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Gale Reviews: Superman (2025)

(Thanks to @knightsweeties for the Super GP)

I am someone that loves Superhero movies... BUT Lately most of these movies have been falling flat. This was the first super hero movie since Deadpool (who tbh is an antihero) that I actually got excited to see.

Now does Superman Soar above expectations, was it standard DC movie fodder, OR was it #supers***.

For this review I will be going over the following:

Story

The Choreography (The action)

The Support Characters

Lois Lane

Lex Luthor

Clark Kent/Superman

The World

The Message

Closing thoughts

Obviously, Spoilers below

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Story

The movie starts with a brief narration of how the DC universe started. Metahumans appeared several Centuries ago

Superman arrived as a baby from Krypton 30 years ago

he appeared as superman for the first time 3 years ago

3 weeks ago he stopped an invasion of the fictional country of Jarhanpur by Boravia (another fictional country and ally to America

3 hours ago Superman ended up getting into a fight with some mysterious figure called the "Hammer of Barovia"

3 minutes ago: Superman... losing for the first time.

Superman ended up beaten up bad and was saved by Krypto (a dog with powers like his) that dragged him to his secret base, the Fortress of Solitude.

There he got patched up and we hear the message of Jor el and Lara Lor van (Superman's birth parents) it is a bit damaged but he finds it soothing. The message says that they sent him to earth so that he can help the people there as the world there would help grant him the powers he needs.

After healing he heads back to fight the Hammer.

Superman still loses the fight as he is not at 100%, but thankfully the Hammer wasnt there to kill. But unexpectedly (or expectedly) it was actually Lex Luthor behind this mysterious powerful foe, and he was instructing the hammer how to fight superman, creating moves specifically made to counter, but thats not all, this was all a plot to find Superman's lair just so Lex could prove Superman is a threat.

Clark Kent returns to the Daily planet, the newspaper he works at, where he got the frontpage of the paper for his article about the Superman fight vs the Hammer. Lois gives him some snark over his "Interview" but Clark banters back.

Later on, its revealed Clark and Lois are dating (though not official) and that their banter is actually just some fun banter to hide their relationship. Lois wants to interview Superman, where we get to see a bit more of the innocent mind of Superman and why he does what he does and also that he sucks at interviews NOT done by himself.

Later on, Lex has a Kaiju released on Metropolis to distract Superman while He and his crew , the nanobot filled woman known for her control of nanomachines (the Engineer) and the powerhouse (that was disguised as the Hammer) Ultraman, a silent but powerful figure. They managed to get inside the Fortress of Solitude (how revealed later). and The Engineer discovers the distorted message, where they restore it and find out the FULL reason Superman/ Kal El is here.

Meanwhile fighting the Kaiju, we meet the Justice Gang (name pending) Green lantern (Guy Gardner) Mr. Terrific, and Hawk Girl. Who help Superman Take down the giant Kaiju by killing it. We learn that superman was trying to stop it without killing the creature (which is why he was struggling to beat it.)

After the battle, the message of Superman's parents is decoded and sent out. The message was damaged before and the second part of the message was revealed. They wanted Superman to Rule over Earth, leading it to prosperity while having as many children as possible to repopulate Krypton. Which naturally turns a lot of people against superman.

Superman rushes to the fortress of Solitude to see the mess left by Luthor and his goons only to realize something more horrifying... They stole Krypto, and naturally Superman is pissed.

Superman confronts Luthor, which results in another video that makes Superman look bad.

After the PR nightmare and words from the President of Barovia, we find out the truth, Luthor did the following.

Luthor created a POCKET UNIVERSE that allows him to teleport across the world as well as store things and people he dislikes

Luthor is controlling Barovia like a puppet

Most of the outrage about superman was done by Monkeys (this part was hilarious)

Lex is indeed a petty bitch

Superman decides to turn himself over to the US government for questioning. Only for Luthor to reveal the Government allowed HIM the right to question Superman, and he takes him into the pocket dimension, where he had a metahuman known as the Element man (but his reall name is Metamorpho) create Kryptonite to keep him contained.)

Meanwhile Lois investigates where they took superman, and thanks to Jimmy Olsen (who for some reason has Archie Andrews level of Player energy) manages to get a source that reveals Superman is in a pocket dimension

Lois tells the Justice Gang and despite their protests, Mr. Terrific agrees to help Lois and is horrified to learn about the Pocket dimension.

Superman manages to escape with Metamorpho, they save Metamorpho's son Joey, save Krypto and managed to barely escape, but the portal to the pocket dimension is now unstable, and Luthor decides to let it keep going to distract Superman so Boravia can invade Jarhanpur so Luthor can get half the country.

Superman needed to recover and also deal with his internal struggle after finding out the truth about his birth parents, but thankfully his Jon and Martha Kent were able to talk him out of the funk by telling Clark what he needed to hear.

Superman tries to save metropolis and has the Justice Gang (except Mr.Terrific) go to save the people who are asking for Superman's help.

