Superman (2025): Film Review

Hey buddy, eyes on here!

After much patience and time, it’s not a bird, or a plane, but the world finally sets its sight on James Gunn highly anticipated Superman.

There is no denying the hype going into this movie was otherworldly, especially given the fact that Marvel fired Gunn after some alleged controversy arose prior ten years to the second Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn decided to jump ship, ditched Marvel and set his sights onto the throne of DC Studio Films and their cinematic Universe, with a blank cheque and all the creative freedom he so desired.

Short history lesson; it’s late 2022, DC Studios confirms  Gunn to write and direct the newest Superman film, titled Superman: Legacy. That project, which went through its own obstacles, morphed and evolved into the Superman we are reviewing right now.

While expectations have been higher than high for this iteration of Superman to be faithful to the comic and appealing to a mass audience, especially after the polarizing views of Synder’s Man of Steel, Gunn delivers a comic accurate iteration of the man of steel that solidifies Gunn’s obsession with the idea of family, the triumph of the human spirit, and the bond of friendship. Gunn’s Superman is a super and mighty adaptation of the Kryptonian that we have never seen before.

Yet, despite all the praise, Gunn’s Superman is anything but a perfect film; the movie comes with its fair share of criticism and issues.

Henry Cavill was an almost irreplaceable Clark Kent/Kal-El, and filling his shoes following Synder’s take of the DCU was impossible. Yet, David Corenswet approaches the character with so much love, tenderness and empathy, that its hard to even remember Cavill in his metallic Super suit. Corenswet brings so much humanity to Clark Kent and Superman, and his incredible portrayal of the character, despite the heavy pastel, comic accurate colours of the film may distract one. Corenswet brings the man to the super and allows everyone around him to flourish. Many have said, its a role the actor was born to play, and it is without a doubt, that that statement cannot be closer to the truth.

The standouts of the film are so vast, it would take much more than one measly review to give everyone in this film their flowers. Rachel Brosnahan is pitch perfect and absolutely captivating as Lois Lane, even though her efforts throughout the film of being an action star and supportive girlfriend whenever our protagonist was in trouble, was completely unneeded. Brosnahan and Lane fly miles high whenever she challenged Clark as a human being, and gave our man of steel the love, attention and adoration he deserved; their chemistry was palpable, to say the least and the duo was firing on all cylinders.  Brosnahan delivers a truly journalistic Lois Lane, with all her quips and nerdy attributes.

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luther was pure villainous magic. Hoult brought so much charism, menacing mania and hate to the role that it was hard to even see how two dimensional his motivation to ruin Superman was, which may be super accurate to the comics. His references to being compared to some of the greatest thinkers of human-kind really shows just how ignorant Gunn’s motivations for the character are, but then again, Superman is one comic book character I have followed the least in my life. Yet, despite some laughable plot points (including an army of Karen monkeys on social media, trust me, you will only understand once you see the film), Hoult’s Luther is definitely one of the best portrayals of the villain, we have ever seen.

It isn’t a Superman movie without our Clark Kent's, Lex Luther’s and Lois Lane’s, yet this iteration of Superman comes with a large bag of other very unrecognizable yet characters and standouts, including Mr. Terrific, played meticulously by Eli Gathegi, Guy Gardne/Green Lantern played admirably by Nathan Fillion. Gunn allows multiple characters to get their spotlight, without overcrowding the film or losing direction. Other characters though, do suffer from poor character development, including, unfortunately, Isabel Merced’s Hawkgirl.

Out of all the supporting character though, my greatest qualm comes in the form of Ma and Pa Kent, played admirably by Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince. While the actors do not fail to offer incredible accuracy to their characters, my issue lies in Gunn’s need to include such forced and proud nodes of Americana to Superman’s family life and history, one definite thing I could have done without.

While the runtime absolutely FLEW by faster than a speeding bullet, the film’s start had many speed bumps and took a bit of time for the film to gain traction. Narratively, the film began finding its legs once it established its characters and humanized the story, the characters as well as their motivations. Superman soars the moment we take a step back away from the jokes, the glam and the spectacle. I mean, everyone was excited seeing Kypto, but it wasn’t until Krypto had a narrative arc for its character and became something meaningful, that the character began to earn its worth on screen. All the extra spectacle of Krypto being a nuisance meant nothing until his relevance meant something to the story, to the protagonist, but also, its audience. No one cares that Krypto helps Superman win the battle because he destroys some high tech surveillance balls and plays a glamorized version of fetch, even if Gunn was foreshadowing the act since the beginning of the film.

Superman becomes super the moment it drops its superpowers. The scenes where it connected with audiences, the scenes that made it the success that it will inevitably become, are the simple scenes of Superman embracing his humanity, reminding the audience and the characters in the film, our greatest strength, is not our ability to deviate away from being human, but our ability to embrace our humanity, our strength as a species, as well as our weaknesses, and use this empathy, intelligence and vulnerability, to overcome, endure and succeed. It is the small wins that allow us to celebrate life’s battles; gaining the support of your friends, holding true to your character and, even, hearing the one you love, telling you that she loves you back.

Superman is not a perfect film, but maybe that’s the point.

I’ve heard countless colleges and fiends call this film, “the movie we need” right now. Does Gunn approach Superman as an immigrant? Yes, he does. Is it about the big/little guy overcoming corporations, governments and the media, absolutely. Is the film better than Avengers: Endgame? Is the film more important and impactful than the cultural relevance of Black Panther? Doubtful! Hoult gives an incredible portal of Luther, but he is no where near as justified in his villainous actions as Michael B. Jordan’s Killimonger, or even Brolin’s Thanos. Performance wise, Hoult is a gem. Character wise, Luther seems like a spoiled example of nepotism who doesn’t get his way and uses all his money, power and intelligence, to get what he wants, just because he wants to.

Near the end of the film, Hoult’s Luther confronts Superman with a crazy third act reveal that tries to beat and overcome Superman. He iterates to Superman that brains beat brawn, always. James Gunn, approaches Superman with neither brains or brawn; Jame Gunn’;s Superman is a film with immense heart and because of that, Superman, as of right now, is the movie of the summer.

Don’t walk, don’t run, fly to see Superman this weekend or this summer, because, coming from a huge Marvel fan, a man whose favourite comic book character in the world, is Scarlett Spider, because of Ben Reilly’s unfair treatment and tortured fate, can easily say, DC is back and we have a lot to look forward to, all thanks to Gunn, Corenswet and a studio that, despite being desperate, put creativity, faith and love into a film that reverberates it back, in every scene possible, tenfold.

Superman is nothing short, of super, flawed, but still super. Period.

Night Film Reviews: 8 Out of Ten

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