ScreenCrush: The Podcast! - Superman Review - Best Superman Movie Ever?

Episode Date: July 12, 2025

Superman is finally here, but does the new man of steel live up to the hype? ScreenCrush reviews ad breaks down the themes in the movie, and how it stacks up against the movies of Superman past.See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

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Love thrillers with a paranormal twist? The entire Oracle trilogy is available on Audible. Listen now on Audible. I wasn't representing anybody except for me and doing good. Hey, welcome back Screen Crush. I'm Ryan Erie, and let's talk about Superman. This movie doesn't just stand apart from recent comic book movies, but it might just be the best Superman movie ever made.

And I say that as a huge fan of Superman the movie. It is my favorite superhero film of all time. But this movie does expose some flaws in that film that we're going to talk about later in the video. And we're also going to hear from a panel of experts to get their thoughts. But first, I want to talk about what I liked and why this film succeeded where a lot of recent Marvel movies have failed. So Man of Steel was a superhero movie about a guy who hated being a superhero. But this film is packed with colorful joy and hope. I mean, we've had like 20 years of these movies running away from the comics.

But James Gunn embraced the comic book source material. Superman doesn't just look the part, but the universe he inhabits is really. straight from the page. In the comics, there's always some sort of monster or disaster. And in this movie, we see that in this world, the amazing has kind of become ordinary. But what I love most is that James Gunn understands the essence of Superman. While Zach Snyder tried to reinvent Superman, Gunn embraces him. This version of Superman struggles to find his place in the world. But the core lesson for him in this movie is that he has to embrace his flaws because those flaws make him human.

It also does a great job of implying a shared universe and making me want more. but without throwing Easter eggs at my head the entire time. For instance, there's no walk down a corridor to tease new villains like we saw an Amazing Spider-Man too, or an annoying post-credits tag from a huge celebrity who we may never see again. Like, I want to see the next DCU movie because this universe is really fun.

And this goes back to James Gunn's philosophy that script writing should come first. So, this has been a huge problem with Marvel movies. Ever since Iron Man, they started filming a lot of their movies without finished screenplays. Instead, the visual effects team gets started first, and then the screenplay is finished later on. Now, this does give VFX artists time to finish their effects,

but oftentimes it also means that Marvel had to tack on extensive, expensive reshoots to fix all of their script problems. So this is how we got the sloppy CGI of Quantum Mania. Like a visual effects artist on that film told me that they were changing the screenplay every day. Or think about the finale of Shang-Chi and how that personal father-son story became a big fight with the dragon. I mean, they already started working on the big dragon fight, so they had to keep it in, right?

I'm guessing. It could just be me not liking the Big Dragon Fight. But for this new DCU, Gunn is learning from Marvel's mistakes. They are always going to be doing the script first. For instance, we're getting a Supergirl movie before the Batman movie because Supergirl had a script that was ready to shoot. Or when James Gunn announced the slate of this first phase of the DCU, he didn't mention a Clayface movie.

But when the genius Mike Flanagan pitched him a great idea, Gun gave it the green light. So, right, why doesn't Marvel just make good movies with finish scripts? Well, it's because of money and corporate interference. I mean, they set up this huge release schedule with TV shows and movies that are all meant to set each other up and cross over with each other. So if maybe one isn't ready and it gets delayed, it means massive changes or more delays for movies that actually will be finished.

For instance, America Chavez was supposed to be in Spider-Man No Way Home. But after Multiverse of Madness was delayed because of COVID, they then had to give Ned magic portal power so he could fill America Chavez's role. I also think that James Gunn is also going to attract, a higher caliber of writers and directors this way. Like I already mentioned Mike Flanagan, but I bet there are a ton of great talented people out there who have pitched Marvel ideas, but they were turned away because they didn't fit with the house style. Now, for the DCU, they might say yes to those kind of projects, but they would make them an elseworld story

like the Batman. Now, like I said, this movie made me want to take a look back at my favorite superhero film, Superman the movie. Now, I still have a lot of personal affection for that film. And I think it's the most important comic book movie of all time, because frankly, set the template for all others. But is it the best comic book film? Let's find out. And I am joined here by a panel of experts. We have Screen Crush Editor-in-Chief Matt Singer, Colton Ogburn, the guy who's trapped in our TV and doesn't know it so please don't tell him. And of course, Cameron Caskey, the intern that we fire in every single video. Look, we're all comic book fans. We've all seen Superman, and I want to get your thoughts and then find out, hey, where does this rank in the canon of

Superman films? And why did you think it works so well? Cameron, you are the biggest DC fan And I know you've been a huge fan of this character since you were born, basically. Tell me you liked the movie. I mean, it was so good. It was the perfect movie for our times. I think that's what made Superman stand out in a way that maybe other iterations hadn't before or in a way that other superheroes haven't recently. Is that Superman is so the hero for our time right now.