Superman manages to defeat the Engineer, and now is fighting Ultraman, who we find out was a clone of Superman that Luthor made (which is how Luthor got into the Fortress, as they needed his dna to do so.) (Its Bizarro)

Luthor reveals that everything he had been doing and why, only for Krypto to arrive and help Superman even the odds as now Luthor couldnt instruct Ultraman. Superman defeats the brute and manages to catch Luthor before he escapes, where Mr.Terrific shows up and stopped the black hole. Luthor gets captured and the truth is posted thanks to Lois and Jimmy's investigations.

Luthor is imprisoned, Metamorpho joins the justice Gang. Clark has the Fortress repaired and it is revealed that Super girl, Kara Zor-El is the one who owns Krypto and has been out partying so thats why he was there.

Superman and Mr. Terrific repair the city.

Overall the plot was expansive but it was relatively easy to follow, things made sense on how they led up to things, there were brief explainations about heroes that never felt forced, and there were references galore. The plot was detailed but simple.

Solid 9/10

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The Choreography (The action)

This movie spared NO expense when it came to the action. This movie showed the strength yet Gentleness of Superman. Superman going around saving everything he can, from kids, to Squirrels. The fight Choreography between Superman and Ultraman/Bizarro was phenomenal, Luthor calling out moves like it was a fighting game to instruct the brute was a nice touch. Superman knocking the teeth out of a goon was great, there was a lot of good slapstick too. Each hero felt unique in their fighting style too, Guy Gardner's contruct, Mr.Terrific's calculated movements, Hawk Girl's aerial combat. Not to mention, superman was SMART in his fighting. Its nice to see the strategic side of strong heroes.

10/10 no notes.

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The Support Characters

Starting with the support does seem weird, but trust me. the other main characters NEEDED to have their own section. But lets start with

The Justice Gang:

Mister Terrific: Edi Gathegi's portrayal of one of the smartest people in the world is... Terrific. He has a calm approach to most things. His confidence in handling fights, how he explains things in a succinct manner. You dont feel patronized when he is being smart. He is no-nonsense, but he also can be funny while being serious. He has one of the best scenes in the end with Superman that I dare not spoil (9/10)

Green Lanturn: Nathan Fillion's portrayal of Guy Gardner was Perfect. The cocky attitude, the brash talk, the bowl cut. His demeanor of being a jerk but still wants to help is on point. He is a hot head but you can tell he does want to help. Its A+ performance and I never got tired of him off screen. I was unfamiliar with Your game Mr.Fillion and I respect it. (10/10 no notes)

Hawkgirl: Isabella Merced's portrayal was good. Now my personal preference is Shaeera Hal from the DCAU, that being said, Kendra Saunders is the more lore accurate Hawkgirl, and Isabella captured that portrayal better, She is grumpy and done with the BS, but also got that aggression and passion that we come to expect from the Mace wielder. I wish she did get more screen time, but she was a solid character that bounced off Guy and Mr.Terrific. (7/10)

Metamorpho: Anthony Carrigan's portrayal was fine. He was a decent character, though like with Hawkgirl, I grew up with DCAU version of Rex Mason. This version felt a bit more timid and broken, but I do think he was endearing and him wanting to save his son was precious. but he is probably the weakest character on this. (6.5/10)

Now to the rest

Jimmy Olsen: I dont know whose idea it was to make Jimmy a secret player, but it was hilarious and I respect the choice. Skyler's Gisondo's portrayal captured Jimmy's loyalty to Lois and how he can be a reliable friend but also really good at getting the ladies. (7/10)

Lex's GF/ Sara Sampaio: Eve Teschmarcher's portrayal of this Ditzy but smarter than she looked blond was hilarious and I loved how Jimmy was trying to hard to keep her at arms length because she is clingy. Plus the idea that Luthor getting his girl stolen by Jimmy is a visual that will never NOT be funny. (8/10)

Perry White: I greatly enjoy Wendell Pierce and felt he nailed Perry down perfectly. he is a guy that wants to ensure the sources are right and the story gets out, he also aint blind and called out immediately that Lois and Superman were hooking up. No notes (9/10)

The Engineer: Maria Gabriela de Faria really captured this edgy smart villainess. She is cut throat and cruel but also wants to prove herself, She felt like a good balance for Luthor's crew and while dangerous was controlled by Luthor. (9/10)

Solid performances by the side characters. Its clear there was great direction and the actors brought their A Game.

Solid 8/10 across the board for the rest.

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Lois Lane

Played by the Marvelous Mrs. Maisel herself, Rachel Brosnahan. Lois Lane is a colleague of Clark Kent, and the women that he fell in love with.

Now portrayals of Lois lane vary through medium, some have simply as the love interest, some have her as the one Clark banter's with, some just as the constantly kidnapped woman.

Here, I think Lois Lane's core aspect is captured. Lois is a fiesty Punk rock gal who questions everything, she will always ask motive or intention and thats why she is perfect for Clark, because she makes up for what he lacks, while he also helps her out of her cynical shell. They balance eachother out, they banter perfectly and both have what the other need.

