Superman SPOILER Review Thread (NO TAGS NECESSARY)

[Black Narcissus]

When you and your wife are like, "they are dumb and you can kill those that annoy you" that's evil.

See, this makes me a None Superman comic fan more interested in the character.

The notion that his og parents had these type of ideals, tis kinda in his nature in a way to conquer, but because he was raised by a loving human couple, he does the opposite. The human race got lucky etc. I find that more interesting, Having said that! I really liked Russell Crowe version, the last time he gave a good performance imo, last time we all saw his waistline.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

See, this makes me a None Superman comic fan more interested in the character.

The notion that his og parents had these type of ideals, tis kinda in his nature in a way to conquer, but because he was raised by a loving human couple, he does the opposite. The human race got lucky etc. I find that more interesting, Having said that! I really liked Russell Crowe version, the last time he gave a good performance imo, last time we all saw his waistline.

Beyond my personal investment in the character, I'm just not a fan of the idea of emphasizing a character's immigrant status, and then being told he was sent here to rule. There is too many real world parallels.

As for Crowe, really did like his Jor-El. But he's also had The Nice Guys and Unhinged since.

 

[dhandler01]

The Kryptonians Post Crisis were rather cold, sterile and detached...people almost never interacted and were completely insular. Gunn seems to have leaned into that characterization.

Goyer took the "birthing matrix" stuff from that same reboot.

 

[Tra-El]

Seated for round #2 for the GOAT! \S/ko

 

[SomeOldGuy]

Just out, and my initial reaction is, what a really sweet film. Just an absolute charmer. Reminded me very, very strongly of the Superman and JL animated series, which imho is a good model to follow, DC animation has been routinely excellent. I though Corenswet and Brosnahan were both excellent, and Hoult’s Luther was a refreshing return to having a Lex I could just flat-out hate. Despite a pretty large cast it didn’t feel overstuffed, and I came out liking the Justice Gang more than I expected. Solid 8/10 and a promising start to the Gunn DC universe.

 

[Black Narcissus]

Supergirl scene leaked.

Yeah, that film is going to be my jam.

If Snyder had another character call Supes the B word yall would be in flames.

 

[BobJM]

It would have been nice to see Lois in the finale a bit more, but otherwise I was pretty happy with how involved she was throughout the film.

We didn’t really get to see her as a plucky reporter-in-action; just in the bullpen & her apartment. Hopefully we get that in the sequel.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

It would have been nice to see Lois in the finale a bit more, but otherwise I was pretty happy with how involved she was throughout the film.

We didn’t really get to see her as a plucky reporter-in-action; just in the bullpen & her apartment. Hopefully we get that in the sequel.

She's kind of doing the reporter thing the whole movie. Her with Terrific and when she's dictating to Jimmy as she flies the ship.

 

[BobJM]

No doubt she was a reporter throughout; I just liked what we got of her & wanted more.

 

[Erik Lensherr]

This movie was fun. I was surprised by Nicholas Hoult. He played a very good Lex, he's clever and you hate him.

I love the pro-Palestinian message. Here in Germany, critics hate the movie for that reason (they don't say it, but it's obvious).

 

[Primal Slayer]

Watched it for a 2nd time. Still enjoyed it. Still holds at an 8.5.

Still believe that Gunn made the film toooo short and we needed at minimum 15mins added to breathe more. Some scenes do move so quickly.

While I still don't HATE what they did with Jor/Lara-El...I do think it wouldve been stronger if they left it up to the audience to decide if this were true or not and explore it further in a potential sequel. Super-bots and whatever kryptonian technology they have not being able to fix this message but a nanite-made Metahuman being able to that easily and that quickly is a bit much.

I do wish we got more of reporter Clark. What we got was nice but he's just not around that much. Perry never even wonders where he is when Metropolis is breaking apart.

The audience still loved it. They still laughed throughout and when I went to the bathroom someone came in and said that it was the best Superman movie they'd seen. So there's that.

 

[BarryLyndon]

I've seen it three times.

I had expectations, read some of the leaks, hoped for a lot while knowing having to start a brand + reinvent superman was not an easy task. But I trusted James Gunn.

1st viewing 6.5 / 10 : Liked it, the weaks points were mainly expectations of where I wanted the story to go
and some directing choice.

2nd viewing 7.5 / 10 : Had so much fun, really went fully in, laughed a lot more, took the ride as it was.

3rd viewing 8 / 10 : A blast, pure satire from Gunn, some soft body horror, all characters are full stereotypes with a twist in them. Still some weakness with the script and editing but it didn't matter anymore. It's just bold and takes risk, which is something I appreciate.

