Superman (2025) Release Discussion (Spoilers) (1 Viewer)

[Matthew]

This will serve as the discussion thread for the Superman (2025) release! Have you seen it? Let's discuss it below!



I'm going to give my jumbled thoughts on this. Fair warning there are spoilers! Don't read if you don't want to be spoiled.

This movie is very conflicting. There is a A LOT here that I love, and a lot that I didn't.

Characters
These characters were done really well. Overall, James Gunn handled the large cast pretty well. I didn't really have any doubts on this going in, because of Guardians of the Galaxy, but glad that wasn't a HUGE problem. I do have nitpicks on this though I'll explain below.

Superman/Clark Kent: This is my favorite on screen movie superman since Christopher Reeves. James Gunn nailed the characterization of Superman and this movie embodies superman in a way we have not seen before on screen. This character IS Superman.

Clark is also characterized really well, but we don't see more of actual Clark. I WILL say though, this Superman felt more Clark like than actual Superman. You could make the arguement that the Superman in this film was pretty much Clark the whole time. I know he his obviously is Clark, but Superman and Clark usually have different characterizations.

Lex Luthor: I haven't decided yet, but I believe this is my favorite on screen movie Lex Luthor. He is RUTHLESS in this film, and my jaw dropped when he killed that civilian. I did not expect that in this movie. Nicholas Hoult was a definite standout. Rosenbaum's Lex is definitely better but he had 7 seasons to flesh it out.

Lios Lane: Great part by Rachel Brosnahan. She definitely got this role by playing Ms Maisel and I love it here. Chemistry with Clark is off the charts, I just wanted MORE of it.

Mr. Terrific: Absolute standout in this film, maybe too good. He had arguably the coolest fight scene in the movie and may....have overshadowed Superman. That's really my only nit pick on his character.

Guy Gardner: Nathan Fillian kills it here, as always. Sold me immediately.

Hawk Girl: Didn't really do much in the film, and didn't care for her. I did not like when she killed the president of Baravia.

Engineer: Had no problems with the actress playing her, but honestly felt unnecessary in the film. Honestly, could of taken her out and the film wouldn't really change. Pretty much setup for The Authority. I can't remember exactly what Clark said, but he told the Engineer she doesn't have to fight for Luthor anymore. Little smidge of the future with the Authority.

Ultraman: He was okay, really just a shoehorn boss for Superman to fight.

Parents: LOVED Ma and Pa Kent. They did this right and glad they're both here. I teared up during Pa Kent and Clark's scene at the Farm.

Daily Planet: The daily planet crew was awesome, but had more potential. Really liked Jimmy's character in the film. Perry white was just there really for the end. Cat Grant, don't care.

Tone: This movie was 'fun'. It felt like watching a Superman cartoon which is awesome. We have not seen this on screen before and I'm really excited for the future of DCU.

Pacing: The pacing this movie is a bit off. It moves scene to scene with no time for slowing down. Honestly the only time this movie really slows down is on the Farm with the parents and the apartment scene with Lois.

My biggest problem with the pacing is that we don't get ENOUGH. The characters in this film are SO GOOD that you want more. This movie could of easily been another 15-20 min. I don't know why James Gunn felt that it HAD to be 2 hours, it didn't. An extra 15-20 min would really have fleshed out Lois, a bit more of the daily planet crew, more of Clark, and given us more time with these characters

Score: Honestly, this movie would be better with a re-score. Score didn't do much for me. It didn't make me really FEEL like I could fly or be Superman or anything. The closest we got was when they brought the John Williams score remix.

Action sequences: People will love or hate them. It's very anime esque. Fast movements, swivel around characters, if that makes sense.

Saving sequences: This is one of my biggest problems. All the saving people sequences are the ones you see in the trailers. They are very quick and skip to the next scene.

We didn't get a major saving people moment imo. The closest we got was when the tower fell on the bridge and you wanted to see all the people run or all the cars drive by, but all we see is ONE person drive out.

Now I get the message, every life is worth saving, even just one. Hell, he even saves a squirrel. But I feel that tower sequence, was SUCH a missed opportunity. He could of saved a hundred people on that bridge and they all look up and see him coming out of the dust cloud. Him coming out of the dust, which is the one in the trailer, was a legitimate good scene. And they squandered that imo.

Creative decisions:
There are some weird creative decisions I did not like in this film.
1. Did not like Clark's Kryptonian parents being evil with that stupid harem ****. That felt like some type of parody. They literally could of done it in a way where Lex manipulates the footage, and that would of been perfect.

2. The baby and the anti proteon (minecraft) river sequence. Did not like that sequence at all. Felt very cheap and forced in.

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I really feel like the Legacy of this movie, will depend on future movies. James Gunn wanted to drop us into this already living world with existing characters just like watching a Superman Cartoon. This movie IS a live action Superman cartoon or comic book. And that felt awesome, but it needed to be longer to flesh out the really important characters like Lois, Clark and the Daily Planet.

If they can focus a bit better on future movies and really flesh out the characters, I think this movie and the DCU will be looked at fondly. And I will say I have faith. I want this universe to succeed because it was fun and something we have not seen before. I really feel DCU is on a proper path, but they need to flesh out the characters.

I didn't hate this movie. I would definitely watch it again, but it's not the greatest superman movie ever. Better than Man of Steel though. Frankly though, I think this is a worse movie than it is a Superman movie, if that makes sense. I am content with it, but hopeful for the future.

I might add more thoughts, but for now that's what I have.

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[Heatman]

Honestly, being a fan of Henry Cavil as the best character to ever play the role of Superman made it very difficult to appreciate this movie very well. I'll still rewatch it again with a far more open mind to really appreciate it.

 

[Matthew]

Honestly, being a fan of Henry Cavil as the best character to ever play the role of Superman made it very difficult to appreciate this movie very well. I'll still rewatch it again with a far more open mind to really appreciate it.

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Henry Cavill has that definite Superman "look" to him, but the script did not do him justice. He was a terrible Clark Kent, slightly better Superman.

I still really enjoy Zack Snyder's universe. They aren't "terrible" movies, they just aren't the definitive versions of the character.

 

[Tyler]

I watched Superman (2025) on release day, and I honestly liked the different approach. For one, the visuals and the action sequences were absolutely good, but what surprised me more was the storytelling. It was a good watch.

 

[uptrendfinancialsignal]

They did a good job! Though there are some dragging moments here and there, overall it gave a good reboot to the franchise. The casting was on point.

 

[Nomad]

I watched this movie a week ago. I had avoided watching this movie because I have washed my hands from superhero movie but I really liked it