Oh what a mess this film is. The first five minutes show great promise until a weak and battered Superman opens this rather pained exercise. No one but director/writer James Gunn (he of the Guardians of the Galaxy fame) wants to see a deficient Superman…and actor David Corenswett sure is handsome, as was Henry Cavill as was Brendan Routh. The problem for DC Comics is that they should have stayed with Routh, or Cavill (and as Wikipedia notes: reprising the role in Batman v Superman (2016), Justice League (2017) and its director’s cut (2021),) and created more films in the meantime. The development of the actor in the role of Superman, even for a seasoned vet like Cavil, is part of what made Christopher Reeve’s Superman unobscured by long absences and changing-of-the-guard. 2025’s James Gunn Superman simply cannot compete with 1978’s film score, ensemble cast (Marlon Brando, Terence Stamp, Margot Kidder, c’mon) – a story initiated from Godfather Mario Puzo, a total Hollywood production that to this day is a remarkable success that can be watched repeatedly.I cannot watch 2025’s Superman repeatedly, and therein lies the rub.
Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane is downright annoying. Where Margot Kidder typing “Let’s see what kind of trouble I can get into today” has spanned the ages, Brosnahan’s interview with Superman is cloying and irritating. Why is it even in the film and what filmgoers want to subject themselves to the bad acting and script in repeated viewings? It doesn’t have the humor of Gunn’s Guardians of the Galaxy and writer/director Gunn appears to be a big part of the problem.
Where Marvel’s Spiderman brought all three current and previous actors together to great success, Routh – Cavill – and Corenswett, who could all be brothers with their resemblances, would have been a nice and easy fit into a “pocket universe.” But Kryptonite, oh my God, it’s like doing an origin story all over again. Enough. How many slings and arrows does Corenswett’s character have to suffer? A Superman film where Superman is not super is like sour milk, and that is what James Gunn is feeding the audience. Heck, I’d like to cast Cavill/Routh/Corenswett in a remake of the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello 60’s smash Beach Blanket Bingo, but that’s me.
How about the Earthly casting for Ma and Pa Kal-El – Clark Kent? (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) What is this, the Beverly Hillbillies, such poor casting another reason why it doesn’t hold up to repeated spins save for the youngsters today that Gunn is certainly wanting to appeal to. The casting in the original 1970s movie, especially for Clark Kent’s parents and his younger self (Jeff East) just sterling.
OK, Joe, what do you like about the film? Super Dog is fantastic, the sets are beautiful, the robots in Superman’s ice palace brilliant and not used properly, and – again – had Gunn brought the previous two Supermen back for the pocket universe instead of the tired old Kryptonite cliche, well, what a wasted opportunity. And the only thing worse than Nicholas Cage as Superman in The Flash multi-verse disaster is Ben Affleck as Batman, but I digress. The Flash used images in 2023 of George Reeves, Christopher Reeve and Nicholas Cage, but as mere cameos. Cavill, Routh and Corenswett congregating in the pocket-verse rather than the kryptonite would have possibly saved the day. Except that this mess of a film has all the convoluted worst elements of the Avenger movies AND the Flash. But what do I know? The Avengers smashed the box office as Lex Luthor hoped to smash Superman with Trumpian lies in this one. With Nicholas Hoult about as effective as the lame Joker Jared Leto (2016 Suicide Squad,) or the idiotic casting of Ezra Miller as Flash (why not TV Flash star Grant Gustin?) the film is a roller coaster ride for the kids, of a deeply wounded Superman and immense film cacophony
A Commentary by Joe Viglione
SUPERMAN RETURNS 2006 with Brandon Routh
MAN OF STEEL 2013 with Henry Cavill as Superman
SUPERMAN 2025 with David Corenswett
