Superman (2025)

Yeahhhh, to say a spanner was thrown into the works would be the understatement of the decade (Doctor Who will happen I promise).

So Superman! Best comic book movie ever? Great start to the new DC universe? A piece of filmmaking that could potentially reek of 2025 or stand as a testament for years to come? Wellllll yes and no. It wasn't a phenomenal movie but it was a very good solid ass comic book movie, and to be honest that's all I wanted. Set in an already established world where Superman has been active for 3 years we follow his most recent skirmish trying to avert a war between two countties and try to stay one step ahead of the machinations of quite possibly the most xenophobic Lex Luthor in history. It's definitely an involved plot, there is quite a lot that happens and the movie is always moving, not to an extent of burnout and whiplash between scenes but it's fast. It's also quite an ensemble cast, there are so many characters and they all play into the progressing story even if they're on screen for a few minutes but it didn't seem overcrowded and overtly busy, they know when to use a character or introduce a character. It's a very light and bright superhero movie akin to the Richard Donner original but definitely has stakes and doesn't veer away from some violent moments. But it is undoubtedly very Silver Age in it's tone with robots, random monsters, a true boyscout Superman who still has some emotional baggage to sift through, it has friggin' Krypto the superdog for God's sake! To shift over to cast for a moment, David is a stalwart Superman and can pull off the Clark Kent side which very few of the actors were able to do in this long history, he gets his ass beat in this movie and really has to come to terms with some stuff but there isn't a doubt about his morals and commitment to help people which is what's great about Superman. Rachel Brosnahan was...interesting as Lois, maybe this is my shortcomings to not being very familiar with Superman but she gave Lois so much damn attitude and seemed quite prickly, I mean more than usual, which makes me both respect the hell out of her but also kinda drives me nuts. Nicholas Hoult was a very solid Lex Luthor, very easy to hate but certainly held that intelligence edge and genuinely did crack me up a bit throughout. Big time shoutout to Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific, a character I know precisely dick about but he won me over fast and he was a standout for me! I think this is the first time I've actually seen Nathan Fillion in something and didn't immediately adore him, Guy Gardner is an asshole and he pulled it off spectacularly with this very cocky leader type but hey he had his moments of humor so fair play to him. Do kinda wish we got more Hawkgirl but I'm just a mark for that lady and I dig Isabela Merced in this part. Big surprises in the cast list that I can't even go into now, in fact I strongly urge everyone to steer friggin' clear of the IMDB cast list cause man it's stacked. The effects were damn good, both in terms of flight and fight, I don't know man seeing Superman fly regardless of decade never quite gets old and the battles are shot inventively and you can keep up with it no problem. I do feel the music was strangely subdued throughout, even when you get soaring scores and that ridiculously awesome electric guitar it seemed kinda buried in the mix, maybe that's more a shortcoming from the theater so I'll look into that. I gotta say it was weird not being the aficionado for once on a well known superhero, Blue Beetle I can forgive myself on, but Superman I mean I caught some but I certainly didn't catch all but I'm sure the mega nerds and lifelong fans will appreciate the nods. I certainly liked it, I'm happy and yet simultaneously depressed so many real world parallels could be drawn in this movie from foreign wars, to social media demonizing, to literal loss of rights for an alien immigrant being taken into custody and shipped off to God knows where, it stuck to it's guns and I'm proud of that. Truly I am. In a world where such pinnacles of hope and power do not exist, I don't think it hurts if we embody such characters ourselves for a better world. What's so funny about truth, justice, and the american way? Far from a masterpiece but a strong step in the right direction, I give it 3 stars, 7.5/10!

Boy howdy life has been tailspinning recently so I'm not sure when I shall return but I'm sincerely hoping for sooner rather than later. If I still have a roof over my head come August I shall endeavour to pick up the pieces and do some varied writing for you.

The Batman Superman Movie: World's Finest

This was the standard of a Batman and Superman movie for almost 20 years.

