Review of “Superman” the movie
Welcome back to movie review central! I’m just kidding, of course, but I certainly understand how someone could think that is what this website is about, if the many movie reviews that I’ve been doing here lately are any indication. Beginning with “F1® THE MOVIE,” this year has had a bumper crop of blockbuster summer movies that people are filling theaters to see. I count myself among those people.
I have a ton of other stuff that has been ready and waiting for me to write about here, including car shows with lots of photos of cool cars, exciting new consumer electronics products ready for review, interviews with amazing people and so much more, but with me covering San Diego Comic-Con for five days next week plus a few days covering TIKI OASIS soon thereafter (I might even sneak in another movie or two), I don’t know how I’m going to find the time to catch up anytime soon. Oh, and as you’ll realize if you look at the dates of my posts on the AutoMatters.net website, I am also way behind posting new columns there because before doing that I feel compelled to edit way more than the five photos that I send to the other publications with my columns each week.
Of course, in addition to all of that, I also have my life to take care of, including maintaining my house that always seems to need work (often at the worst possible times), car maintenance and occasional rest. There is so much to see and do here in Southern California. I need eight-day weeks! Can you believe this is column number 891?!!! Where have all of the years gone? Help me, please!
In case you are in a hurry and have plenty of other things to do too, I’ll save you some time and begin this review by getting right to my conclusion. If you are a fan of the Superman franchise, just go see DC Studios’ and Warner Bros. Pictures’ “Superman” the movie. You will most certainly enjoy it. That’s an absolute no-brainer, and it is suitable for the whole family.
It is upbeat, funny, fast-paced, optimistic and it has heart — unlike so many dark superhero movies in more recent years. Remember this? It’s from the 1940s: “Up in the sky! Look! It’s a bird! It’s a plane! It’s Superman!” (thank you to Reddit for reminding me exactly how this phrase went). I have certainly heard it enough times in my life. This is that kind of superhero movie. It’s fun. It reminds me of the “Adventures of Superman” TV series from the 1950s, starring George Reeves. Of course, special effects have come a very, very long way since then.
Without revealing too much of the plot, I’ll share with you that the story is global in scope. Lex Luthor has, of course, nefarious plans in mind and he does his best to make sure that Superman cannot interfere with them.
Superman is helped in this conflict by the usual cast of characters, including: Lois Lane…
…Jimmy Olsen (no red hair!), Perry White, Ma and Pa Kent, automatons (who guard Superman’s frozen Fortress of Solitude in the Arctic when he’s away doing protecting humanity) and Krypto, his super-hyperactive dog!
“Superman” is brilliantly directed, from his own screenplay, by James Gunn (writer and director of the “Guardians of the Galaxy” franchise). In the title roles of Superman and Clark Kent is actor David Corenswet.
Nicholas Hoult portrays evil genius Lex Luthor.
Rachel Brosnahan is Lois Lane — Superman’s love interest and investigative reporter for the Daily Planet newspaper.
I was thrilled to discover, as I watched his on-screen portrayals, that “Superman” also stars Alan Tudyk, one of my very favorite actors. Alan provides the voice for Superman’s loyal and endearing, animatronic, Robot No 4.
During the production of “Superman” he was spotted wearing a motion capture suit. You might recognize Alan Tudyk from his unforgettable roles as the quirky yet charming alien and occasionally human Harry Vanderspeigle on TV’s “Resident Alien,” as well as K-2SO in “Rogue One: A Star Wars Story” and in the TV series “Andor.”
To see an official DC Studios and Warner Bros. Pictures trailer for “Superman,” and for more information, visit https://www.superman.com/home/.
To explore a wide variety of content dating back to 2002, with the most photos and the latest text, visit “AutoMatters & More” at https://automatters.net. Search by title or topic in the Search Bar in the middle of the Home Page, or click on the blue ‘years’ boxes and browse.
Copyright © 2025 by Jan Wagner – AutoMatters & More #891r2
I see what you mean by David Corenswet needing a better stage name. I couldn’t even spell it correctly the first time around. David.
He must continually have problems getting people to spell his name correctly.
Jan
Jan, this looks like the year of the blockbusters, with MI, F-1:The Movie, Jurassic Park, and now Superman. Having seen MI and F1 in IMAX, my son and I and a friend decided to see Superman in 3D.
In the early parts of the movie, we wondered if choosing 3D was a mistake, as it didn’t add anything to the story. But as the film gained steam, the value of 3D became apparent, especially with the CGI effects being so real and lifelike…probably the best I’ve seen.
All the visual elements…the good and bad superheroes flying, cities crumbling, the earth splitting open, were spellbinding. And the soundtrack in the 3D version was not as overpowering as IMAX.
We were skeptical of the casting of David Corsensnet in the lead role of Clark Kent/Superman, but he pulled it off with ease. The supporting roles were well cast also. The verdict of the three of us is 5 Stars. David.
Hi David,
I really liked this movie too. Now, based on what you’ve told me, I want to see it again — in 3D. And yes, David Corenswet does manage to pull off the role of Superman. He had big boots to fill but he did it. I’m surprised that he did not adopt a more conventional and easy to pronounce screen name, though.
Jan