Superman (2025) – Review

Geek Culture

2 days ago

If Zack Snyder's Man of Steel (2013) was deemed to contain dark themes, lacked humour, had excessive destruction and filled with questionable character choices, then James Gunn's Superman is the direct opposite of that, and it's not necessarily a good thing. In its place is a message of hope and faith in mankind, a belief in righteousness, riddled with jokes and plenty of allusions to real world elements (a crazed billionaire against an illegal alien, and supportive of a war while backing a diabolical political tyrant), though this time, the questionable character choices stem from Gunn, who's using this movie to herald a new DC Studios cinematic universe.
Eschewing an origin movie, Gunn's script dives right in as Superman (David Corenswet) has been active in Metropolis for the last three years and is learning to become the hero that audiences know he is destined to become. But our fighter for truth and justice is also grappling with his identity as a powerful being sent by his birth parents to Earth to save mankind, and realising that doing the right thing can earn him the ire of the US government, who is looking for any reason to discredit the last son of Krypton.
Luckily, he's not alone in wanting to save the world as there are other metahumans, including Guy Gardner aka Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), even as arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has his own team of metas, including The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and the mysterious hooded Ultraman on his side.
In a slightly overcomplicated plot about warring neighbouring nations, attempts to beat, discredit, defeat and destroy Superman, as well as finding the good in people to help others, Gunn spins a rather complex tale that involves a pocket universe, a pointless kaiju monster and a screaming and almost hysterical Luthor going on about how his ego is an asset, and it's easy to wonder if Gunn, who balanced as many plot points in his The Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy over at Marvel Studios, has bitten more than he can chew.
It seems that without a Kevin Feige equivalent to rein him in, because at Warner, Gunn, as co-CEO of DC Studios, is the Kevin Feige equivalent, Gunn is able to go big on some really wild ideas with no one to tell him otherwise, and what we get is a Marvel version of a DC movie, where the stakes don't seem real but rather shallow. Audiences will also have to deal with a James Gunn trope of adding more obscure music to make an already weak script seem more powerful.
Do we need to hear Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), newly dating for three months, bicker about some obscure punk rock band to make their characters seem more attractive or appealing? Do we care that as Mister Terrific is fighting mercenaries and protecting Lois in a shield dome, while some track from Gunn's extensive music library is playing loudly to distract audiences from the bad special effects?
The use of music might work in Guardians because time has been spent building a soundtrack of bands and songs into each of those movies, but since Gunn opted to jump right in, audiences might not appreciate it, as they also won't understand why Luthor hates Superman, and why and how Lois Lane discovered that her colleague and workplace competitor Clark Kent is Superman. While Gunn can write strong female leads, as shown with Nebula and Gamora in Guardians , and it's evident in the way Lois is shown, the same cannot be said about the other women in his over-bloated cast of characters that includes the underused Hawkgirl.
Meanwhile, there are the usual co-workers at the Daily Planet that serve no purpose, including having Wendell Pierce play Perry White, the team's editor-in-chief. Skyler Gisondo gets in more scenes as Superman's pal Jimmy Olsen, but halfway through the film, it's as if some of the actors are cosplaying their comic book characters just for laughs.
But the true injustice is done to Jonathan (Pruitt Taylor Vince) and Martha Kent (Neva Howell), Clark's foster parents who raised him as their own. We've seen various incarnations across previous Superman films and television shows, but this is the first time that they are depicted as uninspiring simpletons from Hicksville – yes, they clearly love their son, but why write them as being so uneducated?
And don't get us started on the rather convenient subplot that Olsen is so filled with charisma, he has some effect on Lex's girlfriend, Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio). The many characters and various plot points hardly ever gel together in one cohesive block. And as much as Hoult is always charming on screen, his Lex is nothing more than a screaming, petulant child with money to throw at the problem. And isn't it a cop out that three of the four live-action theatrical Luthors have been nothing more than evil land-grabbing barons?
The one good element in the film is the chemistry between Corenswet and Brosnahan, which in turn translates into great interactions between Lois and Clark, and it's slightly disappointing that they only have a handful of interactions. Of all the live-action theatrical pairings, these two are clearly the best that Hollywood has to offer.
The other element that kind of works in the film's favour is the use of John Williams' classic Superman theme in this film. Like in the James Bond or The Pink Panther franchise, the use of a consistent theme music can help with recognition, and it's certainly fitting that the music has been adapted here.
Otherwise, all we have is a Superman in a rather oversized costume who gets his face disfigured on multiple occasions in this one film. And yes, we can understand that Krypto is cute to many people, but if a dog is one of the best things about a Superman movie, maybe audiences are barking up the wrong tree.
Summary
James Gunn delivers another superhero film the only way he can, with some strong characterisation and uneven scripting. But with too many jokes, plot points and characters inserted into a film, Superman offers an uneven beginning for things to come. Story - 6.5/10
Direction - 7/10
Characterisation - 7/10
Geek Satisfaction - 7/10
Hsals needs more space in his house, and more money in his bank account to pay for all the toys, collectibles and other geek related items that companies are churning out. Free-time? Girlfriend? Who's got time for those? DC Studios James Gunn Review Superman