any of the previous Superman movies, then you’re no doubt familiar with the Fortress of Solitude, but you might be less well-acquainted with the notion of Superman having robots and a super dog. Let me assure you, these are characters that have been well-established in Superman lore, going back to the 1950s. It’s just that these concepts have too often been considered too lightweight and whimsical to be included in the comics, much less a major motion picture, and been conveniently discarded and forgotten about.

James Gunn never forgot about them, though. In fact, Gunn takes the whimsy and shoves it into the spotlight and dares you not to have a good time.

It’s not all fun and games, though, because Lex Luthor (a marvelously smug and punchable Nicholas Hoult, Mad Max: Fury Road) is on hand to make Superman’s life hell as he unhatches a plot to not only make the hero a social (and social media) pariah, but to imprison Superman in another bit of whimsy: a pocket universe where Lex stashes everyone who’s ever so much as given him a moment’s irritation.

Lex is really just a colossal jerk.

And the crux of Superman is really that ideological between the sociopathic tech billionaire and the farm boy from Kansas. Lex hates Superman for being a beloved immigrant, while Clark thinks that everyone deserves a chance. Heck, he even believes that Lex could stop being such a tool if he only tried, which is the sign of a true optimist. But that’s Clark for you.

The performances are first-rate here. David Corenswet fully buys into Gunn’s vision and portrays Superman in a very Clark-centric manner. Whether he’s wearing the cape or the glasses, he’s just a guy getting through the day and trying to make the world a better place. Rachel Brosnahan epitomizes the best qualities of her predecessors, making Lois Lane inquisitive and sharp without resorting to cheap ploys to out Superman’s secret identity. She doesn’t have to, since she already knows he and Clark are one and the same, and I tend to think she found that out on her own.

The supporting cast is a lot of fun as well, with Nathan Fillion hamming it up as the abrasive Guy Gardner incarnation of the Green Lantern, bowl haircut and all. Isabel Merced’s Hawkgirl is a fierce warrior, probably the best pure fighter of the self-named “Justice Gang,” and badly needs an expanded role when the trio** next appear. And Edi Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific is, well, terrific, a self-assured genius whose mastery of technology no doubt rivals Luthor’s, and who is more than up to the task of saving the Man of Steel from Lex’s evil clutches.

And as mentioned above, Nicholas Hoult is fantastically evil as Lex Luthor, making despicable plans and lording it over his kowtowing lackeys. He is in full-on supervillain mode here, but toes the line and never crosses into camp. His heinous plans are unfortunately all too believable, the result of money being allowed to dictate policy. He really is the worst.

But the show stealer here might be Krypto. Playful, endlessly energetic and loyal to a fault, he may primarily be CGI but he’s still the GOODEST BOY EVER. The little teaser at the end leads me to believe that we’re going to be seeing more of the Dog of Steel, and personally I can’t wait.

For someone who has seen their share of superhero movies, Superman is a breath of fresh air. It’s full of bright colors and larger-than-life characters taken straight from the pages of a four-color comic book, but at the same time it keeps its feet planted firmly on the ground. For a movie featuring giant monsters and cape-clad heroes and super-powered dogs, Superman is still the story of a young man from Kansas looking to make his mark in the big city.

And also his dog, which isn’t exactly his dog, but he’s still the BEST BOY.

*A fictional country which made its first appearance waaaaaay back in 1939, in Superman #2.

**OK, quartet by the movie’s end.

Intermission!

• Whoa! Superman lost a fight. That’s quite the ignominious start to his new film career.
• Who’s a good boy?
• I don’t know about you, but I don’t think this Luthor fella has the best of intentions.
• Superman saved the squirrel. Because of course he did.
• Huh. It seems Clark’s Kryptonian parents might be a bit problematic as well.
• So many hashtags.
• All those monkeys writing social media screeds are pretty much how I imagine the internet to actually be. Heck, it’s how I get my Mutant Reviews written.
• The fight going on in the background while Clark and Lois talk. Sure, it’s just an inter-dimensional imp. No biggie. Makes me wonder about insurance rates in Metropolis.
• This might be the jerkiest Lex ever.
• Hey, it’s Metamorpho! You all recognize him, right? Right…?
• I want a T-sphere. It would make the coolest cat toy. Can’t let Krypto have all the fun.
• I’m really digging the Lois Lane/Mr. Terrific team-up.
• Never, ever create a pocket universe. Got it.
• DOG JUSTICE!
• Oh, that cameo at the end. Yeah, looking forward to the next flick.