Queue the John Williams music! As a kid, I loved Superman and Superman II. The third one was funny with Richard Prior but I knew it wasn’t as good but fun to see a ‘bad attitude Superman’. Superman IV was a hot mess. Christopher Reeves was my Superman even though the movies were far from perfect.
Superman Returns was fun but so problematic with the script and lifting a freaking Kryptonite island. The Sniderverse Superman was so dark. I like my Superman to give us hope. I love Henry Cavill but didn’t love how Superman was written.
How would I feel after seeing the new Superman movie from James Gunn? Would this be more my Superman or just another version of Supes?
Plot Points: (Spoilers)
Superman is a Superhero who saves people and has been in the business of being heroic for about 3 years when the movie starts. Clark and Lois are secretly dating and he has revealed his secret to Lois.
Lex Luthor assembled a team of superpowered individuals to help take on Superman. Lex has a cloned copy of Superman called Ultraman. Lex and his group have studied Superman’s fighting style and feeds maneuvers into Ultraman to give him an advantage against Superman. Superman gets beat up multiple times because of this.
Lex and his group find their way into the Fortress of Solitude. One of Lex’s superpowered individuals, the Engineer, is able to hack the system and pull down a corrupted video, which they decode. The video of Jor’El and Laura is released to the world with a translation. The U.S. government reacts and calls for Superman to rule over the Earth and take a harem of women to propagate the Krpytonian bloodline and heritage.
The U.S. government calls for Superman’s arrest. He turns himself in to the government but finds out that Lex is in charge of his imprisonment. Lex put Superman in a box in a pocket dimension with Metamorpho, who turns his arm into Kryptonite.
Mr Terrific and Lois help break out Superman along with Metamorpho and Krypto. The rift to the pocket dimension starts splitting reality. The spilt goes into Metropolis. Superman has to outthink Lex and stop the split in reality.
What I liked:
There is so much I loved about this movie. It was the Superman movie I have wanted to see for a long time. It felt like Superman and Superman II form when I was a kid. It gave me hope.
Lex Luthor was incredibly acted and written. This is the first time in a live action presentation that I felt like Lex is a huge threat to Superman. He displays his intelligence and his ability to manipulate the situation. Lex’s ability to adapt and use Ultraman as a dangerous weapon while Lex orders him to fight in a particular method. Until the end, I didn’t know how Superman would eventually beat Lex.
David Corenswet was Superman and Clark. Corenswet made them separate characters and convinced me that he was both. Superman was the Boy Scout I wanted to see on screen. Clark is the small town Kansas boy whose parents still influence his behavior. Clearly Christopher Reeves was an inspiration on how the characters are portrayed.
Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan, who played Lois, had a ton of chemistry on the screen. These characters care deeply about each other. This movie gave them a chance to breath between the action.
Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois had the feel of Margot Kidder’s Lois from the original movies. I totally buy into her Lois Lane adaption. She is brings the 70s and 80s smart reporter focused Lois. I loved her in this role.
The movie is actioned packed but also has moments to breath. There is a scene with Lois and Clark sitting and talking deeply while a fight happens in the background that Superman doesn’t join in for. There is a great scene with Clark back in Smallville with his parents and his dad, Jonathan Kent, come out to the porch to give Clark a pep talk. The pacing was awesome.
Speaking of Jonathan and Martha Kent (why did you say that name???), they were shown as red necks but ones that love Clark. They are older and modest farmers from Kansas. There is a great scene where Martha is talking on the phone on Speaker phone to Clark and it was amazing. I have seen that happen in real life.
Krypto the Super Dog is a ton of fun. He is an undisciplined dog with super powers. A lot of the humor of this movie is around Krypto. I have always hoped for him to show up in a live action movie.
The Justice Gang was wonderful. Guy Garner aka Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mr Terrific are a hero group that works with Supeman. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Garner was spot on with him channeling the jerk of the Green Lantern Corp. I was hoping Batman would show up and punch him in the face (comic reference) but hopefully in a future movie. Mr Terrific was right no the mark with his super intelligence and tech abilities. Hawkgirl was a lot of fun with her desire to fight.
The music is awesome. John Williams music shows up in this movie at the right times. It isn’t overdone but it is there to link us back to the past. Who doesn’t love John Williams score. The movie had a lot of other amazing music including some punk rock, which was KOOL.
Supergirl shows up at the end. She isn’t the goodie good like her cousin. I loved this difference so much. It is based off of the Supergirl Woman of Tomorrow comic miniseries form a few years ago and I cannot wait to see the Supergirl movie.
What I Disliked:
There was one thing that took me out of the movie. It was a minor thing and I understand the choice. Hawkgirl has a hawk scream as she goes into battle or attacks. I wasn’t expecting it and didn’t like it. It distracted me in the movie.
Review:
After I saw Man of Steel in the theater, I stated, “This isn’t my Superman. I am just not sure about it. It felt depressing and not full of hope.” Superman (2025) was not that at all. I left saying, “This is my Superman.”
I love this movie. It was everything I could want in a Superman movie. It went way beyond my expectation. James Gunn knocked it out of the park.
My Grade: A-
IMDB: 7.6
Rotten Tomatoes- Audience: 92%
Rotten Tomatoes- Critics: 84%
Fandango: 92%
