Superman (2025) – Review : A Considered Opinion
Review by Mark Woodring
By now, you’ve read or seen hundreds of reviews of Superman, the first (official) entry in James Gunn’s new DCU. This, despite the fact that Gunn has previously said that Blue Beetle should be included in this iteration of the interconnected DC universe.
Much ado was made coming into Superman about whether or not star David Corenswet could pull off a Superman that would, at the very least, make people not quite as upset about the unceremonious departure of Henry Cavill from the role; let’s not even talk about comparing him to the Gold Standard of Supermen: Christopher Reeve.
Not helping the situation were the accusations of “wokeness” in light of writer/director James Gunn’s commentary on Superman’s “immigrant” origins and accusations of anti-American sentiment.
I have to note at this point that the studio did not screen Superman for my fellow Utah-based critics and I, so we all had to make our own ways to the theaters.
Traditionally, I find a lack of screening or a screening immediately preceding a release to be problematic in terms of studio expectation for a title. It’s not a guaranteed thing, but sometimes, the cynical part of my heart emerges victorious.
[Editor’s note: it is worth noting that the critics are screening The Fantastic Four: First Steps the night prior to the day of release… just sayin’]
Having noted all the preceding noise about Superman, how did I actually wind up feeling about it?
Read on, friends… read on.
**NOTE: You can read Mark’s review below, then listen or watch as he and Ryan discuss the film further. Remember, though, you can listen to all our discussions of this and every other movie directly over on ACAST. Stay tuned.**
129 Minutes, Rated PG-13
Written by James Gunn
Directed by James Gunn
Synopsis:
Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.
Avoiding Corenswet’s performance for a moment, let’s talk generally about the film, instead.
Gunn makes the insane choice to mimic the 1978 opening credits style for this iteration, along with using the classic John Williams score, which immediately brings to mind that version and openly invites comparison. Not an auspicious start, in my opinion.
Anyway…
What Gunn gives us in this Superman is a bit of a mixed bag. Honestly, what works best for me is the “Justice Gang,” consisting of Green Lantern, Mr Terrific, and Hawkgirl, with a couple of caveats. First, Mr Terrific as a character is a bit of a deep cut for casual audiences, so his apparently unlimited intelligence and gadgetry is just expected to be taken as presented. A little back-story would be nice, James…
Enough has been said about Nathan Fillion’s Green Lantern, Guy Gardner, that I don’t know that we need to say more except to appreciate the way he sinks his teeth into it, snarking it up to 11 and acting with the overt disdain Gardner traditionally treats folks with.
Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, sadly, is mostly sidelined here, aside from sparring with Guy Gardner over the name “Justice Gang.” I was also curious as to whether or not her banshee-like screech is comics accurate or something added for cinematic effect. Hopefully, though, if she reappears in Gunn’s DCU, she will be given more to do.
It was a bit strange watching Luthor “play” his battle puppets, the Hammer of Boravia and/or Ultraman, like a video game character, shouting out attack combinations to use against Superman. Heck, it almost morphs into a Real Steel situation near the end of the film. It foreshadows one of the ongoing issues I have with the film, which I will discuss shortly.
But first, from the opening exposition cards, which describe the last 300 years (first metahumans appear), 30 years (Superman arrives on Earth), 3 years (Superman goes public), 3 hours (fights the “Hammer of Boravia”), and 3 minutes (Superman loses his first fight ever), Superman devolves from that level of pretentiousness into a laugh-a-minute exploration of Gunn’s DC universe.
From Krypto the dog’s endlessly over the top misbehavior, to the self-aware yet “only machines” Superman robots at the Fortress of Solitude, Gunn’s script immediately drops into his typical design, wherein the easiest thing to do is make a joke, whether it fits or not.
Ma and Pa Kent (yes, Clark’s dad is still alive in this version), those stalwarts of middle America, are portrayed as complete yokels, from their speech patterns to Ma’s ineptitude in using her cell phone. Yes, you can laugh at it, but it’s a big swipe at a chunk of the country. They deserve better.
To provide a distraction for Superman, Luthor directs the release of Stitch into Metropolis. I mean, it looks exactly like Stitch, until it grows up into the giant monster you see Superman holding the foot of in the trailers.
So here’s the rub: everything is a gag to Gunn. Superman notices and saves a squirrel during the battle with Mega-Stitch, FFS…
All of this noise makes it difficult to truly assess Corenswet’s portrayal of Superman/Clark Kent. His “interview” with Lois Lane is solid, making the points of this Superman’s motivations clearly and in-line with the idea that he is on Earth to protect people, whether the governments of the world appreciate it or not (kind of Civil War-ish, isn’t it?). His physicality and appearance is solid. It is, the limitations of the actual script not withstanding, a perfectly fine portrayal of the Man of Steel.
Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois is a bit too… Mrs. Maisel at times, but she generally brings the required energy and doggedness to the role to stand up to Clark/Supes.
What I’m left with, then, is a film that is… okay. The story, with its echoes of Batman v Superman, is sound, but the script surrounding it could have been pounded out by the army of monkey trolls Luthor has saturating social media against Superman in the movie.
Yes, that’s a thing, too.
So not a catastrophic beginning (or continuation, depending on if BB is actually a part of this whole mess) of the new DCU, but hardly the home run folks might have been expecting from Gunn.
People seem to want Gunn to be this megalithic writer and director, but I honestly see less and less of it as time goes on. If I wanted an entertaining one-off project for my franchise, I might bring him in, much as Marvel allowed him to do with the Guardians films, but to set the tone and direction of the entirety of that franchise, I think Gunn’s a mistake. I said it when he was announced by WB in that position and he promptly cancelled all projects except those he was involved with, which is why we have Superman and Peacemaker (who makes a cameo), and still don’t have a Wonder Woman cast.
Heck, remember what he said about The Flash when it was about to come out? Yeah…
James Gunn shares a fundamental flaw that I’ve previously identified in Taika Waititi after screening Thor: Love and Thunder; he is incapable of going truly away from comedy, even if the situation he’s building to is clearly not meant for it. He cops out and runs back to low comedy. It’s cowardly. In Superman, he never makes the attempt to go truly dark (pocket universe prison not withstanding), and instead has a running sequence of “what’s the funniest/stupidest thing that could be done/said in this situation” moments.
On that note, the final cameo of the film is either incredibly disrespectful of the character they’re introducing or is a sad harbinger of the direction and tone of future DCU films. Either way, it’s a waste of the audience’s time and intelligence. Does “DCU” stand for “Dumb Comedy Universe?”
I hope not.
Superman is in theaters now and stars David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Wendell Pierce, Skyler Gisondo, Neva Howell, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Sara Sampaio, Maria Gabriela de Faria, Mikaela Hoover, Frank Grillo, and Alan Tudyk.
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