James Gunn Reinvents Superman in 2025: A Sunny Take on DC

James Gunn has done for the Superman Franchise what Christopher Nolan did with the Dark Knight trilogy. It's a whole new take on the Man of Steel that embraces its colorful comic roots in all the ways it counts. This welcome deviation from Snyder's darker vision that shrugged off the more optimistic parts of DC is amazing and holds tight to the human side of DC.

TMJ Rating: 🍿🍿🍿🍿🍿/5

The Plot of James Gunn's Superman 2025

In James Gunn's Superman 2025, Superman is just trying to do the right thing and live as best as he can with the values that were imparted to him from his foster parents on Earth.

Meanwhile, Lex has been gathering so much information on Superman that he can predict the Kryptonian's fight moves and counter with the exact move to stop him through one of his cronies named Ultraman.

In another corner of Metropolis, there is the "Justice Gang" consisting of Guy Gardner as Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, and Mr. Terrific, trying to keep things in control whenever a baby dragon or an interdimensional imp wreaks havoc on the city.

James Gunn has picked and chosen what elements of comic book and cartoon canon will work best for his vision of an optimistic and bright DC Universe. You see that every character choice has been part of the greater DC storyline, but with Gunn's signature. The musical aspect of this movie does remind one of the Guardians of the Galaxy, with their calling card being music, which precedes them showing up on screen.

The Cast

Most of the credit, even for the cast, must go to James Gunn, as his hand is visible in nearly every aspect of this movie, including casting.

David Corenswet as Superman might be the star of this movie, and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane does an amazing job of playing the fearless reporter, but what really shines is the storytelling here. Anyone can just walk into the theater to watch Superman and walk away with something special, getting a glimpse into comic canon as well as cartoon goings on that form the elaborate plot of this awesome movie.

Let's talk about Superman's red shorts - why are they back? And what is its significance? There are a few reasons confirmed here from the 50 Caliber man, Mr. James Gunn himself:

a. DC is not taking itself too seriously in this franchise and is inserting self-aware deprecatory humor while paying respects to the Christopher Reeve Superman.

b. This DC movie is based in a world where there is hope and color, and not just angry superheroes who execute criminals or scare them to death.

c. The costume is made by Superman's Earth parents, with him practicing their values as well.

d. John William's original superhero score is used with an electronic twist on the original soundtrack.

Isabela Merced nails her role as the winged warrior who is reincarnated periodically, and it feels like her personality is played a bit too close to that of her role in The Last of Us.

Hawk Girl screaming on screen for the first time is simply breathtaking while being both comic and cartoon accurate. This touch alone says so much about how much Gunn puts into his movies.

Nathan Fillion's Guy Gardner is great as the overconfident Green Lantern who loves to antagonize prisoners in the Justice League with a bad taste in naming his team the "Justice Gang."

Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific is comic-accurate with his T spheres and T-craft that is shaped like an egg. His jacket saying Fair Play is according to the comics as well, and sees him using his considerable intellect and battle strategy, raising impenetrable energy fields and using his T-spheres as propulsion and ordinance.

Frank Grillo plays Rick Flag Senior in this movie as they haul away Superman in Cuffs when he comes under scrutiny for acting unilaterally in stopping a war in the fictional country of Jaharanpur.

Anthony Carrigan plays Metamorpho in this movie, whom you would remember from the HBO series Barry as Noho Hank. He adds an extra dollop of soul to this character, where he shows compassion for Superman and the trouble that he faces.

Alan Tudyk as Gary or Superman Robot #4 provides oodles of personality for this particular automaton and exchanges words with Pom Klementieff as a Superman Robot #5 whom you would remember as Mantis from the MCU's Guardians of the Galaxy and even her role in the latest Mission: Impossible as Paris in Dead Reckoning. Michael Rooker also makes an audio appearance as Superman Robot #1.

Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor is pure character gold as he retains his composure even with Big Blue throwing things around in his office, walking around an active fight scene with spinning blades less than an inch from his head. Lex hates Superman with a passion and has grand ambitions of conquest and expansion that play out in this version of Superman.

Bradley Cooper as Jor-El and Angela Sarafyan as Lara will definitely surprise you the first time you see them in holographic projections and speaking in their native Kryptonian.

María Gabriela de Faría as The Engineer is stunning to say the least, breezing through the action sequences as the nano-tech-enhanced being who acts as the right hand to Lex Luthor.

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Sara Sampaio, the former Victoria's Secret model, plays Eve Teschmacher beautifully as the paranoid girlfriend of Luthor who has a monster crush on Jimmy Olsen, the reporter who is Clark Kent's best friend and quite a ladies' man in this movie. Skyler Gisondo plays a cheerful and intelligent version of Olsen, whom you would have seen in several movies and series such as Vacation (2015) and Santa Clarita Diet (2017- 2019), along with the Night at the Museum movies.

Maxwell Lord, played by Sean Gunn, isn't too much of a bad person, at least in this movie, as he gets a blink and you'll miss it appearance, which will most definitely be expanded in the next season of DC's Peacemaker series.

The Action and Cinematography

The action is not overdone and overrun with CGI, and is based firmly in practical effects with CGI augmentation. The super battles are short and intense, making them a good watch in James Gunn's DC epic. The major battles include Superman and the dragon, next the Hammer of Boravia, and along with a cool Justice Gang fight scene.

The sound upon the lens ray hitting Superman is his bones snapping back into place and healing quite fast and painfully. This tiny detail shows that Superman is not the unfeeling god shown in the previous Justice League movie, but is almost human in the pain he experiences both from injury and healing.

Should You Watch It? Yes - Right Now!

Gunn's movie-making reminds me of Sam Raimi's Spider-Man I and II, where the superhero came second to the plotline and character development, making sense in a cohesive story and not getting hung up on fan service, special effects, or planting easter eggs and forcing connections between movies.

This is the direction that DC should take, not just because this movie can stand on its own, but James Gunn's Superman movie is optimistic, colorful, and bright - just what you need in this time of strife in the real world.