Things have gotten so terribly cynical that the idea that there's a superhero who exists to stand against that, to say that optimism and hope are not foolish. They are actually virtuous is really cool. And it was just done so well. I mean, David Corenswet, Superman is, in my opinion, the best depiction of the character I've seen since the Justice League Unlimited episode where Superman had that dream krypton world that got terribly torn away from him. It was this really...

Was that what you get for the man who has everything? For the man who has everything, which is based on a famous and great Superman comic book as well. It was a very exuberant, lively, effervescent depiction of the character who had a mixture of childish wonder to him, but not in like a Star Lord Manchild way, more in like a, and I'm an optimistic person who sees the best in the world, and you understand that even more when you meet Ma and Pa and you see the goodness in them. But Corn Sweat was an unbelievable choice for the character. I called it years ago, by the way, when I watched him in The Politician on Netflix. But Rachel Brosnahan was so fucking, excuse me, was so freaking good.

She was so formidable, and she chewed up the screen when she was there. I wish we had gotten more of her. That was the first thing. That was the only thing I had resembling a bad feeling about the movie. I was like, I could have handled another 20 minutes of Lois Lane and the Daily Planet. But really, just from top to bottom, it is unapologetically Superman. It is unapologetically comic book. It's one of the comic bookiest movies I've ever seen, including the Ramey films.

And it was just, you know, it was a very, very bright light in a dark time that was simultaneously very, very political, but also if you pick apart the politics of it, it's not very political. It's really just human. We're just in a time right now where a lot of people have made things political that shouldn't necessarily be. And it was a fearless movie. It was unafraid of commentary, it was unafraid of itself, and it was unafraid to be silly.

And I think that's why it was so special. Yeah, one thing I think that really stands out about this movie, James Gunn has so much experience balancing multiple characters. The balance they hit between the silliness of crypto and the real seriousness of this guy who thought he had a purpose and then basically has that ripped away from him and has to rediscover who he is. I am amazed that James Gunn can give us those silly comedic moments, but balance. that out with real human moments. And the theme of this movie is humanity. What makes us human? Is it our imperfections or our perfections, like Lex Luthor says? Matt, your reviews up on screencrush.com, but what are your thoughts? I was pleasantly surprised. I guess I maybe shouldn't

have been pleasantly surprised because I pretty much liked all of James Gunn's superhero movies so far. So I don't know why I would have assumed this would be different, but yeah, I really enjoyed it. it's definitely among the very best Superman movies that have ever been made. And I had a lot of fun with it. I don't have a ton of complaints. I kind of got sucked in and taken for a kind of a really enjoyable ride. I thought the script was good. The performances were good. Superman was really good. I really enjoyed this interpretation of the character, but I also loved Lex Luthor and Lois. all the you know it has a lot of moving parts um but it never feels overstuffed and it it's not that long too it's like for the amount of characters and storylines um it it it flies by no pun intended

and it does it it's about two hours long it's uh and it goes by in a blink and you know and it and it actually does kind of make me excited to see what other moves movies they're going to make in this universe. And it does it without, like, heavy-handed, you know, like dropping a ton of breadcrumbs or, you know, like pausing the movie so they can set up a cliffhanger or a storyline. It's really just through, like, creating a really rich world and, like, populating it with really fun, really interesting characters that you then want to see more of what a concept i don't know matt i thought this movie needed more powerpoint presentations of black and white footage of superheroes for future movies that was what i

i was watching i was like it's really cool seeing these heroes in action and doing stuff and being a part of the story but what if we just slid them into a laptop instead i think that would be a much more why aren't there folders on a desktop with their logo on them i kept saying that over and over I think we all kind of have that same gripe, so we should move on from it. Colton, you didn't like it, right? Yeah, no, I hated it. No, I loved it. Oh, good. We can finally argue. Yeah. Is this what hope and joy feels like?