Basically, it's a movie that grows I think. It has weakness in terms of some pacing and writing, but it's a great piece of entertainment. I still laugh at that fight in the background while Clark and Lois are talking, it's so weird and new it really establish this universe. Also everyone panicking at the daily bugle while Perry, Lois and Jimmy are working trying to publish their story. All those subtle moments that feels like Gunn's humour is something I really cherish and find quite unique.

And I like that Supergirl is introduce in the movie instead of the PostCredits scenes, it's part of the film with Krypto, even if it was just a cameo it made sense with the story.

It has that Raimi Spider-man vibe. Cheesy, fun with a big heart.

Let's go DC!

 

[X Knight]

In regards to the whole Jor-El/Lara deal. My initial impression was that the message was doctored/tampered with by Lex to discredit Superman. Which fits into what Lex was trying to do the whole movie. I mean, it even felt like 2 messages spliced together because to me, the voice-over for the 2nd half sound sounded a bit different than the first half.

At least that was my initial impression. Don't know if any one else picked up on that?

I just feel like there's more to that part of the story and not as clear-cut as some people are making it out to be. Definitely can be explored more in a sequel, especially if a certain evil AI is involved.

 

[Primal Slayer]

James Gunn Took a Huge Risk By Changing Superman's Origin Story, Does It Work?​

"I’m a huge Superman fan, so first of all I had to trust myself that I was going to honor the pieces of Superman that we needed to keep the same and also allow myself to make changes where changes might work and wouldn’t go against the integrity of who the character is,"
Gunn seems to have never wavered in that trust in himself, at least not so far as Kal-El’s origins are concerned. Taking such a risk in the first film of the new DCU might seem like a big swing, but Jor-El and Lara’s nefarious intentions were in the script from the earliest days of the project. "It was in James's first draft," DC Studios co-chairperson and co-CEO Peter Safran shared with IGN. "The story hasn't changed at all. It's exactly what he initially pitched and wrote. James was always very specific about the story that he wanted to tell," Safran continued. "What you see is the movie that he genuinely wanted to make."

So how does Safran feel about the change? "I love it. I never questioned it," he told IGN. "I thought it was an incredibly effective thing. I just love the idea that family is about bond, not necessarily about blood. And that's his family. These people are his family and they're there for him when he's down, and then they're what bring him back up as well at the end. So I loved that in the script and I love it even more in the movie because I think the performances are so strong."

In the words of Gunn, making the Els essentially antithetical to who Superman becomes was "simply allowing ourselves to change part of the story in a way that was interesting for the DCU but wasn’t something that went against who Superman was." It allows for some of the film's most powerful emotional moments and gives Clark an impressive amount of agency over his heroic legacy. Gunn is aware of the impact of the choice, but correctly points out that "it’s something that has been played with in the comics before."

James Gunn Took a Huge Risk By Changing Superman's Origin Story, Does It Work? - IGN

James Gunn's Superman gives a fresh take to the Kryptonian's origin story, but Smallville and comic fans might see the twist coming when it's all said and done.

www.ign.com

How This Twist Changes Superman Forever​

There are a few other examples, and all the examples of an evil Jor-El and/or Lara exist outside of “regular” canon. So as Gunn admits, this is a pretty big swing. Most of us would never have assumed Superman’s birth parents could be so horrible. And yet, Superman’s family is the key to the entire movie.

“I didn't want to take something away from him that was elemental to who he was, but I did want him to deal with a personal crisis,” Gunn explains, referring to the big twist.

“I wanted at the heart of this story to be about Superman the human being and him struggling with something about the way he sees himself and his identity crisis,” Gunn says, “and then finding his new faith in himself through that process. So, the easiest way was to change what we expect about the mythology of Superman. But, in a way that doesn't really hurt him because he still has his foundation in Ma and Pa Kent.”

For Gunn, this concept is the whole point.

“I wanted to portray Mom and Pop Kent a little bit differently than they have been in movies or in TV,” Gunn says. “I was excited to write them and make them a part of the story from the beginning. There are plenty of stories in the comics where they're not passed away, they're around a lot, so I wanted to include that.”

“I think that I was really careful with what I changed or didn't change about Superman,” Gunn says. “I love the character.”

'Superman's' Biggest Canon Change Redefines The Hero Forever

In the new 2025 'Superman,' one detail about Superman's family on Krypton has been changed. James Gunn tells us why.

www.inverse.com

 

[X Knight]

Well yeah he's saying that now. But doesn't mean there isn't more to the story than can be revealed later on in a sequel if they choose to do so.

