A NEW SUPERMAN FOR OUR TROUBLED TIMES

Superman has no time for selfies." And with that line, we know we're in a whole new era for the caped superhero.

- SCOTT GARCEAU

What's Superman like in the time of cancel culture?

The line comes up when Clark Kent/Superman (new face David Corenswet) is interviewed by current GF Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), who asks why he's not worried about his controversial media image. She's a sharp reporter, so she also asks what gives him the right to play the world's policeman — torturing a murderous dictator, for instance, by sticking him onto a cactus.

Oh, Superman. He's been with us onscreen for nearly 50 years. But his endless reboots were becoming a broken record: sent to Earth by his Krypton parents from a dying planet, adopted by the Kent family, hangs out with Lois Lane at the Daily Planet, fights aliens and Lex Luthor, yada, yada.

So, with director James Gunn's version, he tries something different — in the process maybe rescuing a half-century-old franchise from terminal fatigue. He does this with zippy energy, a witty script, real stakes and the decision to place us in medias res, rather than replaying the old Superman origin story once again.