I think so. This is amazing. Like, I haven't seen those original Superman movies since I was a kid, so it's been a long time. So the most recent, like, version of Superman that I have seen is, you know, like the Henry Cavill version, which I love. but oh my god ryan i get your point now about this this is superman this is what superman is supposed to feel like this is the ramy spider-man feeling superman movie that i have always wanted it was just so perfect and it's rare that there's a movie that just gets progressively better as as it goes you know most films even the good ones they'll have that dip moment or maybe where you

check what time it is or like maybe an exposition scene that just goes on a little long this movie i thought the pacing at the very beginning was a little off but then it immediately you know it just that went away and it just got better and better and better it felt like i was on a roller coaster ride in the best way possible it felt like didn't scorcese say like comic book films now feel like uh theme park rides i yeah i think this did feel like that in the best way possible who doesn't like an amusement park ride. I thought it was absolutely phenomenal. I echo a lot of what Cam and Matt said. I'm not surprised at all. James Gunn has made the best DCEU film ever before this with the suicide squad. So I wasn't surprised at all. He's never missed. He is still never missed.

And so I look forward to the future of this universe. Yeah, and that's the thing too. Like Matt said earlier, it didn't have to lay a lot of breadcrumbs out. And there's a million things they can pick up on. You know, we've done an Ending Explained video and a breakdown. There's little things like Lord Industries and Stag Industries or Lord Tech and, you know, all that's in there if they want to pick it up later. But for the most part, the way this movie establishes a franchise is like how Iron Man did it. Make a good movie. And like I said earlier, the real difference here is this crazy thing called finishing a screenplay first. You know what I mean? Which I'm sure Warner Brothers is thrilled about because they have this long, you know, franchise ahead of them where they know

they're not going to have to pay for reshoes. There is one thing that kind of worries me about that, though. Like the reason we were able to get like 10 Tony Stark movies in 10 years or whatever it was, and the reason we were able to get like all of these great Marvel movies one after the other is because they were constantly planning what was next and what was next. So obviously they're not going to tell us if they're not going to announce plans for Superman too yet. But I do think that this slow and methodical approach might age out some of some of the actors. You know, it's a little bit riskier that maybe we won't see a Justice League film with all of these characters for 12 years or so. I wonder, do you guys have any concerns like that? Or is the, or is this movie

worth it? Or how much does that even matter to you that we get this big crossover movie? Well, I think one of the great things they did here is establish that everything is already around, right? We have the justice gang. They leap into action. Metahumans have been around forever. So in a way that Marvel had to introduce each character with a contextualization of how they've been here all along. Because when Iron Man came out, Iron Man, as far as we knew, was the first extraordinary thing that's happened in this world. So then when Thor, Captain America and the others come into the scene, you have to kind of go backwards and say, oh, no, no, no, Ant Man was actually here during the 70s, but we didn't know about him. Oh, Captain Marvel was here in the 90s, but nobody knew about it. Right now, if they wanted to make a Justice League movie in 2007,

They could just say, oh, the Justice Gang expanded its ranks now that the Hall of Justice is built. James really set up a universe that can just sort of plug and play, and I think that that's really exciting. And it goes to show that you really can make a superhero movie in a realized, fully-fledged superhero universe without it getting bogged down. It was one of the first thing James said when he announced Green Lantern, Hawk Girl, Mr. Terrific, and Metamorpho, and people were saying, oh my God, this movie is going to be jam-packed with cameos. James said, these aren't cameos? This is just the supporting cast. You know, Oppenheimer had three times as many speaking roles, and people loved that.