I remember watching this as a little kid and I enjoyed it a lot, and all these years later it is still good. Released almost 20 years before the Batman fought the Man Of Tomorrow , this movie takes a different approach to the team up, although it does share some similar factors with the new movie. Batman and Superman have been doing their own things in Metropolis and Gotham, until one day both The Joker and Lex Luthor team up to kill both Batman and Superman. This causes the Dark Knight and the Man Of Steel to team up and stop their plans from, you guessed it taking over the world. The single most best element of this movie is that it takes place in the Animated Series universe or the Diniverse as fans call it, the universe where both Batman The Animated Series and Superman The Animated Series are found. If you were a fan of either of these shows, then you pretty much know the mythos and the voice acting and the animation style. All the original cast of both shows are here, and really that's half the fun of this movie. How would Superman and Batman talk to one another? Would they fight or work together? What would Joker and Lex be working towards and all the stuff that would happen between them? And in this universe, they do it pretty well. You can believe like, this is what would happen if these two met. And that's where the cast shines in this movie. They get to do something that is not what they do on a regular basis. Kevin Conroy and Tim Daly show that despite their different stances, Batman and Superman could work together costumes or not. Mark Hamill is glorious as always and it's just so funny to see him paired up with Clancy Brown's very serious Lex Luthor, you just don't see that anywhere else. If you want a good prelude to the new Batman V. Superman movie this would be a good place to start. And the film's running time is, and I kid you not...one hour. Just one hour. And they do a spectacular job with everything they put into such a short movie. Unfortunately I couldn't really find it anywhere besides in stores but the DVD is only $5 so it's not a waste of money. Whichever Batman and Superman movie you see first, I hope you enjoy both.

Man Of Steel

Sorry I'm late! Stuff has changed significantly since Friday, I am currently moving so that's why I'm late. But anyway, Man Of Steel...



I seriously think Man Of Steel is a great Superman movie! But I can understand why people think this isn't a good Superman movie, and I honestly have only two problems with this movie but I will get to them soon. This is clearly a new Superman, different from the comics, different from the previous movies but still Superman. This is a Superman who is still learning his powers, has very little experience being Superman when Zod shows up, tries to protect and save a world that fears him, and he has such fear and doubt about himself. The rock in his life, Jonathan Kent played very well by Kevin Costner, does tell him that when he grows up he can do great amazing things but, he also says that maybe he should not stand proud in front of the human race and not use his powers because he fears for his son's safety. So it's more monumental when he becomes Superman and saves the world. I honestly can't think of a better cast than the one they picked. Henry Cavill is a great Superman who gives new light to the character not often seen the way he is in this movie, Amy Adams is a no nonsense, real go getter Lois Lane, Michael Shannon is a very intense and a bit sympathetic Zod, everyone else does a real good job but Antje Traue kind of steals the show as Zod's second in command Faora, she's a total badass I love her! The fight scenes are glorious, even though Smallville and Metropolis got screwed over bad. Seriously I wouldn't be a bit surprised in the new Batman V. Superman movie, if Metropolis and Smallville are still under repairs. I only have three big gripes about this movie, one the camera. I should start a drinking game where every time the camera zooms in on something and gets a bit out of focus in this movie, but I know everyone would be drunk before the end of the movie, there are so many shots like that and most of them are not needed! Second the product placement, now this only happens in the Smallville scenes so it's not a major thing in the movie but...yeah, cut down on the product placement, seriously. And finally, the world engine. Now there are two of these, one in Metropolis, one near the Indian Ocean. Now Superman has to stop these machines from terraforming the earth into a new Krypton, so he goes after the one in the Indian Ocean and the military take the one in Metropolis. My problem is this, why didn't Superman stop the one in Metropolis first? I know the military couldn't reach the Indian Ocean so that's why Superman went there but....I'm not a geography expert but my guess is not millions and millions of people live near the Indian Ocean as they do in Metropolis and Superman could take the one out in Metropolis and then take the other one out and not lose a single person near the Indian Ocean and save almost everyone in Metropolis and the city wouldn't be partially obliterated. Those are my only real problems with this movie, but man I am so excited to see the new Batman V. Superman movie.



Here is the link to the new trailer: https://youtu.be/xe1LrMqURuw


Okay, well maybe I need to get back to packing, I will try my hardest to post a review this week. I said this week was a mystery week, so let's see how this goes!