Superman (A PopEntertainment.com Movie Review)

PopEntertainment
Jul 11
4 min read

SUPERMAN (2025)

Featuring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Wendell Pierce, Skyler Gisondo, Beck Bennett, Mikaela Hoover, Christopher McDonald, Sara Sampaio, Terence Rosemore, Frank Grillo, María Gabriela de Faría, Milly Alcock, Sean Gunn, Will Reeve, Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan and the voices of Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker, Grace Chan and Pom Klementieff.

Screenplay by James Gunn.

Directed by James Gunn.

Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures. 130 minutes. Rated PG-13.

Ah DC, where do I even begin? I’ve waded through the first Justice League, Batman v. Superman, Suicide Squad and all the other wrecks you’ve released, but now, you finally decided it was time for a full restart. It was undoubtedly the right call, yet I was still waiting to see if James Gunn was the right choice to lead this new connected universe, and so far, he’s doing a really excellent job.

As their rivals over at Marvel are floundering, trying to find the magic that made them the biggest movie franchise in history amidst a Phase 5 with more flops than hits, Gunn is connecting with fans on X (formerly Twitter), hearing what they want, and with his first attempt in the new-and hopefully improved DCEU, it seems they’re starting off on the right foot.

Was there any other way or character to start this new universe besides Superman? The answer is no. It’s been far too long since we got not only a good Superman film, let alone one that really understands the point and the inner workings of the character. Some would argue it's been over 40 years since we last had that.

But before we get into the nitty-gritty of this film I just wanted to start off with, this film truly did a wonderful job bringing the blue-boy scout to the big screen. Not some grizzled, darker Injustice-style or Snyder-fied Superman, but the honest to goodness, Man of Tomorrow who goes out of his way to save a squirrel that's in danger (yes that really happens in this film) the way the character was originally intended to be.

Acting as this new DCEU’s Iron Man 2008 of sorts, does this film do a good job of setting up the future of this new universe? I would say so. The first third of the movie was done at a bit of a break-neck pace for me and didn’t really seem to let its heavier plot points simmer and sit with the audience, but it found its footing later on as the film progresses.

The set pieces are wonderful (a term I never thought I’d use when describing a film set in Delaware, but here we are) especially the nod to Philadelphia-native Corenswet by having One Liberty Place included in the Metropolis skyline. The CGI, while not always astounding in quality, is far improved from the likes of The Flash 2023.

The best use of CGI was by-far Krypto the SuperDog, who brought some of the funniest parts of the movie and almost to an unbelievable level of accuracy for better and worse, behaved like my own dog so I had a blast whenever he was on screen. In the other parts of Clark’s life besides being a dog foster dad, the unfolding story of a contentious early-stage relationship between Lois and himself is played vulnerable, raw, and very real even though it felt like I was watching a different movie in those parts, it was a nice shift from the high stakes action continually going on throughout the film.

On top of all of that, we are given nods to a developing Justice League, or as Guy Gardner likes to call it, The Justice Gang. Quick aside, thank you James Gunn for finally getting Lanterns included in these movies outside of Ryan Reynolds horrible attempt at playing Hal Jordan. We see characters never before seen in movies like, Mr. Terrific, Hawkgirl, Metamorpho, Engineer, the previously mentioned Guy Gardner, and even though it was not the Earth-3 version I would’ve hoped for, Ultraman.

Another strength this movie has is in its classic feeling, yet adapted for modern times versions of Superman’s side characters like Lois Lane, Cat Grant, Perry White who, besides Mr. Terrific, is the best comedic relief in this movie, and Jimmy Olsen, who doesn’t get shot and killed in this movie (thanks Snyder)! With that being said, how they change Superman’s story with his biological parents is a very interesting twist on the all too familiar origin and hopefully will be a plot point that they’re not going to just drop in the next few connected universe films.

It also wouldn’t be a Superman film without the inclusion of Lex Luthor. Even though Lex is played extremely well by Nicholas Hoult, a personal gripe of mine that might be held-over from the first attempt at the DCEU is I am sick of this take on Luthor as a millennial tech-bro, what I wouldn't give for a Superman: The Animated Series style version of this character in live action.

Quick Spoiler Warning for this next part. Even though it was very brief, the inclusion of a party-centric, early 20s Supergirl is fantastic, and I can't wait to see where they take that.

This film is heartwarming, uplifting and truly hits home who Superman is as a character and I am all too thankful for that. Even though I went in cautiously optimistic due to previous blunders, Superman 2025 exceeded my expectations and has me on the edge of my seat to see where this new take on DC Comics goes from here.

George Wagner