Superman (2025)
Written by Cameron Geiser
After nearly 100 years of pulpy storytelling on the pages of comic-books, and on screens both large and small, this Summer brings the latest iteration of the Big Blue Boyscout to fruition with James Gunn’s Superman. DC Studios has hit the reset button and restarted their shared universe that recasts familiar names with new faces and a few new characters too. Well, maybe more than a few but the balance isn’t thrown off, and it never feels suffocating or limiting. In fact, we’re thrown into a world where (as the opening text informs us) Metahumans have been known to exist on Earth for centuries by the time Superman arrives on the scene. So for the citizenry of Metropolis, this is all old hat by now. Or at least, no one is too shocked when the third act evacuation of the city rolls around.
On a deeper level though, what’s the biggest difference or most impactful change from the Zack Snyder era of DC Studios take on the character? Honestly it’s several major contributing factors but the biggest has to be the tonal difference, a vibe shift away from the tortured, overly serious, and brooding take that ultimately proved divisive. James Gunn and David Corenswet put the core aspects of the character front and center. This Clark Kent is optimistic, naive, and simply wants to do the right thing and help others. It was honestly pretty refreshing. This extends broadly to the rest of the cast as well. Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), and The Justice Gang (more on them later) all proved to be interesting characters with great care given to each character’s accuracy to the source material melded with the flourishes that each actor brings to the table.
More than that though, the movie is just fun. It’s breezy, earnest, and charming. Those concerned that James Gunn would make Superman just another asshole quipping to cover their insecurities, fret not! Those moments are still present, but they’re given almost entirely to the members of the Justice Gang. And while there are comedic moments, there are also scenes of romance, action, and even a sprinkling of good old fashioned drama. But at the end of the day this movie just wants Superman to punch bad guys in the face and rescue those in need. It’s uncomplicated Blockbuster entertainment with a focus on hope and doing good. Which is something we, the audience, needed with the world in the state that it is right now. Speaking of the Justice Gang though, they were an unexpected highlight of the film that made me actually want to see more of this shared universe and how it will unfold.
James Gunn’s highly-anticipated Superman is a straight forward, uncomplicated superhero film that may appeal to audiences who just want some good old escapism.
Gunn does best when writing cantankerous punks with hearts of gold, represented here in the form of The Justice Gang with Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Guy Gardner the Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion). As a Comic-book fan generally speaking, I knew most of the characters in the film- but I had zero context for Mr. Terrific and he was the MVP of the second half of the film for sure! Fillion’s take on Guy Gardner was a crowd pleaser and the perfect fit for the actor and while Isabela Merced may not have gotten quite as much to do as
Hawkgirl, she was fiercely entertaining every time she held the film’s focus. However the two most important characters aside from Superman are Lois Lane and Lex Luthor, both of whom had some of the strongest performances in the film. Lois Lane actually had something to do for once too which was a much needed upgrade (No offense to Amy Adams, but her Lois just wasn’t written with agency in mind). She maintains her unflappable journalistic integrity, even grilling Clark as Superman in an interview early on, which we could have used more of that level of drama at times. Lex Luthor may be my favorite character in this film as Hoult’s take on the billionaire bad guy is delightfully, gleefully, evil throughout the runtime.
While the opening of the film felt a little jarring as there is absolutely no set up to the world of characters, this is definitely written for comic-book fans first and foremost. However getting thrown into a fully formed universe isn’t necessarily a bad thing in this day and age with an overabundance of Superheroics hitting our Silver Screens every 90 days or so. Origin stories aren’t in vogue like they used to be- plus everyone knows Superman’s story already, but I would have appreciated maybe a few quick shots over some dialogue, nothing fancy, but this is a small gripe in a fairly entertaining movie. Oh, and I almost forgot about Krypto the super dog. While he was all over the marketing, he’s entertaining but I’m happy to report that he’s not “overused” in the film and earns his place well enough.
While Superman isn’t the groundbreaking return to form some were expecting, it’s a refreshing and comfortable vibe shift that introduces a more sci-fi/fantasy shared universe full of capes and cowls aplenty. If DC Studios can maintain this level of success going forward, they might just have something interesting on their hands.
Cameron Geiser is an avid consumer of films and books about filmmakers. He'll watch any film at least once, and can usually be spotted at the annual Traverse City Film Festival in Northern Michigan. He also writes about film over at www.spacecortezwrites.com.