The joy and hope of James Gunn's 2025 Superman

As a huge MCU buff, I normally have not preferred the more serious, sometimes dark movies that come out of the DC universe. But if I have one regret - it is not watching the 2025 James Gunn adaption of Superman in the theatre. This movie surprisingly really hit almost all the right notes for me in terms of being an escapist, fantastical entertainer but more importantly in terms of doing what art does at its best - give hope. Listing down the various reasons why this movie was an absolute win for me!

1) Exploring the relevance of choosing to be a kind, decent person in a position of influence and power especially in today's world 

\

I actually remember my dad making us watch the OG Cristopher Reeve's 70's Superman movies when we were kids. I do specifically remember CR's portrayal to be extremely charismatic, pure almost bordering on naive. And essentially from what I understand from the comics, Superman is suppose to be this uncomplicated, really good and kind man raised lovingly by his adoptive earth parents. And I mean when you think about it - juxtaposing a character like that in the world of today seems jarring and oddly out of place. In fact to suit the times, DC made Henry Cavill's Superman more morally ambiguous and grey which by and large did not work for the studio.  But David Corenswet's adaption - there is something so endearing and hopeful about it. He wears it unapologetically on his sleeve - that he wants to be a good man and do kind deeds in this world matter how much his fellow super hero friends scorn at him for not wanting to kill but transport to a space zoo a big monster wreaking havoc on the street or even when his cynical girlfriend tells him with grudging admiration that he is too trusting and always sees the good things in people, his response is 'maybe that is the real punk rock'. In possibly the darkest scene of the movie - when Lex kills in front of him not even a loved one of his but a kind street vendor who once gave Superman free food - the latter's tremendous grief and guilt is quite telling but even with what he considers a strength of being kind and empathetic used as a weakness against him, he never once budges from the decent person that he is. And in the process, he inspires others to do the right thing.

 The only time where he questions this conviction about himself is when to his crushing disappointment, he finds out that his alien birth parents had more nefarious intentions for him where they wanted him to rule over earth. It takes his loving adoptive dad to get him out of his existential crisis with Pa Kent reminding him that whatever his birth parents intended for him or for that matter however even he and his wife raised him, ultimately it is Clark's choices and actions which have ultimately determined the person he is today and as his dad who actually raised him lovingly with good values, he could not be more proud. 

I really believe the appeal of this Superman and MCU's Captain America is their integrity to these 'old fashioned' values in a world where you unfortunately have too many hateful and divisive leaders who wreak cruelty being in some of the most global positions of influence

2) Finally getting the female lead in a superhero movie right 

I read somewhere that - I rarely meet men in real life as extraordinary as the ones on film, and rarely see women on film as extraordinary as the ones I know in real life!  

This may sound cynical but the general portrayal of female leads especially in superhero films is so unidimensional like as if people forget that women are people with their own unique individuality with aspirations, dreams and intellect. Rachel Brosnahan's portrayal of Lois Lane is close to perfection. She does not need to be kicking ass or have super powers of her own to be strong. She is a feisty, through professional news reporter who does not hesitate to objectively and legitimately question the actions of Superman. She actually drives the plot forward by actually enlisting help of other superheros to locate and get Superman out of his imprisonment and ultimately it is because of her and her colleague's meticulous reporting that the villain Lex Luthor is actually taken down in the most humiliating fashion. She is not in the film just to be a mannequin or a damsel in distress. And all of this while genuinely showing up and caring for Clark/Superman during the moments where he needs it the most. 

 3) Moral clarity to go....there (politically)

This part of the movie legitimately astonished me! An American film depicting its wildly popular Superhero take a moral stand and go against a US allied, militarily superior, shown to be a white nation invading a weak predominantly brown nation - going as far as to show the former shooting at kids of the latter nation. James Gunn can bleat all he wants that this is 'not' inspired by current conflicts but the message is pretty clear - worldly conflicts might be too complex and burdened by too much of historical baggage to solve, but what is NOT complicated is that it is morally UNACCEPTABLE to slaughter innocent civilians especially children in a war. As I write this, in Gaza 63,000 people have been killed out of which 20,000 are estimated to be kids. Infact Cardinal Matteo Zuppi, the head of the Italian Bishops' Conference, led a prayer vigil on Aug. 14 where he read the name of every child who has died in the conflict between Israel and Hamas since the start of the war in 7th October 2023. He took 7 hours to do so - let. that. sink. in - 7 hours! It is a cause of great disillusionment that the world has been tolerating this but I will say it is equally hopeful that a US film in the most mainstream way possible is calling our attention to one of the simplest issues of moral clarity - civilian deaths in war. 

 4) The impact and dynamic of having a loveable rascal pet depicted to perfection

This one is personal. So James Gunn modelled Superman's dog Krypto on his dog Ozu who he describes as being the worst dog in the world. The depiction of Krypto and his interaction with Superman in almost every frame reminded me of my relationship with my beloved rascal Leo who crossed over to the rainbow bridge nearly 2 years ago. Leo was not a 'model' dog in the slightest. He was immensely destructive, chewed furniture, shoes, almost destroyed my passport, peed on literally every sofa, bed, item of clothing, he could not understand basic instructions, would whine when he did not get things his way would bark at anyone who passed my door and sometimes could be very unpredictable in his interactions with people - especially strangers. But you know what. He was one of the best things to have happened in my life. There is one scene in particular where Superman after getting mentally and physically battered after imprisonment is resting and lying down in his childhood bed. As Superman opens his eyes, the usually restless Krypto is just lying on his chest quietly staring at him and starts wagging his tail when he sees his master all right. This was Leo's behaviour as well when I was down and out, sometimes find it difficult to get going, my usually energetic hyper dog would just plant himself quietly next to me and refuse to budge, like almost sensing that needed to comfort me by being physically present. And yeah, God save any person who he sensed was a threat to me! Like how Krypto charges at Lex in the movie when Lex jabs his finger at Superman, Leo would also charge at people who he sensed was a threat to fiercely protect me. The movie also got right the reactions of people around the owner to such a loveable menace of a dog ranging from annoyance to fear to disgust to indifference to amusement while also capturing the owners exasperation to such a dog but also his/her emotional dependence on the dog like the scene where Superman panics and goes absolutely ape shit when he finds out that Krypto has been kidnapped and nowhere to be found. I really from the bottom of my heart thank James Gunn for capturing this on cinema. It helped me and my relationship with Leo feel so seen, validated and accepted. 

5) James Gunn specialities 

Having seen all the 3 Guardians of the Galaxy movies also directed by James Gunn, I have realized that he has certain common themes that play in all of his films including pitch perfect integration of music (the new adaption of the Superman theme is incredible!), giving a voice and status to the 'weirdos' like Metamorpho, Groot, Rocket Racoon etc, breathtaking visuals, humour and lightness of tone of the film. It is so obvious that he is so deeply thoughtful and empathetic as a person, feels kinship especially towards the misfits, vulnerable and animals, is a funny and creative story-teller. When somebody like this uses his/her incredible talent to bring people joy, make them feel less alone in this world - I really cannot think of anything more hopeful and uplifting. Maybe that is the real punk rock. Take a bow, James Gunn!