Well that only took… 40-something years.
This is the first Superman movie that feels like an episode in a longer series.
Recent previous movies have felt stuck in an endless loop of origins.
Superman Returns was a partial reboot/sequel that was too in love with Richard Donner’s iteration.
Man of Steel was a full reboot that mashed up Donner’s first two films into one narrative, with a blurry focus on grounding Superman in cynicism about selfless heroism.
On its own terms, this movie is fine. I doubt it will stick in the cultural memory.
The cast is fine. It moves. The tone is relatively lighter.
There is nothing about it that is that original. It feels like a compilation of elements from previous Superman and superhero media.
Ironically, I left the movie wanting to re-watch Man of Steel. Not because I think it would be a materially better work - but it probably feels like it’s own (flawed) beast.
I left Superman with a vague vacuousness - like I had eaten something filled with empty calories.
With Gunn’s other work, there is a desire to feel for the underdog - those society deems worthless. But that quality feels surface - the character Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) is revealed to be more cunning than her initial appearance, but she is still presented as a caricature, something to be made fun of rather than a person.
There are more significant issues. I was disappointed in Nicholas Hoult as Luthor - he is a little one-note as scripted. I never buy his loathing - there is a gnawing lack of context and interiority to the character, and it feels like the actor is trying to force his rage.
Hilariously, in trying to both rebound from the creative choices of the Snyder era, this film feels like a studio mandate on celluloid (in its focus on the geopolitics of a fictional country and introduction of a superhero team, it also feels like a remake of Black Adam).
Once again, DC is trying to build a universe in one movie.
And the person (co)leading this effort is also the filmmaker tasked with introducing this universe. It cannot help but feel off.
The film opens with a lot of inelegant exposition, mostly conveyed in dialogue that never feels natural to the characters or their performers. It also looks too bright, with a lot of bland compositions more redolent of television than cinema.
It looks and feels like a movie tossed off to meet a release date, a teaser for future spin-offs.
It ultimately feels a little weightless. That is why it feels like another episode in a larger series.
It is a pity because the movie teases some real dramatic and thematic meat:
Gunn’s re-working of Superman’s origins is the most interesting part of the movie, and the resolution, while well-played by the actors, feels rushed.
Getting Superman involved in geopolitics feels like a welcome deviation from the timeless myth-making of Donner and the stillborn revisionism of Snyder.
For a brief chunk of runtime, the film teases real conflict - particularly in the interview Clark has with Lois - offering an opportunity to show Superman’s ideals, and putting them to the test.
One thing I liked about the movie was that it figured out how to present Superman as a vulnerable hero - he has all these powers but he is also determined to save anyone who needs help (down to a dog and a squirrel).
This film recognises the stakes of this and foregrounds Superman trying to limit destruction and help people, while also fighting super-powered beings.
He is repeatedly beaten and trapped.
But beyond the impacts on his flesh, what about the character?
I was curious to see how the filmmaker behind Super would conceptualise Superman, an eternal boy scout.
The Gunn protagonist is a flawed person trying to make good.
His Superman is more sure of purpose from the outset, but is still trying to live up to and work out what that purpose is. The movie never finds a way to make that arc cathartic.
It has entertaining aspects, but Superman 2025 ultimately never finds the emotional grounding it aspires to.
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