Superman

DB
Aug 6
3 min read

A super cast in a not-so-super, but still decent, movie.

Superman (David Corenswet) at his Fortress of Solitude - from Superman

Here's what I've been watching and playing over the last seven days...

MOVIES

Superman

Movie summary: Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned. (IMDb)

Superman is a tricky movie to write about because there were numerous sizeable flaws that were balanced out by everything being so well-intentioned and charming that I can say that I genuinely liked it.

I get that the intent from the new DC Studios was to distance itself from the Zack Snyder depictions of Superman, but it does mean that you have to accept a major American city being completely evacuated in little to no time at all to avoid the large-scale destruction from resulting in the same number of deaths.

The reveal of Ultraman's identity also isn't much of a reveal if you're paying attention, which kind of fits with everything being a little predictable.

All that said, I loved David Corenswet as Superman, Rachel Brosnahan is a fantastic Lois and Skyler Gisondo was a very pleasant surprise as a resourceful Jimmy Olsen too, setting up a great leading trio going forwards.

I also very much appreciated just jumping into a new superhero universe where multiple heroes have already been known about for a while, making some of the more outlandish stuff work a lot better than if this had been a movie like Iron Man, with the title character as the only super-being around.

(I know the MCU later showed that other heroes were active before Tony made his suit, but that didn't affect the first Iron Man film at all)

Overall, I did enjoy my time watching Superman but I think the flaws were a little too strong on first viewing to make it a movie I'd seek out to watch again and potentially spot even more problems. [6/10]

GAMES

Baldur's Gate 3

An evil Dark Urge run finally completed and the world conquered, plus the stars and worlds beyond as my female Drow fighter became the Absolute.

Of course, I then immediately reloaded to enjoy the good ending a second time, joining her lover, Lae'zel, in the rebellion against the Lich Queen Vlaakith.

Star Trek: Resurgence

As someone who watched the Nineties Trek shows as they came out, this game is like a big cosy love letter to that time and I'm really enjoying it at the halfway point.

Also playing: Microsoft Flight Simulator (2020)

TV

Andor, Season Two

Episode Six, "What a Festive Evening"

A great conclusion to a strong second arc in this second season, with great moments for Kleya (Elizabeth Dulau) and Bix (Adria Arjona) to take the spotlight for a moment.

Frasier, Season Ten

Another frustrating season filled with some great episodes marred by the continued presence of Daphne's mother, Daphne become more and more entitled herself, and a terrible ending to the season finale, with Roz and Frasier both incredibly out of character.

Frasier, Season Eleven

Something of a return to form, although also somewhat hamstrung by being the final season meaning some of the biggest changes in the show's entire run happening in a very short space of time.