 

[Tra-El]

This movie was fun. I was surprised by Nicholas Hoult. He played a very good Lex, he's clever and you hate him.

I love the pro-Palestinian message. Here in Germany, critics hate the movie for that reason (they don't say it, but it's obvious).

Coming out of my second viewing, man, Hoult really goes for it. I love the sound and tone of his voice and how he says things. And I couldn't place it at first, but he reminds me of a young Tom Cruise throughout. It blew my mind when that clicked lol. What a film, though. A true blue and tattooed Superman movie filled to the brim with pure goodness that can feed the most starved fan off this side of Krypton. The entire idea flows once you buckle down for a second time. Just a great time to spend for the love of Big Blue (and I enjoyed how Gunn inserted his nicknames into the script. Big Blue; Supes, etc). Love it.

 

[MAN O STEEL]

WELL IM A PUNK ROCKER, YES I AM!!

 

[AndrewGilkison]

I wasn't really a big fan of the Top Gun Maverick style opening crawl. Pointless.

This was easily the most "comic booky" Superman movie we've gotten to date. A mix of 80s and 90s post-crisis comics and pre-crisis silver age trappings and concepts. I love that all Clark has of Jor-El and Lara is old footage and jumbled up messages. It gives the destruction of Kyrpton more weight when everyone who didn't get off of it before it exploded is dead dead. So ultimately Clark has no way to know the whole truth or get a complete picture.

Mr. Terrific absolutely stole the show.

This is the best movie Lex Luthor we've ever gotten. I really hope in the next movie he beats the rap and is still running LuthorCorp. I love Lex more as an untouchable rich guy, and we got more stories to tell with that.

David Corenswet was great. This Superman is young and idealistic. He feels much more human than Cavill ever felt as the character.

Rachel Brosnan... I want her to play Lois Lane for the next 15 to 20 years.

All and all, I want to see more of this DC universe. It feels lived in and right out of the comics.

 

[DarthSkywalker]

View attachment 141383
WELL IM A PUNK ROCKER, YES I AM!!

IS this an officially released pic?

 

[Black Narcissus]

I do want to see Krypton being destroyed but from Supergirl pov.

 

[BobJM]

I wasn't really a big fan of the Top Gun Maverick style opening crawl. Pointless.

This was easily the most "comic booky" Superman movie we've gotten to date. A mix of 80s and 90s post-crisis comics and pre-crisis silver age trappings and concepts. I love that all Clark has of Jor-El and Lara is old footage and jumbled up messages. It gives the destruction of Kyrpton more weight when everyone who didn't get off of it before it exploded is dead dead. So ultimately Clark has no way to know the whole truth or get a complete picture.

Mr. Terrific absolutely stole the show.

This is the best movie Lex Luthor we've ever gotten. I really hope in the next movie he beats the rap and is still running LuthorCorp. I love Lex more as an untouchable rich guy, and we got more stories to tell with that.

David Corenswet was great. This Superman is young and idealistic. He feels much more human than Cavill ever felt as the character.

Rachel Brosnan... I want her to play Lois Lane for the next 15 to 20 years.

All and all, I want to see more of this DC universe. It feels lived in and right out of the comics.

I loved the opening crawl. But I love a text card or opening narration, so might just be my bias.

 

[Nemeres]

I saw it twice in 2 days. The first was a very frustrating experience due to me dozing off and losing track of the plot completely (end of a long week, had been up since 4 AM). I also saw it in Spanish, and the dubbing does a great job, but some of the jokes and Gunn's quick banter inevitably get lost in translation (ex: "man of the cloth" translated as just "man in a suit"). I've now seen it in English and feel fairly qualified to discuss it.
..................................
PROS

- Corenswet slays. He makes Superman the most endearing and watchable he's been since Reeve. The characterization of this Superman works so beautifully it makes any other issues in the film feel forgivable. "Optimism is the new punk rock". It's a cheesy line, but it's a stance the film commits to: Clark Kent is supposed to look a bit naive and out of step, it's his character flaw, and a stubborn act of rebellion you'll never snap him out of. The movie works bc the character works in a way SR and MOS never pulled off.

- Brosnahan's Lois. She's not only a competent journalist, which we've seen before, but she's a great foil to Clark. I don't think we've ever seen the difference in perspectives between Lois and Clark as well mined as we get here. Movie-wise, it's a brand new dimension of the Clois relationship, and I love that it's put front and center.

