Superman (2025) Review: "Guardians of the Galaxy" Director Joins The DC Cinematic Universe

 

Copyright © Warner Bros. Pictures, DC Studios

Title: Superman (2025)

Director: James Gunn Based on: Characters from DC

Release Date: July 11, 2025

    James Gunn comes back to set the DCU bar back up to high. After The Flash and Blue Beetle flopped in 2023, plus Joker: Folie à Deux's flop last year, DC had a huge problem when it came to its films. This year, this movie might change that. Today's movie, which is my last film of the month, is Superman (2025), the new movie based on the eponymous superhero. Despite the budget being an enormous $225 million, the movie managed to be a box office success at approximately $432 million worldwide, along with being mostly a critical success from both critics and audiences everywhere. It was praised for its cast performances and choreographed action, although some criticized the runtime and controversies. All thanks to the director, Superman (2025) flies to save the DC cinematic universe from dying.

Summary

   "When Superman gets drawn into conflicts at home and abroad, his actions are questioned, giving tech billionaire Lex Luthor the opportunity to get the Man of Steel out of the way for good. Will intrepid reporter Lois Lane and Superman's four-legged companion, Krypto, be able to help him before it's too late?" - Google

Reasons

    The strengths of Superman (2025) are the bold direction, awesome performances, and faithfulness to the comics. Since James Gunn previously directed the Guardians of the Galaxy franchise and The Suicide Squad, he seemed like the perfect fit for this movie. Instead of making it anything edgy, it has an optimistic tone that aligns well with the Superman comics. This would make not only fans impressed, but non-fans (like me) would love it as well, even if they are just going to look for the only good DC movies. Along the side, the performances are breakout-coded, yet most of them are from people we have never heard of before. Honestly, David Corenswet was not a good fit for Superman himself, but his acting made his character great. As for the others, like Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor, they make their roles feel like they were ripped straight from the original material. Compared to other DC films, it is very accurate to the comics. To get the big kaiju out of the room, it has a lot of the key aspects from the material, like the Fortress of Solitude, the Daily Planet, and even Krypto the Superdog. Its references to the Silver Age comics are what make this film stand out.
    Other strengths of Superman (2025) are the likable characters, eye-catching visuals, and beautiful cinematography. Unlike the other recent DC movies, the characters are not changed in any way, so they can still be their true selves. The hero himself, Superman, is a normal man who may be an alien, but he shines with optimism to save the world. To get another example from the other side, Lex Luthor, the villain, is a chillingly evil billionaire who uses smart AI tactics to try to defeat his enemy. All the other characters, like Lois Lane and Krypto, were likable, too. Moving on to the movie's next highlight, it has a colorful palette. Instead of treating it like The Batman or Joker, it uses bright colors for its hopeful aesthetic without looking too much like a kids movie. Heck, if you pause the movie, the frame would look like a comic book panel. As the last celebrated element to explain, the cinematography is immersive. The camera can both observe anything and fly along with Superman. Small moments, notably close-ups of the S-shield, are going to make the film iconic in this decade of DC.
    Despite being an awesome film, Superman (2025) does have its Kryptonite weaknesses, which are David Corenswet's design, some underdeveloped characters, and the overstuffed plot. Thankfully, they brought back Superman's haircut and costume, but the body type should have been similar to the comics. I am sorry for being this harsh, but if this movie wants to be comic-accurate, then at least give him some muscles on his body. As a few have complained, some of the side characters feel underdeveloped. The ones that joined the battle, Hawkgirl and Green Lantern, had missed potentials to be full characters, thanks to limited screen time or a flat setup. For the last part, the plot feels overstuffed. To pad the runtime to 2 hours and 9 minutes, it either uses multiple subplots or adds too many characters, just to make this movie qualify as a superhero movie.

Conclusion

    In short, Superman (2025) just saved the DC cinematic universe from more box office failures. It is not a perfect superhero film by any means, but when it comes to DC's grossing in the 2020s, it is better than the ones that are pure slop. James Gunn joined Warner Bros. to make a good Superman movie after about a decade. Awesome direction, characters, and visuals cause this film to live up to its title. For those who need to experience a bit of DC, give this a look, even if you feel that it is sort of overrated.

    Score: 8/10 (look up)