I went into Superman 2025 with no expectations. Why was Guy Gardner in the trailer? How come they’re only showing footage of the superdog rescuing him? All these signs made me think Superman 2025 would be a mediocre flop.
If you read any posts on X (Twitter) you’d think this movie was a disgrace to the Superman legacy. They disparaged the bright colors and thought David Corenswet was inferior to Man of Steel’s Henry Cavill.
All of those trolls were wrong.
Superman 2025 brought me back to 1989 which is around the age when I saw the first Superman movie. I found myself reliving childhood memories which left my jaw opened as I once again believed a man could fly. This is the first time since the Christopher Reeve Superman that I felt the character was done justice. James Gunn knocked it out of the park and here’s why.
Superman 2025 actually SAVES people
One of the things I hated about Zack Snyder’s Man of Steel was Superman’s lack of effort in keeping the fights out of the city. In every scene, Superman smashes through buildings and even ignores an oil tanker as it rolls past him and explodes in the background. Although the cinematography in Man of Steel is gorgeous, and the music that accompanies the fight with Zod is legendary, the movie was a complete bummer. From the desaturated colors to the sad music bed, Man of Steel doesn’t focus on the optimism and hope that is Superman. Instead it shows how his battles against other super powered beings hurt everyone else.
It was too freaking dark. I remember how depressed I felt as the satellite fell towards Earth and its fragments annihilated the city. The fight looked cool but Man of Steel didn’t do anything to try to save them all. Man of Steel left me depressed after the credits rolled.
Before Man of Steel was Superman Returns with Brandon Routh where Superman is some kind of creepy stalker and Lois Lane is pregnant with his baby. I honestly don’t remember how that movie played out because of how boring and forgettable it was. I don’t blame that on Brandon Routh, but rather the creep who directed the film Bryan Singer. Shame too, since he started superhero movies with X-Men but that guy went off the deep end.
Superman 2025 is neither boring or depressing
It’s optimistic, bright, colorful, heroic. The good guys are good and the bad guys are bad. When monsters and bad guys rampage through Metropolis, Superman makes sure to protect and save everyone and everything. If Superman’s there, he won’t let a building fall.
I almost shed a tear when the engine of a woman’s car wouldn’t start and a building was about to fall and crush her. As the smoke filled the screen, John Murphy’s triumphant Superman score starts to play and you see Superman through the smoke, cape dangling from his neck as he holds the building just a few seconds longer for the woman to escape.
That’s the Superman I love. The one I grew up with (Christopher Reeve) once used his body as subway tracks so a train wouldn’t fall through a hole. He was the Superman who rescued people with a smile before flying off to save someone else.
David Corenswet and director James Gunn recaptured the magic of Christopher Reeve’s Superman.
Anyone who says David Corenswet is a cheap knock off can go watch Man of Steel and cry over losing Henry Cavill.
David does a great job of playing the innocent farm boy from a small-town saying things like “Shucks” and “What the fridge did you do?”
He has a broad chest and tall stature that fits perfectly with a Superman physique. He plays Superman like the boy scout he is. There’s never a moment where you feel like his character is going to hurt someone or even utter a swear word. He comes across as a genuinely good soul and, in my opinion, felt like a better match for Superman. Sorry Henry Cavill, I think you’re a cool dude, but Superman wasn’t the right character for you.
Lois Lane is not a damsel in distress
Out of all the people Superman saves, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is not one of them!
For the first time in any show or movie, Superman did not need to rescue Lois. Lois Lane is a capable, intelligent woman who is smart enough to avoid trouble. She calls out Superman on his actions and keeps the Clark Kent’s unrealistic optimism in check.
When Lois finds out Superman is in trouble, she doesn’t “suit up” or gain special power to save him. Instead, she uses her wits to find Superman’s friends and asks them for help. Rather than get herself in danger, she’s smart enough to know that she could recruit the people with amazing powers to help save Superman.
Superman 2025’s Lois Lane is the definition of a “strong female character” who doesn’t need to diminish men to appear stronger. No muscles needed, all brain.
Superman’s friends the Justice Gang add to the movie rather than take away
When I saw Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) appear in the trailer with his T shaped mask, I’ll admit, I thought it was going to be corny. Why was Green Lantern, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl in a Superman movie? I wasn’t sure including them in the movie would be a good introduction for people new to the franchise.
The Justice Gang were a fun addition to Superman 2025 without overstaying their welcome. Mr. Terrific was in fact, terrific and I want to see more of him in future movies.
He has an absolutely amazing moment where he puts Lois Lane in a forcefield bubble in order to protect her while fighting off hundreds of heavily armed soldiers. He uses his technology orbs and fighting skills to easily walk through his opponents and defeat them all without breaking a sweat. This scene along with Superman’s heroics are worth the price of admission.
Should we talk about Lex Luthor?
Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), is finally free from the shackles of real estate. For some bizarre reason, every film version of Lex Luthor obsessed about real estate. As much as I loved Gene Hackman, his Lex Luthor was more of a used car salesman than an evil genius. Jesse Eisenberg’s Luthor was more of a knock-off Joker. Hoult’s Luthor is the first Luthor that uses his genius to create amazing technology. This Luthor is capable of creating pocket dimensions and machines that can travel through them.
He uses his brains to sabotage Superman and further his own goals. The only other Luthor who came close to being as brilliant as this one was the Lex Luthor from the animated series. I think this was a great take on Luthor but not a perfect one.
I have some minor nitpicks about the Superman movie that I’ll quickly cover before wrapping up.
Where’s Clark Kent? The movie focuses so much on Superman action that it completely forgot about one of the core tenets of superhero mythology, balancing the secret identity. I know Clark Kent is the more “boring” part of Superman but it’s an important part of the character. The Incredible Hulk is less interesting without the duality between Bruce Banner and Hulk. It’s kind of why most people didn’t really like “professor hulk” in the Avengers movie.
In the original Spider-man movies, Peter Parker had to work gig jobs to pay the bills. (The original Door Dash.)
Superman doesn’t show us Clark’s normal, everyday life.
We never get that iconic moment where Superman pulls open his shirt to reveal the giant S. How can you have a superhero movie without the suit up sequence?
I couldn’t tell if Corenswet’s Clark Kent is any better or worse than other Superman’s. I can always remember Christopher Reeve’s Superman and how he was so clumsy around Lois and dorky in his demeanor. We never got a chance to see if Corenswet had the acting range to pull off a great Clark Kent.
The other thing I wasn’t a big fan of was how young Hoult’s Lex Luthor was. His face was too soft for Lex and wasn’t intimidating. I also think Superman 2025 may have leaned a little too hard into the action. We didn’t get opportunities to breathe and learn about the characters. But these are all minor nitpicks to an overall wonderful movie.
If you haven’t seen Superman 2025, you need to. This is the Superman movie I’ve wanted ever since Christopher Reeve died. The kind of movie where he’s fun, hopeful, and doesn’t need to kill anyone.
Five out of five stars.