And then you see Superman and you see the Justice Gang, and they are simultaneously part of the story, enough that they don't feel like cameos, but they're also not chewing up other people's time. As a matter of fact, you just watch them and say, gee, I wish I had gotten to hang out with them more. And fortunately, we are going to be able to do so, at least with Guy Gardner, as soon as Land. So I think that the key to making this universe something that can really take off once people start to get behind it is that everything is already there. The Hall of Justice has already built. Let's hop right in. Yeah. And with shows, with projects like this where you have that supporting cast, right? The great thing I think that James Gunn did and did in the Guardians movies is if he has people who are on the edges, he doesn't try to give them a big arc that requires a lot of scenes. their arc is essentially we show up we're kind of dicks and then they grow and then learn they don't have to do things politically they can just go help out people and they're inspired by Superman so their their story their arc does tie back to the main theme of the movie which is Superman and his journey Matt what about you I mean you're a comics fan just like me do you are you excited for like where this universe goes next or where would you like to see it go yeah I said before like I think one of the things that it does really well is make you want to see more films and TV shows in this world without you know like being like oh well this is what has to happen next or you know it doesn't pin

itself down to any specific thing characters show up but they're not left in a position where they're you know they're they're they're too narrowly drawn into what has to happen next they can wait for the right or best story idea or best script to happen. You know, if that means there are one or two less, you know, Superman movies or Justice League movies eventually, ultimately. I mean, if the ones we get are better as a result, that seems, you know, like a pretty obvious, you know, quality over quantity win for me. but if you know if somebody disagrees with that to each his own like that's fine but

I you know it doesn't I'm not worried like oh we're not you know that these characters are going to get too old to make more of these I think we saw the kind of opposite of that approach the last time there was a DC universe and to some extent recently with Marvel

where some of these movies have been kind of going off almost half cocked where it's like We have to have a movie come out in February, or we have to have this movie come out to set up X, Y, or Z, and kind of seen the pitfalls of that approach. Like, I just really enjoyed that approach to the material, to the universe in general. And so it almost is less important what the next character is or what the story is. As it is, they've kind of, it's like a proof of concept of a kind of approach that I really liked and resonated with me. And that more than anything is exciting.

Yeah, well said. You know, and that's the thing. Like, I'm one of these people who I guess I've just eaten so good over the past 10, 15, 20 years with comic book movies, I just want more. Colton, I want to ask you something. So earlier, you know, we all agree. We all like the movie, right? We're all down for the new DCU. But, you know, Matt, you had said to me, you think it might be the best Superman movie ever made.

And as you guys know, Superman 78 has a really special place in my heart. I remember being a kid and hopping up and down to the couch and watching it. Colton, you're one of the few people I know, at least in the screencrush realm, who likes Man of Steel. I think it's a good movie, but not a good Superman movie. It's well made, but I hate it as a Superman film. So when we talk about this, and we're comparing these movies and stuff like that, following up what you said earlier, where do you rank this movie with Man of Steel and all the other Superman movies for that matter? Well, and I just want to say, I want Justice Gang Asterix, and then at the end they reveal as Justice League. That's what I want for the universe. Oh, okay.

It's better than Man of Steel. I think Man of Steel was the right movie for the right time. D.C. was trying to stand out in a time where the MCU was kind of the bright, you know, type of film that this Superman ended up being. They were trying to make their universe stand out and be a little different. They, the only Superman movies we had had to that point was the original four. And then they did that Superman Returns movie, which was that same genre. So I get why they pivoted when they pivoted. We also have to remember that that film came out in, what, 2013, which is when that kind

of genre of comic book film was more, I guess, like, I don't want to say popular, because it never really took off, but that you could kind of see that that's what they were going for, especially with the Dark Night trilogy and stuff like that. Yeah, I would say, and I hope it's not recency bias, but yeah, this is probably the best Superman movie ever made. I want Superman 2 and Superman 3. I want an actual trilogy that doesn't require me to see like seven other movies in between the films before they start doing like Justice League and all this crossover stuff. I want James the Gunn to make another Superman movie and have it out in like the next two and a half years.

And that's the real challenge for this universe is, you know, are they going to avoid the DCEU thing where they, I mean, I like what Cameron said about there's already a justice gang, but I still want to see all the big heavy hitters get their own movie and then get that thrill of seeing them on screen for the first time. Cam, what do you think? The great thing about the Justice Gang is that none of them are really heavy hitters, right? It's Guy Gardner. I'm sorry. How dare you disparage Hawk Girl? How dare I disparage Guy Gardner, the man himself? He is a scene stealer for me, man.

