SUPERMAN(2025)

Superman is an overstuffed mess. The bloated narrative becomes unwieldy, leading to superficial character development with flat motivations. Themes of immigration, hatred, and corruption are clumsily handled and brushed aside for American Exceptionalism. Prioritizing worldbuilding the frenetic pacing feels disorienting.

Superman conveys an uncomfortable subtext about immigration with its handling of Jor-El's character. After all Superman's arc ends with him adopting his American family over his immigrant family with his immigrant family turning out to be tyrants who intended their son to rule over another species. This certainly has an uncomfortable subtext with the Great Replacement Theory.

This film clumsily handles its metaphors with its Boravia-Johranpur conflict(real world allusions to Israel-Palestine) that feels tacked on and sanitized. Its goofy politics are rushed, superficial, and lack depth. Overall Superman is a haphazard mess of ideas with no coherence.

Technically Superman is muddled. The messy direction leans more on an action-adventure tone. Lighting, shallow focus define the cinematography. The choppy editing accentuates the frenzied pacing to fixed results. The production design offers retrofuturism.

The sound provides elements of battle, machinery, and genre elements. The score employs John Williams' orchestration alongside synthesized action music. Its cast contains a mixture of unknowns alongside a mix of star power. The effects contain blood, makeup, prosthetics,fantastical worlds despite being a CGI fiesta. Overall Superman is a mixed bag.

Writing: 5/10

Direction: 6/10

Cinematography: 7/10

Acting: 8/10

Editing: 6/10

Sound: 6/10

Score: 7/10

Prod Design: 8/10

Casting: 8/10

Effects: 7/10

Overall Score: 6.8/10