- The action is great and it makes you wanna take a Superman action figure and play around. Superman dodging fire blasts, battling the Hammer in the city, Ultraman and Engineer in the stadium, keeping buildings from crushing people - it's cool ****. You prove here that good Superman action can be done without eclipsing the characters completely.

- Supporting characters. Jimmy is not just there for journo-plot, he also gets a lot of great laughs. People loved Mr Terrific. That they made Pa Kent the more emotional and tear-prone and worrywart of the two parents was great.

- The Boravia/Jarhanpur conflict, I love that it's topical and that the complexity of modern wars factors into the plot. Making Superman take a stance (and portraying it as potentially wrongheaded) was a good angle, bc it's part of the Superman power fantasy: If I could help all those people from suffering senselessly, would I? Yes. That belongs in a Superman film in a way that it doesn't in Spider-Man or Batman.

CONS

- The treatment of certain concepts felt a bit slight. I'd have liked it if the difference in philosophies with the Justice Gang re: killing had been more interesting and dramatic. Then the JG being a corporate thing could have been a bigger point of contention. They're interesting ideas that get treated a bit superficially.

- The pocket universe section kills the film's momentum a bit. A 2nd viewing let me appreciate the inventiveness of things like the proton river, but I stilI felt the audience getting a bit restless during.

- Minor: civilians and collateral damage will forever be an issue in Superman movies, apparently. But it bugged me during the kaiju fight that people are just hanging around w little panic, a short distance away from the monster's feet. The dude eating while the fight happens just outside his window. The girl that Superman saves from the yellow propane cylinders was just walking home distractedly? Even in a silly comicbook-y world, it makes the stakes feel low.

- The DP staff got badly shortchanged. All I remember Cat Grant doing is 1) tell Lois briefly about her ex, and 2) celebrate on the T-Craft at the end. Wendell Pierce did more talking in 1 minute of a junket video than in the film. I wanted more Lombard, Beck Bennet deserved better.
..................................
I was worried I'd be left feeling ambivalent ab the film, like some have. But I walked out happy and, despite seeing it twice in 24 hours, looking fwd to seeing it again. It had thrills, heart, style and a smart perspective on the character and what makes him unique. This is, finally, a live-action Superman movie I'll want to defend and rewatch for fun. 8/10

 

[titansupes]

Why does everyone keep calling it an opening crawl... it doesn't crawl anywhere... the Star Wars one crawls... It's just opening text...

In regard to the El's... I'm in wait and see mode. I much, much prefer them being altruistic, but there's definitely story potential in this kind of take, and it does place even further importance on the Kents. There's also enough wiggle room in how it was done that it could easily be revealed that Lex doctored it. But we'll see.

 

[tanita_mors]

Regarding El's, I think they left enough room there to backtrack on the reveal in the sequel - make it into a doctored video or maybe just being edited to sound like that with leaving important info out.
IDK, personally, I like the implication that you chose who you want to be as opposed to who others want you to be. Nature vs nurture argument.

 

[flickchick85]

A few random thoughts after my 3rd viewing.

I don't know why "METAHUMANS KILL THING" cracks me up so much, but that headline might actually be the joke I laugh the hardest at each time, even if I'm sad for said Thing. That whole bit reminded me so much of "What Lies Beneath" from Greg Pak's Action Comics run, complete with Supes doing in that comic what he said he WANTED to do here, and take it back to the Fortress (or "intergalactic zoo") to study it. I preferred the comics ending of course, but that hilarious headline was a nice consolation. Also I love how casually Supes just offered up the intergalactic zoo idea, as if it's simply common knowledge to everyone that intergalactic zoos exist. Have I mentioned how much I love this established DCU so far?!? It's just so lived-in and delightful with how matter-of-fact they are about some truly out-there stuff (like Solaris....or the "dimensional imp" that looks like Solaris lol).

Kendra's room/apartment was interesting. I wonder how much she actually knows of her origins because it kinda looks like she's still researching it.

I still couldn't make out who the heroes were on the mural in the Hall of Justice. I hope they release a high quality pic of it at some point.

Rachel's face acting at the Kent farm was so on point because you can basically see the moment she realizes she loves Clark when she's looking at that stupid Mighty Crabjoys poster and it's absolutely precious.

I love, love, LOVE that Clark wrote a front page article about the heroic falafel vendor that Lex killed. Especially as I noticed on repeat views when he was telling Supes not to worry about him that he mentioned not having any friends or family to miss him. This movie just gets me all choked up on so many occasions.

Now give me my Mr. Terrific show, pls.