Write a commentA couple of months shy of turning 6, my life shifted as I knew it.
Up until that point, I had been watching a lot of cartoons and Disney films. Live action was not my thing, not at that age. The fact that my siblings were both older than me, I would get upset if they were allowed control of the TV. Oddly enough, these events were recently brought up in an argument. Apparently, some grudges, no matter how trivial, can last nearly four decades.
My father liked sharing movies with me. Sometimes, it was a war movie, maybe something with Bogart and Bacall. Often, John Wayne lumbered across our TV screen. One of his favorite actors was Jack Nicholson. Because I wasn't even 6 yet, there weren't a ton of Nicholson films that would have been appropriate for me to see. That all changed in June of 1989.
My father took me to see Tim Burton's "Batman". It blew my mind. Something about it has stuck with me ever since. I remember a little while after seeing it, my father said something to the effect of, "If you think that's great, wait 'til you see 'Superman'."
Home video was a strange thing in the beginning. Most of the time, many of the films were not priced to own. That being the case, if you wanted to see most movies, you would have to wait for it to be shown on TV. This was before DVR or even TiVo. You had to find out when something was going to air and hope it was before your bedtime.
When I first saw Richard Donner's "Superman", it was an event. The commercial bumpers were produced better than some modern films. My parents made popcorn and we had soda to go along with watching the movie. "Batman" was still my favorite, but "Superman" was within striking distance.
Since 1978, all manner of superhero movies have come out. "Batman" (1989) caused another boom in production of this genre. "Batman Begins" was another. In 2008, the Marvel Cinematic Universe began and it changed the industry, for better or worse. Warner Brothers gave the next Superman movie to Zack Snyder with mixed results. Gone was the hope from the Reeve films and it was replaced with dour drama. A brooding Superman makes about as much sense as a Batman that saves a cat from a tree. Something had to give.
Enter James Gunn. Gunn has always been an interesting filmmaker. His career began in Troma and he saw early success writing the "Scooby-Doo" movies and Snyder's "Dawn of the Dead". He directed "Slither" (which is still pretty underrated) and eventually jumped to the "big leagues" when he directed the first "Guardians of the Galaxy". His brash, immature humor mixed with genuine heart was strange alchemy but it worked. You wanted to spend time with the characters, even if the plot wasn't all that great. Eventually, he made two sequels and "The Suicide Squad".
DC became desperate. After the Snyderverse failed to take off, they wanted someone to create the same success the MCU had but with their IP. Gunn took over and the first foray into this newly minted superhero timeline was his take on "Superman". I'm sorry to say, it just doesn't work.
Gunn's smarmy, "deal with it" type of humor doesn't mesh with the character of Superman. There are a lot of people just being jerky throughout. I'll grant you that some of it is still pretty funny, but it doesn't fit. Having Lex Luthor (Hoult) be whiny and petulant doesn't make him seem like a credible threat. The thing about Hackman's version of Luthor is of course Superman could physically beat him, but Luthor schemed enough to always be one step ahead. Hoult's Luthor is more like a spoiled kid with toys than a credible threat.
Gunn's insistence upon skipping Superman's origin story makes sense. It is something we've seen countless times before. What doesn't make sense is that, for an over 2 hour movie, it doesn't feel like it has an opening act. We're essentially seeing Acts II and III. Donner's "Superman" gave you the time (maybe too much time) to get to know Clark before we even saw Superman. Gunn's version gives us some onscreen text and Superman falling out of the sky. Beyond that, you don't get much characterization from Clark Kent/Superman. There are some scenes they blow through pretty quickly in order to get to another action sequence, but nothing that has the gravity of Donner's version.
Corenswet does a fine job for this version of Superman. He is earnest and has some heroic moments, but a lot of his lines play like he's a teenager. That might be on purpose to an extent, but it's kinda weird to see this character that was played with such poise by Reeve before him reduced to a petulant high schooler. The supporting cast is good with Fillion and Gathegi as standouts. The main problem with the movie is that it is overstuffed. I recall when "Batman Returns" came out, there was all kinds of complaints that there were too many villains. Gunn's "Superman" has an abundance of characters. It feels like Gunn is throwing everything out there to see what sticks so he can potentially mine this film for future TV series or spin offs. It all feels very calculated.
Also, I have to mention how much they butchered the original "Superman" theme. Instead of them coming up with their own theme, they rearranged John Williams' original and made it sound like garbage. Part of the success of that original film was the score. The commercials for the original kept saying, "You will believe a man can fly." Most of that was because of Williams' score. Even Zimmer's "Man of Steel" score had moments. The one for Gunn's is possibly one of the worst scores I've ever heard and it's only made worse by the fact that it isn't even original to boot.
I never was fully engaged. While, yes, I am now in my 40s, watching this version of "Superman" didn't give me the same kind of awe I had when I saw Donner's version. Even today, that film gives me goosebumps. Gunn's version felt a little like "Superman" was pushed to the side for 25 other useless characters. Really, did anyone care that Jimmy Olsen is a Lothario in this version?
I yearn for the day when a superhero moves me again. It's been a while. For now, however, Donner's will have to do. That almost 6 year old version of me could use some hope.
Superman (2025)
Directed by James Gunn
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Anthony Carrigan
Runtime: 129 minutes
MPAA Rating: Rated PG-13 for violence, action and language.
Rating (out of ****): **
"Superman" is streaming on Max with a subscription and is available to rent or buy on all major streaming services. You can also purchase a physical copy, available on DVD, Blu-Ray and 4K.
