Spoilers Superman (2025) Grade and Discussion

My head canons are full of hand wave continuities. This definitely felt like an extra vague sequel to the Donner film and really the sequels including Superman Returns. If you ignore certain details and take certain story points and following forward. Lois meeting his parents for first time is a big one.

I always thought it easy to see Ruby Spears as vague sequel. Even easier today imagine a criminal like Lex going legitimate and lots of people willing to ignore his past…

Relayer1 said:

That surprised me, as did how overtly political it was, albeit with the serial numbers filed off.

Both in a good way. Nicely played Hawkgirl !

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That didn't work for me - some clearly Russian country bordering seem vaguely middle east/maybe Africa country?? Seemed confused.

Also Hawkgirl killing the president means that people are right about metahumans - humans are not in control.

Dick Whitman said:

John Byrne made a Krypton that was very alien and more advanced than Earth.

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Bryne filed the serial numbers off Asimov's spacers and called it a day.

I dunno. Didn't remind me of the old movies at all.

I liked it a lot better.

The Realist said:

Nah. Not a problem for Lois across any number of continuities.

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If anything it setups that Lois and Clark can have children. Clearly his birth parents seemed to think he was compatible with human women!

JoseNoodles said:

It was a great film. It had the action, vibrant colors, and lightheartedness of the Bruce Timm Superman show, but with a little cussin and some adult-themes. I think Gunn did a little deconstruction of Superman and what it means to be a superhero without making Clark a brooding figure like in the DCEU. I do still wonder if Jor-El and Lara-Lor Van's message really says what Luthor claimed it did, since he's not person who operates in good faith, and it seems no one outside the robots seems to understand Kryptonian.

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I think we’re clearly supposed to accept that the complete message as presented by Luthor is accurate.

BTW, did everyone catch Tudyk's billing as "Gary?"

The Realist said:

I think we’re clearly supposed to accept that the complete message as presented by Luthor is accurate.

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The film makes it clear multiple times the message is real - the conversation with Pa is pointless if it is not.

I am not a big fan of James Gunn's work, but was surprised to find I was mostly liking this...

Until the big change in Superman's backstory. Especially with all the talk in the media about how this is an "immigrant story"? The reveal about his birth parents treat as fact some of the most damaging conspiracy theories of our time and I just found it gross. Took me completely out of the movie and I couldn't find my way back in.

JoeZhang said:

That didn't work for me - some clearly Russian country bordering seem vaguely middle east/maybe Africa country?? Seemed confused.

Also Hawkgirl killing the president means that people are right about metahumans - humans are not in control.

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Not the current conflict most people have identified it with.

Fucking loved this movie! While I initially had no plans to, by the end of Sunday I will have seen it three times. I initially bought my tickets for the Sunday show and was content to see it then. Got out of work early on Thursday and on a lark decided to see if there were advanced showings and there were and having nothing better to do, went and saw it. After having enjoyed the hell out of it, I realized I wanted to do something I haven't *wanted* to do in I don't know how long:

See the movie in packed theater.

I wanted to see the reactions to Krypto, Guy, Mr. Terrific, the moments with Lois, and Ma and Pa Kent and Kara. So I said "fuck it" and went to an 7pm showing last night, a Friday night, something I avoid like the plague. It did not disappoint. The audience laughed, "awwwed" at Krypto, the kiss at the end, the convo with Pa Kent, and there was definite excitement when Kara showed up at the end. There was applause for about a minute when the credits started rolling! People loved it and it was awesome to see Superman and a DC film get that kind of love!

Yeah, Cavil (my favorite Superman) is now a close second behind Corenswet. This is, without a doubt, the single most relatable live action Superman ever put to screen. The most human. We all have something we want in the character and mine is I want a Superman who, in addition to being a stand up guy, acts like a normal person. And we got that in spades. He gets flustered, exasperated and angry. He's not an introvert carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders like Cavil, nor feels like a saint who keeps anything even remotely resembling a negative emotion in complete check like Reeve. This is the Superman I've wanted to see for decades. The Superman that I knew would appeal to people and kill the whole "Superman is boring" thing, because this guy is anything but boring.

