Superman 2025
I wasn't optimistic about a reboot of Superman, even and maybe especially in the hands of James Gunn, but the reviews have been surprisingly good, mentioning some good humor at work. Based on bad reviews, I never saw any of the Henry Cavill movies. It gets a little murkier upon watching. It was a courageous decision to leave out the origin story entirely. In this movie Superman is already working at the Daily Planet, already dating Lois Lane, and already saving people on a day-to-day basis. In fact the movie opens with him on the losing end of a fight, fallen to the ground and bleeding in Antarctica. There is a lot of humor, but it is James Gunn humor which tends to be kind of sick and dark, though often just goofy. Superman has a number of associates who aren't given a lot of personality or development (for the most part), though they feel like they will someday. They are kind of placeholders in a way. They're not a waste, but they're not that useful either. Superman has a dog, but not well trained or, again, of much use (for people like me that don't like anything bad to happen to dogs, I will leave a spoiler below). Superman is okay. They spend a lot of time on the relationship between Superman and Lois Lane and that relationship doesn't really have much going for it. Since it is not an origin story, they're not flirting or falling in love: they are in the middle of a somewhat problematic relationship. There is a lot of pontificating, sometimes by Lois, with some superhero political dilemmas, but then a bunch by Lex Luthor who is supposedly brilliant, but so bent on being evil and beloved that his character just doesn't work. There are a lot of moving parts here, but nothing all that moving. There are a few good lighthearted moments of basic character comedy, including a really bad haircut for Green Lantern as played by Nathan Fillion (in a not at all Green Lantern costume, which makes him seem more generic) and a funny sidekick in Mister Terrific (a black, wisecracking and brilliant gadget-wielding superhero). Fillion is one of the only people to come close to being a name actor other than Rachel Brosnahan, though we do get the always great Wendell Pierce as Perry White in a small role. So it is still a mostly fun movie to watch, but feels like it is missing anything that would make it really magical.
Written: 15 Jul 2025
Owned on: UHD, Digital