Will's Watches: Superman
Superman (2025), Superman: The Movie (1978), and more
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Spoiler Free Section:
Superman (2025):
Probably my most anticipated movie of 2025, we finally made it to Superman. This is a movie that had to succeed. We’re seeing the first movie in a launch of an entirely new superhero cinematic universe helmed by James Gunn with the most iconic comic book character of all time, so the pressure is absolutely on.
And I’m really happy to say, in my opinion, Mr. Gunn absolutely delivered #GunnsBlazin.
What a fun, bright, and enjoyable movie. David Corenswet knocks it out of the park as the most comic accurate Superman we’ve seen on screen since the 1978 version. They really bring you back to the roots of the character and do a fantastic job giving us a positive, inspiring portrayal that truly lives up to the moniker of the Big Blue Boy Scout. He’s an alien with superpowers that essentially make him a god amongst men, but he just wants to use them to do good for others. A fantastic job of showing Superman’s humanity onscreen. There’s some corniness, but that’s kinda what Superman is supposed to be so I did not mind it. Suit also works trunks and all.
This is also one of the most comic book-y comic book movies that we’ve ever gotten. Everything is bright, all the costumes are ripped right off the page, so many side characters I never would have expected. Not to mention we got the John Williams score back and it’s just as iconic as it’s always been. In normal James Gunn fashion, comedy is great too.
There were a bunch of side characters so won’t hit all of them, but seeing Krypto on screen was such a joy, can’t say enough about Mr. Terrific being a huge highlight, Guy Gardner Green Lantern was great, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane was perfect, and Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor was amazing. Dude is just a generational hater.
Now it’s not perfect, they’re juggling a lot trying to set up an entire cinematic universe, so the movie can feel a little clunky at times. But I was still left wanting to see more out of this world and these characters, which I think was definitely their main goal.
Growing up, DC animated shows and movies were always on my TV screen, so I’ve always loved these characters, and it’s a shame that we haven’t been able to get a proper cinematic universe going. Marvel has owned the movie game for 20 years, but DC has so many characters and stories that are worth seeing on the big screen. I was a big fan of some of the Snyderverse stuff (I think Man of Steel is the most badass Superman has ever been on screen and still love that movie), but they never really nailed the cinematic universe part, which is where DC can really shine. All that being said, I’m just super pumped we got a great kick-off to the DCU and I can’t wait to see what’s next.
TL;DR: James Gunn did Superman justice and we got the best portrayal of the character that we’ve seen in a long time. Very comic book-y, funny, and endearing. Just had me cheesin’ and happy which was super refreshing. Go see it on a big screen and have a great time.
Ranking: 4.5 stars (90 raw score)
Supertrivia:
Krypto's presence in the film was first revealed in October 2024 by Gunn via social media to commemorate Adopt a Shelter Dog Month. For his first live-action appearance in film, Krypto was based on Gunn's own rescue dog, Ozu who's likeness was used as inspiration and the basis for the 3D model of Krypto, according to James Gunn. Ozu was 3D scanned and then digitally altered to resemble Krypto. Krypto is traditionally depicted as a white Labrador or Shepherd in the comics, while Ozu is of a scruffy, smaller dog breed.
Extra Bites:
See below for the other content I’ve been watching lately. As always, all my movie reviews go up first on my Letterboxd account. To keep it simple, the four categories here are: Absolute Cinema (incredible content), Would Watch Again (good stuff, recommend), Probably Wouldn’t Watch Again (it’s okay at best but would not recommend), Nico Harrison (it’s the worst thing to ever happen to my life)
Superman: The Movie (1978)
Had never seen this before and definitely get why this is the gold standard of Superman films. Just an absolute classic. Visual effects are obviously very old, but Christopher Reeve was the real deal. Don’t know if we’ll ever see a better done Clark Kent/Kal-El transition than when he stands up straight and takes off his glasses. This rocked and definitely still holds up.
Except for when there was a street vendor yelling “fresh fruits and vegetables, get em while their hot” or when Superman saved a cat from a tree to give back to a little girl who then proceeded to get audibly slapped by her mother for “lying”. Yikes!
Verdict: Would Watch Again
Coming Soon:
Included below are some of the movies coming out over the next month
Eddington- July 18th
The Fantastic Four: First Steps - July 25th
The Naked Gun- August 1st
Weapons- August 8th
For Me: Okay I pushed dinosaurs back because of Superman but I’ll put my thoughts out soon
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SPOILER SECTION
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So one comic change was Jor-El Bradley Cooper (surprise) sending a message with Superman basically telling him to feel free to become the leader of Earth, kill people if you need to, and make a secret harem to populate the world with your super children. So that’s not great but I didn’t mind it that much, it gave a good conflict to his strict morals and also helped deliver the super heartwarming moments with Pa Kent and the family montage at the end. That got me and left me feeling great walking out of the theater
I had not heard of the hypno-glasses thing for Clark Kent before, so that was interesting. Giving him Tik Tok E-boy broccoli hair was very fitting
We get our first look at Milly Alcock as Supergirl showing up at the end to pick up Krypto, and that’s a masterclass in introducing a character in 5 seconds and showing us what the whole vibe of her movie will be
Reveal that Ultra-Man was a Superman clone was extremely obvious and I think anyone who’s ever had an interest in Superman probably saw that one coming
Mr. Terrific’s Yondu-esque scene was badass. The T-Spheres flowing around while the music is playing, that’s James Gunn man. Big fan of that character, so surprisingly charismatic, thought they did an amazing job with him
Lex Luthor generational hater. Dude has an encyclopedia of fighting moves to pull out on the dude he hates. Financing a whole invasion into a country just to get permission to beat up his op. 1A! 1A! 1A!!!!!!
Jimmie Olsen bit of all women inexplicably being in love with him is just a great bit. Well done
James Gunn’s brother popping in at the end to say “one thing conservatives and liberals can agree on is that Lex Luthor sucks” was the hardest I laughed during the movie
Krypto in general was great, loved Superman’s relationship with him, he’s kind of just taking care of him and is not equipped to do so but still loves him. Just insane that we have Krypto in a movie
“You got the upgrade” Guy Gardner entrance was actually pretty sick. He was super funny, Nathan Fillion may be a nepo-actor with James Gunn but he’s still pretty good
Superman coming out of the dust shot after that building falls was NUTS