As for the movie? Yeah, it was fucking awesome! I loved it as a Superman fan, and, just as importantly, as a DC comics fan. I loved the full on embrace of the comics, I enjoyed the Byrne power levels that means he has to struggle more than we're used to. I enjoyed the chemistry between Corenswet and Brosnahan (sp), loved Guy as he was the asshole with a heart of gold, also loved that he was called "Green Lantern" (Ryan who?)

Mr. Terrific was...well...Terrific. I've been a fan of the character since he popped up in JSA (my favorite superhero team) twenty some odd years ago. So to see him, not just in the film, but with one of the best scenes in the film as well as one of my favorite lines ("I'm goddamn Mr. Terrific!") was a real treat. Loved Hawkgirl as well, wish she'd gotten a more memore memorable scene like Guy and Terrific did. The music was great, the highs were high, and not gonna lie, I got a little teary eyed at couple spots in the film. It had a lot of heart and heroics and hit all the right emotional beats for me as well as having all the superhero dustup's you could want.

There wasn't really anything that hurt the movie for me. I had some nits, but if looked at from the point of view that this is a comic book come to life, then I can handwave them away. Most notably how fast the public turns on Supes, then goes back to revering him and villifying Luthor. Like it happens instantly within minutes in both cases. Not a fan of the Kryptonian thing anymore than I am attempts at making Thomas Wayne a bad guy and Kara's personality was a *little* jarring as I'm used to her being more inline with the recent tv show. But I also know what it's based on and will probably give that a read so that it's more familiar by the time Supergirl rolls around. Metamorpho's kid had some dodgy CGI, and Metamorpho's personality felt off, but I can't recall anything else making me stand up and take notice.

Anyway, it's fantastic to see a Superman / DC flick get this kind of love. I cannot wait to see where this new DC universe goes and am excited for Supergirl. I've seen the rumors of Mr. Terrific getting a show, but I'd rather they not. Just give him a movie. It was the TV shows that caused me to check out of the MCU because what once felt like "events" that were relatively easy to keep up with became the opposite of that. Ditto for Star Wars.

And yeah, I'm seeing a lot of haters out there too. Funny thing is, it's not just "Snyderbros" or Fox News, there seem to be a LOT of Reeve fans out there shitting on the movie too. "He get's his ass kicked all throughout the movie and gets ridiculed a lot" or they found Supes immature, too snarky, they didn't like the "Marvel" style humour, or the CGI or the inclusion of the other heroes....really it just comes off as a generation of fans having resentment that a generation defining Superman has finally stepped up to send Chris off to join George (and Brandon and Henry) in the Land of Superman's Past. That this will be the Superman that this generation adores. That this is a Superman for this day and age. One that is still a straight up good guy, but one more in tune with the times and it's people.

As all timeless heroes are.

So yeah.
It was fucking awesome.

Go see it.

Thanks for coming to my TED talk lol

Relayer1 said:

Not the current conflict most people have identified it with.

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I know the conflict people have identified it with I am talking about what is actually onscreen.

The Lensman said:

Yeah, Cavil (my favorite Superman) is now a close second behind Corenswet. This is, without a doubt, the single most relatable live action Superman ever put to screen. The most human. We all have something we want in the character and mine is I want a Superman who, in addition to being a stand up guy, acts like a normal person. And we got that in spades. He gets flustered, exasperated and angry. He's not an introvert carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders like Cavil, nor feels like a saint who keeps anything even remotely resembling a negative emotion in complete check like Reeve. This is the Superman I've wanted to see for decades. The Superman that I knew would appeal to people and kill the whole "Superman is boring" thing, because this guy is anything but boring.

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Speaking as one of those people who has found Superman boring for most of his life, I have to agree with you here. The film finally present the character in an engaging and interesting way that hasn't been done before (aside from the first two Reeve films).

