It’s no surprise that I’ve said for years that if James Gunn couldn’t pull off Superman, it would be the end of DC as a movie franchise. Some people call me more of a Marvel fanboy than DC, but honestly, I’m just more selective with DC. My favorites have always been Batman, The Flash, and Superman in that order. And yes, I’ll admit it, the women of DC? Way more attractive than most Marvel characters.

One thing I’ve always said: DC feels like a universe of gods trying to be human, while Marvel feels like a universe of humans trying to be gods. That difference in tone is what makes me enjoy DC stories a little more, even though Marvel tends to dominate the spectacle side.

The Movie Itself

For me, Superman 2025 was good but not spectacular. People are quick to compare it to Man of Steel, but I think that’s unfair. Man of Steel was Superman’s “Year One,” a raw origin story. James Gunn’s Superman picks up months after Clark has revealed himself as Superman. He’s already been training, already stepping into the role, and the movie doesn’t waste time retreading ground everyone knows.

And Gunn was right to skip the origin story. Superman, Batman, Spider-Man: everyone knows how they became heroes. We don’t need another retelling. Instead, the movie drops us right into the world, even using simple text on screen to establish the setting. It was a little odd at first, but it worked.

I was worried about the number of characters crammed in, but it didn’t overshadow Superman. Cameos were there, the world felt bigger, but the focus stayed on Clark.

Marvel vs. DC’s Storytelling Approach

Marvel has always had the problem of introducing characters late and then making you wonder where they were during earlier events. For example, world-ending crises happen, and you can’t help but ask, where were the X-Men, Spider-Man, or the Fantastic Four while all of this was going on?

DC under Gunn feels like it’s flipping that approach. Instead of starting small like Marvel did with Iron Man, then slowly revealing the bigger universe, Gunn’s Superman establishes right away that this is already an active world full of heroes. We may not see all of them on screen yet, but the movie makes it clear they’re out there. This setup avoids the “why didn’t so-and-so show up” problem and makes the universe feel alive from the start.

Visuals and Effects

I’ve talked less about visuals in recent years because modern CGI is so common that it’s almost invisible. Sometimes that’s a good thing, sometimes not. When CGI is overused, like the baby scene in The Flash, it looks like a video game cutscene and pulls me right out.

Growing up in the ’80s and ’90s, I was used to practical effects enhanced by CGI. Now, whole scenes are built digitally, and it loses some realism. For example, I always thought Man of Steel’s cape looked off in CGI shots. Gunn’s Superman leaned heavily into practical work, which made the suit look fantastic, but there were still moments where the effects crossed the line.

It doesn’t all need to be practical, but balance is important. When it’s too digital, actors don’t react naturally, and you can feel it.

My Take

Superman 2025 isn’t perfect. The ending felt too over the top, almost ridiculous, and it lost me a bit. But the acting was strong, the characters were well-portrayed, and the message of the film landed.

On first watch, I gave it an 8/10. And I saw it twice in theaters, which is rare for me these days. Not because I didn’t want to, but because moviegoing has gotten so expensive that even with memberships, it feels like a chore.

Still, I enjoyed this more than Man of Steel (a 7/10 in my book) and Superman Returns (which I liked for different reasons, even though it barely had any superhero action). Christopher Reeve’s Superman is still my favorite, but Gunn’s take feels like a fresh start.

Superman 2025 wasn’t the billion-dollar blockbuster people expected, but it didn’t need to be. Gunn has been clear: it just needed to succeed enough to set the foundation for the new DC Universe. And in that, I think it succeeded.

Superhero fatigue is real. Not every movie needs to be an Endgame-level spectacle. If DC keeps telling good stories, grounded and character-focused, I think they might actually win back fans who’ve checked out.