Is it a bird! Is it a plane! No, it’s James Gunn – the strange filmmaker with a Troma background who’s come to DC Studios from another comic book franchise, and as the writer-director of Superman, he’s rebooting the DC Extended Universe (DCEU), into the new DC Universe (DCU), for a era of fun, colour, and the DC way.
The path of Gunn took to get to Superman is a fascinating one, and comparable to Zack Snyder’s journey to the Man of Steel. Snyder, like Gunn, made a initial splash with horror films – Snyder with his remake of Dawn of the Dead and Gunn with Slither, and from there they both directed comic book properties – 300 for Snyder and Super for Gunn. After that they both moved to the big leagues, Snyder taking on Watchmen and starting the DCEU with Man of Steel, while Gunn was hired (then fired and re-hired), by Marvel Studios to direct Guardians of the Galaxy – which is arguably the most consistent trilogy in comic-book movies.
Snyder’s DCEU movies, or the “Snyderverse” as it’s also known, received a mixed reception as it was characterised by dark moods and aesthetics, whereas Gunn’s approach has always been about fun and colour, and his Guardians trilogy garnered a largely positive reaction. When David Ayers’ darker take on the Suicide Squad failed to strike the right chord for DC, they turned to Gunn for a different, more colourful approach, resulting in THE Suicide Squad, and in Gunn being put in charge of DC Studios.
Colourful might be the best word to describe Gunn’s take on Superman, as the bright red and blue of the costume (including the famous pants), pops on screen from the start, as do the vibrant titles, the rich tones of The Daily Planet, and even the lipstick of Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), and the shiny head of Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult). It also describes the world building, which includes Superman’s Fortress of Solitude not being very private as it has a set of intelligent helper robots, and Krypto the Superdog, who sports a red cape like his master and has always been a colourful addition to the mythos.
This is the ultimate triumph of Gunn and his collaborators – a simple demonstration that a world of postmodern knowingness and cynicism still needs Superman.
The spectacular action sequences are richly textured while also being witty, allowing the audience to enjoy the sight of a big monster stomping around a city or of Superman saving a squirrel.
The characters are also colourful in their range and detail, beginning with Superman (a.k.a. Kal El, Clark Kent, Superman, Big Blue, The Man of Steel, Supes, etc), played by David Corenswet, and the team at The Daily Planet – Perry White (Wendell Pierce), Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo) and Ron Troupe (Christopher McDonald). Then there’s Luthor’s entourage of The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), and Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio). The most of colourful of group are undoubtedly the Justice Gang, consisting of Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi).
Yes, you read that correctly, there’s a character here called Mr Terrific.
The film is fairly straight-faced about character names and titles, which reflects the overall tone of the film – unabashedly and gleefully silly. There were points when I (in serious mode), thought “hang on, you’re doing what?”, before I remembered that I was watching a comic-book film about superheroes, so it’s all ridiculous – “enjoy it or go home!”. In this bonkers universe, metahumans are commonplace; pocket universes can be created; social media is more powerful than a locomotive; and romantic entanglements are messy yet fulfilling. For example, Lois and Clark are comfortable enough with each other to discuss Superman’s role in the world, but can also pivot to compare punk rock bands.
That’s not so far-fetched, which is another remarkable aspect of the film – it can balance comic-book lunacy with real world awareness. The movie knows that its audience is not just aware of the superhero genre, but is probably an active participant in the madness, so they don’t need another origin story or explanations of how and why there’s all this “wacky stuff”. Things happen, and the important part is how those events impact the characters and progress the plot – which actually maintains a snappy pace throughout, enough to keep things moving despite several strands and intriguing enigmas being ignored and left to rot (e.g. who is the Hammer of Boravia, and how does a certain door open so easily?).
The brisk pace and straightforward world-building allow Superman space to acknowledge real world issues, but that also comes at a cost. The film has been accused of “wokeness” by parts of right-wing media, especially around the idea of Superman being an immigrant (which he clearly is and always has been), or that the character stands for all people, not just straight white American men. Superman’s intervention when militarily superior country back by the U.S. invades a much smaller nation forces the wider social, cultural and political aspects of superheroes become part of the narrative. Crucially, the film doesn’t try to stop the debates about these aspects, but instead integrates them into the plot to highlight the dangers of billionaires with too much power, aggression in international politics, and the “radical” idea that protecting people extends to all people.
Luthor’s social media machine proves as dangerous as his military technology, laying bare the malevolent influence of wealthy industrialists on government policy. It’s an awareness that never becomes too grim thanks to some winning humour, zippy action, and some moving moments – the top of which being when people are pleading for Superman to save them as a huge army invades their land. Yes, it’s a scene that has caused much discussion and comparison to real-world events, and you have a problem with this part of the story then this may not be the film for you.
On the other hand, if all the zaniness and self-awareness that this gloriously goofy superhero adventure has to offer is your cup of tea, then this is the ultimate triumph of Gunn and his collaborators – a simple demonstration that a world of postmodern knowingness and cynicism still needs Superman.
SUPERMAN (2025) IS PLAYING IS CINEMAS NATIONWIDE