The Lensman said:

I had some nits, but if looked at from the point of view that this is a comic book come to life, then I can handwave them away. Most notably how fast the public turns on Supes, then goes back to revering him and villifying Luthor. Like it happens instantly within minutes in both cases.

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You know what? Looking at the film through a comic book lens, that does work. I agree with you and others that this film fully embraced its comic book nature that few other films have done (and done well) and I say that as massive Nolan and MCU fan. With that in mind, the fast shifting public opinion does work.

That said, I'm still a little weighed down by the fact that it was also intended as an allegory for how people consume news media now. Either way, I'll keep the sharp comic book lens in mind the next time I watch the film.

Ceridwen said:

I am not a big fan of James Gunn's work, but was surprised to find I was mostly liking this...

Until the big change in Superman's backstory. Especially with all the talk in the media about how this is an "immigrant story"? The reveal about his birth parents treat as fact some of the most damaging conspiracy theories of our time and I just found it gross. Took me completely out of the movie and I couldn't find my way back in.

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Superman has always been an immigrant. It's always been an integral part of the story. The people who don't get that don't get Superman and their opinions about it are therefore meaningless.

Turtletrekker said:

Superman has always been an immigrant. It's always been an integral part of the story. The people who don't get that don't get Superman and their opinions about it are therefore meaningless.

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Yes, I know that.

Usually he has been allowed to preserve both parts of his history in the process, like many immigrants do. Now his "foreign" legacy is one of conquest and eugenics, literal "they're here to take our jobs and our wimmen" conspiracy theory nonsense.

For all the bright colors and talk of optimism, it's a really cynical move on the part of this movie.

I mostly enjoyed it. It took me about 15 minutes to get into it, but once there I was in. During the last battles of the film, I thought, "canis ex machina" but - at least that was different." Didn't really need the Jor El, message; I kept thinking, "People are taking Luthor as his word". After Clark said the dog was a foster, I immediately said to myself, "Krypto is Kara's".

I guess even the extraterrestrials (or at least the human-passing ones) are being labeled metahuman. And nice to see the Hall of Justice. Found it interesting to see Sean Gunn as Maxwell Lord and realized the prior live action Maxwell Lord will be playing Reed Richards in a few weeks.

I actually sprung for a showing with open seats yesterday afternoon after work - it was an IMAX 3D showing and let me tell you - best 3D movie work I've seen in years. Had a little problem in that the ticket taker at my local Regal handed a few people the wrong type 3D glasses so some of us had a few minutes of "the glasses aren't working".

Should be seeing tomorrow morning.

Ceridwen said:

Yes, I know that.

Usually he has been allowed to preserve both parts of his history in the process, like many immigrants do. Now his "foreign" legacy is one of conquest and eugenics, literal "they're here to take our jobs and our wimmen" conspiracy theory nonsense.

For all the bright colors and talk of optimism, it's a really cynical move on the part of this movie.

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I’ve seen this criticism, and I think it actually has some validity if one chooses to do a deep dive into the movie in terms of real-world allegorical implications. It’s unfortunate in that sense, but I don’t think it was intentional or “cynical.” More likely just Gunn not thinking all the way down that particular thematic rabbit hole. And ultimately, the movie is about these specific characters and their world, not our own.

The Realist said:

I’ve seen this criticism, and I think it actually has some validity if one chooses to do a deep dive into the movie in terms of real-world allegorical implications. It’s unfortunate in that sense, but I don’t think it was intentional or “cynical.” More likely just Gunn not thinking all the way down that particular thematic rabbit hole. And ultimately, the movie is about these specific characters and their world, not our own.

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Every movie is about our world. It's made by and for our world. If it were completely alien, it wouldn't mean anything.

Ceridwen said:

Every movie is about our world. It's made by and for our world. If it were completely alien, it wouldn't mean anything.

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Yes. Also no. Both can be true, and I tried to suggest why in my post.