Superman (2025)

Having finally watched the Christopher Reeves Superman from 1978, and thoroughly enjoyed it, it was time to see James Gunn's mildly anticipated take that released in 2025. The DCEU was officially over and now it was time to retire Henry Cavill's version and go for something brand new. Gunn had found success over at Marvel but there were some doubts that his off-beat approach might not gel with the straight-laced superhero.

Superman (2025) sees the hero several years into his tenure saving Metropolois but he is coming under fire for breaking up conflicts in foreign lands, which causes US officials to question his actions and this all feeds into Lex Luthor's plans to bring him down once and for all.

Gunn's adaptation highlights some of his strength as a filmmaker with his interesting collection of characters (most notably with The Justice Gang), some amusing moments of humour and creative set pieces, but unfortunately it does come into conflict with the character of Superman who never really gets to shine. It feels as though Gunn is more interested in the quirky supporting characters and their superpowers over David Corenswet's Superman. 

Reeves was perfectly directed and the story gave him time to develop as the leading character but that same provision was not made to Corenswet, who plays the role well, and is likely a victim of Gunn having to cut this film down considerably to a tidy two hours. The result is chaotic, sometimes enjoyable, sometime eye-raising experience but is far too messy for a new introduction and will see many tune out despite Gunn's use of Krypto to win over dog lovers. 

Much like Justice League, I am not sure a director's cut will salvage mishandled reboot of the DC franchise. This needed to be a much smoother, almost safer, starting point by bringing back some of that old-school optimistic charm of the original following the gloomy Zack Snyder films but that's not what you hire Gunn for. I didn't mind this film, it has some entertaining moments and the cast are a lot of fun, but he was the wrong choice to direct and it all risks the DCEU collapsing again. This is one I can only recommend to the fans of the genre and even then your mileage will vary.