Lois starts out skeptical of the relationship, because... thats her nature she is naturally untrusting of everything, but Clark is a literally Golden Retriever that wants to do the best he can, and even she cant find any dark motive behind it.

Even when the rest of the world turned against him, Lois, the one person that questions everything, never doubted that Clark was trying to do good. Lois did what she could to help Clark get out of his funk or even go find him. She trusted him.

We see how feisty she is when defending Superman, and trying to save him, while also how dedicated she is to finding the truth. She is doing so much in the movie where she is doing her own thing but also doing things to help Clark.

This was a spectacular performance and I think it was Marvelous.

9.5/10

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Lex Luthor

Nicholas Hoult's performance as the Multi-billionaire genius arch nemesis of Superman is without a doubt the best Live Action performance of Lex Luthor I have ever seen BAR NONE.

Lex is a clear genius, he is obsessed with beating superman, he is thinking 10 steps ahead yet also being reckless in his own inventions, he made an army of monkeys to FARM outrage against superman. He locked up his Exes in a POCKET Dimension out of spite. He insighted a war just to piss superman off. Everything Lex did in this movie was to destroy superman.

He found a guy that sold Superman food one time and SHOT HIM IN FRONT OF SUPERMAN Just to interrogate him.

His speech about Envy was one of the best speeches a villain has given in a while. He also gets the Karma he deserves at the end, but every second Luthor is on screen he steals the show. He and Superman have such a great antagonistic dynamic. Lex looking smug and loving seeing Superman suffer, and when things dont go his way Lex has a tantrum like a brat. Its PITCH PERFECT.

I think Nicholas struck gold on his performance, not since The Dark Knight's Joker have I found myself so Captivated by a villain's performance.

10/10 No notes

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Clark Kent/Superman

David Corenswet as Superman/Clark Kent.

It was exactly what I wanted from this movie.

David' portrayal of Clark was nerdy, a bit scattered yet still somewhat capable. It felt natural, it felt like this was who he really was. Because that is the truth, Superman is a beacon of hope, he is a son of Krypton, but Clark kent is first and foremost who he is, because Clark is in his heart, a guy who wants the best for everyone.

Superman is a beacon of hope, an old fashioned hero that "Wants to save everyone" that is what superman is. He doesnt care for politics, he wants to ensure that people dont die. Thats why he intervened in a war. Superman wanted to save people.

Clark is goofy, likes breakfast food, cant say no when people ask for favors, talks to his parents constantly, feels bad when he says something that hurts another person's feelings, LOVES HIS DOG.

Clark Kent does not care if the world is cruel and out to get him, he will still do what he can to save the day. Though it does bother him, I like how it does because he is very human.

Superman can have doubts, he can get angry, depressed, and knows pain.

But even in that state, Superman will NEVER harm the innocent, its why when he heard the full message about his parents he didnt change who he was, he still went to save the day, save others, he would not rule over the world, he would protect it. Because thats how Clark Kent was Raised to do.

Cause he is the pillar of hope, the example that the world wants to follow. Superman doesnt let politics impact who he saves, he doesnt let people that are bitter and angry stop him. He saves EVERYONE, he brings "truth, Justice and the American way." He brings "Kindness in a world that believes it to be old fashioned." those are quotes from the producer Peter Safran. And the producer is right. That is what Superman is, he is Timeless, and he is the first and GREATEST hero.

And David's performance was exactly that.

David also played Ultraman (which he did very well)

10/10 Perfect casting.

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The World

I think they captured the world of Superman perfectly, all the nods and meta references were done with love and care.

The fortress of Solitude was absolutely stunning, The Luthorcorp building was great. The world felt lived in, Metropolis felt like a real place.

That line where "Liberals and Conservatives can finally agree on one thing and its that Luthor sucks" Was the line that made it feel so real. Because yes, Luthor sucks that much.

9/10

I would have loved a bit more building to it, but I did enjoy it and it didnt take away from the movie.

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The Message

I think the message for this film really boils down to this. No one can tell you who you are, Only you can decide that for yourself.

The world wanted to tell Superman what he could be, His birth parents tried to tell Kal El who he could be. But it was Pa and Ma Kent that told Clark that this was a decision up to him.

And thats what I love. You choose who you want to be, and you can always choose to be a better version of yourself.

No political bullcrap, no stances, just "Be the best version of yourself you can be" and "Always try to do better."

Thats the moral of the story. Dont let others decide who you are. Be the version you want to be.

9/10

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Closing Thoughts

This is the best DC live action movie I have seen in a LONG time. This was what I wanted Man of Steel to be. This is the interpretation of Superman I have wanted since the End of Justice League. This is superman, this is what it was always meant to be.

Though I do wish there was less fowl language. But thatsa personal gripe.

Superman is a phenomenal movie that I would recommend to anyone that feels that superhero movies are done. Because if this is what DC is cooking up, then I am ready for more.

I give the movie a 9/10

#superman #superman 2025 #superman spoilers

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