We have received a trailer, an announcement, and rising expectations for the return of the Man of Steel to theaters in a movie that launches the new DC Universe under the supervision of James Gunn, president of DC Studios, and Peter Safran, with Superman the first pioneer of the new universe directed by Gunn.
The concerns are justified, of course.
James Gunn has a very distinct style a certain humor, a certain structure, a visual style, and an unexplained fondness for comedic moments even when they are not required for the plot.
We are no longer rookies when it comes to comic movies.
Even very young audiences know that there are comic heroes, that Spidey was bitten by a spider, that Batman’s parents were shot and that X-Men are just born with it.
In the late 90s and early 2000s, when the whole comic cinema thing was still in its infancy, we got excited about origin stories.
Since then, two and a half decades have passed, and this origin story in every reboot has exhausted itself.
If I refer to Spider-Man again or even to “Batman 2022” we get to know these heroes when they are already active and begin to follow them from a certain point in their hero career, not from the very start.
This is also true here we are thrown into the story from the opening moments.
After a short text segment explaining that heroes and people with powers have existed for hundreds of years on Earth, we learn that this incarnation of Superman has been active on Earth for only three years. In fact, when we meet him, he suffers his first defeat and from there the story begins.
Plot and Atmosphere
Since this review is as spoiler free as possible.
I will not go into plot details, only general story lines to convey the feeling of watching the film.
A New Era
Superman (David Corenswet, “The Politician”) we meet is very innocent on one hand he trusts everyone and believes that everyone has the right to live and that no one can truly be evil.
On the other hand, he is very arrogant and insists that his way is the best way, which leads to conflicts with those around him.
At certain moments, instead of feeling like the strongest man in the world, he feels like the strongest child in the world.
These points are reflected in an interview between Lois (Rachel Brosnahan, perfect for Lois Lane, “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”) and him, in which he loses his temper and begins to shout.
The threat he faces is well known Lex Luthor, of course who places obstacle after obstacle in his way, some of which, like a giant kaiju, we get a taste of and most we do not.
I would like to say he handles them with the typical Man of Steel grace, but in fact he is still cautious and mostly gets hit more than he hits back.
He reminded me of Robocop from the 90s animated series, where after every fight he had to recharge before going out again.
The film does not retell the origin story we enter the story already seeing him living with Lois in Metropolis and working at the Daily Planet.
James Gunn chooses a fast jump into the life of a non-adaptive hero a world that already knows about him but still does not know how to shape him.
Superman intervenes in a war between two fictional countries giving him a dual role: saving lives but also a political pawn.
This event changes public opinion about him, introduces suspicion, and raises moral questions.
As part of the expected political conflict following this act, Luthor reveals “The Engineer,” a former soldier who converted her body into a robotic form made of nanobots, and Ultra-Man wearing a mask, both needed to protect Earth’s population from the potential threat of Superman, opening the door to distrust and treating him as a foreign, unprivileged migrant and a significant security risk.
Throughout the story, the geopolitical war accompanies Superman’s actions and consequences, but at its core it revolves mainly around the growing tension between Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult, “X-Men: First Class”) and Superman, as Luthor puts Superman under public criticism.
In fact, Superman distances himself and ignores social media regarding the issue, creating an additional front as he is unaware and does not know how to handle social media coverage and publications about him.
Did I mention he is almost naive?
The Justice League, including Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion, “Castle”), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced, “The Last of Us Season 2”), and Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi, “House”) do not exactly join him to help, but they stand by him in most cases, with Green Lantern providing comic relief and Mister Terrific as the action hero in the group. Hawkgirl is also present but does not do anything particularly remarkable.
The Team We Didn’t Know We Needed
If anything, the plot feels directly lifted from comic pages or even one of the DC animated movies.
I do not want to say it feels like an episode of Superman: The Animated Series, but it does feel like one.
Things that are supposed to provoke reactions do not get a response at all from Metropolis citizens for example, a giant kaiju does not prevent anyone from enjoying their afternoon ice cream.
Even when the street is completely destroyed, no one reacts.
Only when a violent fire reaches the ice cream eaters do they hide, and even then without much excitement.
