Superman (2025) is the 10th film in the Superman franchise and the first installment in filmmaker James Gunn’s new DC Universe.
By: Francesco DeFiore
After the failure of the DCEU, DC studios was in total disarray and was in desperate
need of a fresh start. That’s when director James Gunn came into the picture and was
tasked with rebooting the DC movie brand and creating a new DCU starting with 2025’s Superman. The movie had a lot of weight on its shoulders and needed to succeed because if it failed, DC as a whole was on the line.
This has been my most anticipated movie of the year and now that I have finally seen it
multiple times I can confidently say that James Gunn has done it; we have won!
Superman is easily the best movies in the franchise to date, one of the greatest comic book movies, and in my opinion, the certified movie of the year. I left the theater with so much joy and had a grin on my face. I love this movie and have a lot to say, so bear with me.
My favorite thing about the film is that it is the most similar to the comic book. It feels as if it was ripped straight out of the comics, which I think worked in the movie’s favor. Gunn wasn’t afraid to embrace the wackiness, silliness, and lightheartedness of Superman and the fantastical elements of the DC universe. You can tell that Gunn really respected the source material and put a lot of love and heart into this film.
Everybody in this film had their chance to shine but there are two standouts. David
Corenswet was perfectly cast as Superman. He embodies the role of the titular character and inspires hope, kindness, and perseverance, something that in my opinion, previous Supermen failed to do. Corenswet understood what and how the character should be; he played the role to utter perfection. He is easily the best Superman of all the renditions.
Another standout is Nicholas Hoult as the main villain Lex Luthor. Hoult is hands down the best Lex Luthor we have ever seen. He is menacing, maniacal, and controls every scene that he is in. Hoult’s Lex truly feels like a worthy adversary to Corenswet’s Superman and I loved every moment of it. Truly one of the greatest comic book movie villains.
There were many other characters I liked. Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane was great
and had amazing chemistry with Corenswet. Krypto the super dog stole my heart. I
thought the Justice Gang was really cool, especially Mr. Terrific who was a scene
stealer.
There is a lot of stuff going on in this movie but I think Gunn did a great job at balancing it all out and not making the film feel overstuffed. One of Gunn’s decisions that I personally liked was how he introduced this brand new DC universe by pulling us into the story without showing the origin of Superman. The pacing in this movie is also phenomenal. There was never a moment where I was uninterested in the film and time seemed to fly by so quickly.
Superman had some of the best action sequences I have ever seen in a comic book film. The camerawork in the film really enhanced the action sequences to utter perfection. Just seeing Superman fly, twirl, and shoot lasers in the air like it was straight out of a comic book filled me with so much joy. There is a lot of great action to enjoy here but my personal favorite action sequence goes to Mr. Terrific, which felt like the hallway sequence from Guardians of the Galaxy 3.
Superman is heartfelt and emotional to its core. There are many moments in this film
that made me cry tears of joy. It’s also hilarious.
It has your typical James Gunn humor which I know doesn’t work for everyone, but personally, it works for me.
Visually, the movie was stunning. Not only is the universe colorful, it’s full of love. The film got me to love and care for these new characters, and by the end, it left me clamoring to see more. It actually feels like Gunn has a coherent and thought-out plan for this new universe which I am all for.
There is so much to love here but the film isn’t perfect. Most of my negatives about this
film are just little nitpicks. Firstly, I wish we got to see more of Clark Kent. I’m happy this movie mainly focused on Superman but I would have loved to see a bit more Clark Kent to show more of Superman’s human side.
Secondly, although I loved most of the serious and emotional moments in this film, I
didn’t like that they would sometimes be interrupted by a joke. It’s not that I didn’t find the gag funny, I just feel like it took away from the serious moments.
Thirdly, although this movie for the most part looked visually stunning, there was some wacky CGI which I didn’t like.
And lastly, although I thought the score was fine, it was still pretty generic and it didn’t really impress me all that much. I definitely prefer Hans Zimmer’s score from Man of Steel. Hopefully James Gunn will fix these issues in future installments.
Other than those minor issues Superman in my opinion is an almost near perfect movie that means so much to me. James Gunn seriously cooked here and I am so excited for the DCU’s future. It’s not only the superhero movie I needed in my life, but the movie that the world needs right now.
Great review. Makes me want to see the movie.