Review of 'Superman'
The beginning of “Superman” sees a streak across the Antarctic sky as Superman (David Corenswet) crashes into the snow, bloody and beaten. He is rescued by his dog Krypto who drags him to his “fortress of solitude” where his robot workers restore him to health. A few weeks earlier Superman had stopped an invasion by Boravia but the US government worries about his unilateral power so engages the millionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) who is building a force of unbeatable warriors who defeat Superman, throwing him all the way Antarctica. After returning to Metropolis, Lex tracks down the fortress of solitude, destroys the robot servants and steals Superman's recording his Krypton parents left for him as a child. While Superman and the mercenaries Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) attempt to defeat the warriors Lex discovers a secret ending to the recording which turns the populace against Superman. The government demands that Superman surrender, which he does, only to be sent to a pocket dimension by Lex where he is imprisoned with the help of Kryptonite (the one thing that can defeat him). As Lex's true objective becomes clear, can Superman save the day? I will let you guess.
This is a story of a Superman that has many personal flaws who is at the whim of the US government and the people who themselves are easily swayed by the “evil” Lex Luthor who mobilizes social media (of course) and video to put his message across. Superman is a modern man living with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) so there is no drama of “will they” or “won't they” get together here which somewhat weakens that side of the drama.
This is a film that can't decide whether it is fun or serious. Fun: For example, the rather misbehaving dog which is frankly quite annoying and, serious: The destruction of the planet. The characterization is shallow and relies a fair amount on the audience's understanding of the Superman mythos to avoid having to repeat itself again given that is what number of Superman films now? The action is OK but we have seen better in other superhero movies (DC and Marvel) relying mostly on special effects with lots of stuff in the pocket universe or in the air (Superman does fly a lot) – It does actually look like special effects as well, unfortunately, failing to convince which is, frankly, inexcusable in today's film industry particularly in a film that likely cost a lot of money to produce. For goodness sake, the robots from Superman's fortress look straight out of a film from more than 20 years ago (“I, Robot” starring Will Smith) - The state of the art has moved on since then! Other than simply annoying the “superdog” effects look corny at best as well, never completely convincing.
Yes, as a pendant, I also am annoyed at the first sequence where Superman is BLEEDING in the snow…seriously, the whole thing is that he is invincible (save for the aforementioned Kryptonite, thrown into his mythos to ramp up the tension). Perhaps this is the first point that the film lost me. Then the dog arrived. Oh dear. That was the nail in the coffin for me, and only five minutes in. I stuck with it…but I just couldn't get into it. Perhaps others would be able to just take it in for a superficial bit of mindless (that is key here) entertainment, but I couldn't, this is SUPERMAN we are talking about, after all!
I wanted to like this film but I just couldn't. There were bits that were good but on the whole, it was not great at all. The story is interesting (Lex Luther trying to take over the world, yada, yada) but it is let down by predictable plotting, not terribly good effects, plastic acting, and misjudged “humour” (if that is what is intended, hard to tell). Sorry.
Rating: “A bit better than average”
Review Date: 2026-06-30
Directed by: James Gunn
Studio: DC Studios
Year: 2025
Length: 129 minutes
Genre: Action/Adventure
https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5950044/
Other reviewed films by James Gunn:
- Guardians of the Galaxy (2014)
- The Suicide Squad (2021)