James Gunn’s Superman is a Cinematic Masterpiece
by Parker Ashley, edited by J. Nagle
In my opinion, James Gunn’s Superman is the best film to have come out in the past couple of years. It has a compelling storyline, action-packed fight scenes, incredible characters, beautiful cinematography, and one of my all-time favorite soundtracks for a movie. It may seem as though I’m overhyping the film, but I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of how truly fantastic this movie is.
I think the most important thing to highlight from this film is its heart. You can tell that this movie was made with a lot of love and passion. In almost every moment of this film, you can feel the heart of it.
Another aspect of this movie that I adore is the comedy. This film is one of the few movies that has been able to make me laugh in the theatre as of late. The comedy in the movie is able to keep it lighthearted, but also still keeps the serious tone of the film. They also never force the comedy into your face; it always feels very natural and not like it’s being shoved down your throat.
Abandon all hope ye who enter here: There will be spoilers ahead. If you haven’t seen the film yet and plan to, then don’t read ahead.
One of the parts of the movie that is a prime example of how amazing the comedy in this film is the scene where Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) are waiting for the garage door to open. The gag of it was obviously the door taking a long time to open, but it didn’t feel drawn out. It was longish, but it didn’t overstay its welcome. This scene was hilarious, but also a much-needed palate cleanser. It was able to lighten the mood in a part of the film which was intense, but it also didn’t ruin the seriousness of previous scenes. Another thing this scene does well is show some of the character of Mr. Terrific, who, as Lois Lane says, has a flying saucer, but couldn’t get a faster garage door. It shows that despite him being the brains of the Justice Gang, he isn’t perfect.
Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is by far my favorite movie villain of all time. His plans for the Boravian conflict and that he caused the Boravian conflict to kill Superman (David Corenswet), not the other way around, really showcased his hatred towards Superman and metahumans in general. His complete disregard for the destruction and loss of life is a stark contrast to Superman’s care for every single living thing. He started the Boravian conflict despite knowing many could die; he would’ve let the rift spread into an unevacuated area, while Superman even saves a squirrel because every single life matters to him. It showcases that Lex doesn’t care who will die or what will be destroyed; all he cares about is accomplishing his goal of killing Superman. Another scene that just showcases how great of a villain Lex Luthor is is his envy monologue. It is honestly one of my favorite quotes of all time. It is powerful, emotional, and amazingly delivered.
Lex Luthor reminds me of AM from Harlan Ellison’s I Have No Mouth and I Must Scream, specifically the BBC Radio Drama version. If you are not familiar with it, I strongly recommend listening to it, but the similarities between AM and Lex Luthor, while obviously not being the exact same, are extremely noticeable, at least to me. One of the examples of this is when Lex Luthor says, “Because his strength illuminates how WEAK we all really are! So, my envy is a calling! It is the sole hope for humanity, because it is what has driven me to annihilate you!” Much like how AM hatred is driven by his envy of humans’ bodies, senses, their ability to wander, and their tendency to hope, Lex Luthor’s hatred of Superman and metahumans in general is driven by his envy of Superman.
Another thing that I thought was amazingly done was the big twist that Superman’s parents sent him to Earth to conquer and preserve the Kryptonian race instead of being sent to help humanity. It’s an amazing twist on the classic Superman backstory. Also, the change from him listening to his Kryptonian parents’ message to videos of his Earth parents was a powerful and beautiful touch, one of the many moments of the movie that showed off the heart of the film.
Another aspect of the film I thought was really amazing was how human everything felt. The interactions between characters felt so real and natural. On top of that, the characters are all very unique and human. Think about characters like Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) and Mr. Terrific and even Superman, they all have flaws like Eve having “mutant toes”, Mr. Terrific is not as much of pacifist as superman and he doesn’t care much for people, and Superman who when was presented with the interview, ran away because he got upset and can come off as a little short sighted at times. These characters all have flaws, but that’s what makes them seem so human. None of the characters are perfect badass flawless people, they all have flaws and have imperfections, like Superman says, “I wake up every morning and despite not knowing what to do, I put one foot in front of the other and I try to make the best choices I can. I screw up all the time, but that is being human. And that’s my greatest strength.” Like being human is Superman’s greatest strength, I think it is also this film’s. The humanity of this film, along with its heart, makes it a truly amazing experience.
To wrap this review up, in my opinion, James Gunn’s Superman is the best movie that has come out in 2025. The story, the characters, the music, every part comes together amazingly well. It is a truly incredible film and has quickly become one of my favorite films of all time.
James Gunn’s Superman is now playing in theaters worldwide.