Starring: Dwayne Johnson, Kevin Hart, Keanu Reeves, John Krasinski, Kate McKinnon

Directed by Jared Stern, Sam J. Levine

Warner Bros, in cinemas now

 

Ever since they blasted out of the fiery remains of the planet Krypton together in an escape pod as babies, Kal-El and Krypto the Superdog have been best friends. In fact, if you asked Krypto, he’d say they were best and only friends – who needs other buddies when you have the one and only Superman to throw a ball with or go for a W-A-L-K? Sure, sometimes he brings Lois Lane with them to the park, and sometimes that pesky Justice League muscle in on the fun when a supervillain attacks Metropolis, but at the end of the day it’s just Krypto and Kal-El, and that’s the way Krypto likes it. However, when Lulu, the diabolical guinea pig, uses a meteorite full of orange kryptonite to give herself superpowers and successfully captures the Justice League, Krypto is left alone and powerless. His only hope for defeating Lulu is the rag-tag band of shelter pets that also gained superpowers in the kryptonite blast. It looks like Krypto will finally have to learn how to play well with others – the fate of the world depends on it….

Picture the scene: you and your boyfriend are in your early 20s, and you’ve just spent the morning bickering about all the bills and responsibilities that suddenly dropped on your heads when you left the safety of university accommodation. To cheer yourselves up, you’ve booked in to see the new DC film, something about dogs or guinea pigs or whatever. However, as you take your seats in the cinema and cast your eyes over your fellow patrons, you realise that you’re the only people in there who do not have/are not young children. As the trailers for various animated monstrosities roll, you think to yourself, oh no, is this movie still for me, a burned-out wreck of a young adult? But let me assure you, gentle reader, that yes, yes it is. In fact, it will be the best film you’ve seen this year.

From start to finish, DC League of Super-Pets is a sheer, unadulterated delight. The punchy dialogue delivers a laugh-a-minute, blending the old-reliable doggy gags (think FedEx men and full-body licking) with clever little Easter eggs for DC fans (such as the Earth selection menu on the Justice League hotline). The genuinely ingenious characterisation will not fail to invest even the snootiest, most exacting comics fan in the fate of our beloved super-pets, and saves the movie from potential relegation to the numerous ranks of forgotten kids’ films. The mandatory tragic backstories that litter DC movies are allowed to be genuinely harrowing and poignant – not all your tears will be from laughter – but in no way do they impinge on the joy this film creates. Is the plot twisting, devious, or in other ways unpredictable? Perhaps not. But it doesn’t really need to be – Krypto and his super-pals overcoming their personal adversity and triumphing over evil with the power of friendship is warm and comforting (and aspires even to be life-affirming) rather than obvious or didactic.

Verdict: Whatever your age or your interest in comic-book movies, do yourself a favour and treat yourself to this glorious romp of a film – it will be the most fun you’ve had in ages. 10/10

Sophie Simpson