The Justice League members are already dealing with it, and the scene through the window looks like a fairly pastoral city night.
The action is mostly CGI, mostly excellent, and some of it looks like smooth computer animation, almost like new plastic toys.
In short the story is a kind of cartoon brought to life in live-action, not one of the terrible things Disney has given us in recent years, but something fresh, colorful, light, yet with moments of plot depth.
A comic brought to life, seemingly the dream of every Superman fan hoping for the rightful return of the Man of Steel to the screen.
James Gunn, Comedy, and the Crypto Dog Problem
But James Gunn. Broadly, I have no problem with Gunn, in fact I like Guardians of the Galaxy, even Peacemaker grew on me, and I was fully optimistic about Gunn leading Superman.
He has always shown respect for source material and knows how to take forgotten characters and put them on screen with great charm.
But then he does Gunn. What does that mean? He has an unexplained need to end every scene with a joke to make the audience laugh.
This works in Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker, and “The Suicide Squad” (2021), but does not work in a Superman movie.
Superman has many serious moments that need time to sink in with the viewer to convey gravity or a clearer picture.
So why the need to push the crypto dog into every important scene or a joke in the scene with no music happening before the eyes of characters who do not even react?
In fact, in every important scene, Gunn adds another crypto coin in the form of the super dog who arrives and misbehaves or just annoys.
I think without the double comedic interludes, which sometimes felt forced, the movie could have been the best Superman film I’ve seen in years.
As I wrote earlier, the film is light and deep, colorful and fresh, but the comedic interludes were mostly out of place and harmed the plot and overall atmosphere, making the film somewhat predictable and childish.
Music, Heartfelt but Missing
Before returning to the positive aspects because Superman is positive in every sense we touch another issue: music.
It is missing in this film, at least not at Gunn’s usual standard.
Peacemaker and Guardians of the Galaxy had great soundtracks showing that Gunn and music go together.
In this Superman, we got variations of John Williams’ Superman theme at different moments, according to the scene, but no impactful thematic mix.
Characters and Easter Eggs
As seen in the trailer, the film is full of characters. Superman is joined by Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen, Perry White, Lex Luthor and Eve Teschmacher, a nod to Luthor’s assistant from the first film with Christopher Reeve.
Green Lantern stole the show with a lot of laughs, and Mister Terrific became genuinely interesting for the first time in my years.
Lois Lane is career-first and calm under pressure.
Luthor is the villain you need to hate, doing his job perfectly.
Perry White and Jimmy Olsen have their usual dynamic and Superman himself David Corenswet fully embodies the character, believing in everyone and aspiring only for good.
The entire cast does an excellent job bringing these characters to life in the new universe.
Gunn is known as a fan of Easter eggs and comics, so names like Max Lord are tossed around, and references to everything, from a zoo to props Clark Kent uses, are plentiful.
The film has two post-credit scenes one mid-credits and one at the end. Neither changes the plot but each includes a nod to old comic material that is nice to see on the big screen for the first time.
A Routine Day at the Daily Planet
In conclusion I started by saying David believed in the era of Christopher Reeve that a man could fly.
I still believe that, even if it takes a little time to lift off.
Verdict
Superman 2025 is a comic movie, and that is the best definition for it.
It is full of plot holes and technology that is not believable, but because of the world, the characters and the introduction we get at the start, it is accepted almost without question.
Like an episode of a good animated series about a strong flying hero.
Gunn proves he still does his research but fails in execution due to misplaced humor.
The actors themselves perform their roles excellently David Corenswet is Superman.
Rachel Brosnahan was born to play Lois Lane, and Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion excel as Mister Terrific and Green Lantern.
Yet even with a great cast, the shallow humor detracts from the full enjoyment.
As the start of a new universe, the film is well-received and I believe we will see Corenswet, Hoult, Brosnahan, Fillion, Merced and Gathegi return as Superman, Lex Luthor, Lois Lane, Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mister Terrific in another film in the growing universe under Gunn and Safran’s guidance.
Shallow humor harms the full enjoyment, but the film brings comic pages to life in a proper comic movie form.