I love Nathan Philean in this movie. He was so perfect in that role. And yet, you've read the Justice League International Comics that I know you love and that so many people love. And if you know Guy Gardner, if you know James Gunn, if you know Nathan Phileon, James Gunn, Nathan Philly, and Guy Gardner are a match made in heaven, and you could see that in this movie. The wrong actor playing Guy is unwatchable, and the wrong writer writing guy is unwatchable, but these people were all made to be together. As for what the best Superman movie is and everything like that, you know, my childhood Superman movie was Superman Returns. That was the first film I watched with Superman, where I was young enough that I could be taken away by the idea that a man can fly.

And, you know, I think my ultimate young person, Superman, was Henry Cavill, because that came out when I was 12. But the thing about David Corrin Sweat, Superman, when compared to Christopher Reeve, who's considered the greatest of all time, I don't want to compare them to each other because Christopher Reeve, almost like Superman, is so iconic that he transcends the concept. Superman is more iconic than superheroes themselves, the way that Christopher Reeve is more iconic than just the idea of what it means to be supermen. Superman on screen. But when it comes to the best Superman in function, the Superman you're watching and you're seeing the idea of Superman maximized to the best of its potential, it has to be David Corrin Sweat because Christopher Reeve's Superman came in a different cultural context and it came at a time when we were capable of doing different things on screen. And I think that David Corrin Sweat, Superman, we are able to see him do the things that Superman does in the comic book in a way that Christopher

Reeve wasn't able to do on screen because of technical limitations. So, yes, I think Cornswets, the best Superman, first of all, because we get to see him do these unbelievable feats, but also because we are at a time right now culturally where Superman bears more relevance because Christopher Reeves Superman came out at a time when there was a bit more decorum in this world and when people were behaving publicly slightly better. and when the idea of somebody who represents the bastion of goodness was less surprising, David Corrin Sweat Superman exists in spite of our times. David Corrin Sweat Superman is good in a world.

James Gunn said this himself, where kindness is seen as old-fashioned. And I think that's what makes him splash more is that the idea of somebody just doing the right thing is a lot more alien and strange to us in this day and age than it was in 1978. That's so well said, and I completely agree. I mean, the thing about Superman 78 is he came along at a very cynical time, you know, where people mistrusted the government, one of the big popular genres in the 70s was conspiracy thrillers, political thrillers. And so then comes along with this guy who...

Exactly. So along comes this guy who reminds people. There's a reason the movie opens with a comic book because it's there to remind people of their childhoods. And I saw a lot of people when trailers for this movie came out who said, oh, Superman fans are stuck in the 70s, we're not. We're stuck in the 30s because that movie was made in the 70s, but it's very much a callback to that, like, 1930s New Deal idealism that Superman represented in those early issues. Matt, where would you rank this movie amongst the Superman canon? Well, I definitely would be very confident saying it's the best Superman movie that's been made while I've been alive. I was born in 1980, so, you know, like, that kind of puts it outside the 78 Superman.

I feel like it's hard. I don't really want to call this the best Superman movie ever when I've seen it one time a couple of days ago. You know, when I've seen the 78 Superman so many times and it's kind of stood the test of time for decades. It's sort of unfair to say that right now, but I leave myself open to, you know, maybe my opinion, not changing, but kind of shifting or evolving in a couple of months or in a couple of years. I think the thing that the 78 Superman has going for it is it has Christopher Reeve, who's just incredible, and, you know, like, you know, Ryan was saying, you know, he, he, He is so incredible. And, you know, yes, like Cameron was saying, like, you know,

that it was a different time in terms of movie-making technology. But in some ways, that almost makes Christopher Reeves performance more impressive to me. You know, the famous tagline of the movie about You Will Believe a Man Can Fly. It's like part of that was just Christopher Reeve because the technology wasn't there to do some of the insane wild. things that a computer can do now. You know, yes, some of the practical effects still look pretty good today, but a lot of it is just like the way

that he wore the suit, the confidence that he had, where he walked and moved, and the way that he held his body when he's being yanked around on wires. Yeah, and as a pilot, he knew how to bank, too. So, like, he would know, because he was used to flying small aircraft. Yeah, he just kind of...

As a pilot, he would know how to what? fly. Christopher Ring was a pilot. So he knew how to work a small aircraft and, like, how to bank into a turn and things like that. Oh, that's so cool. I didn't know that. Oh, yeah, yeah, yeah.

Sorry, Matt, I cut you off, though. Yeah, just that, like, he embodied Superman in this really elegant way. And the movie is a lot of fun. Now, the problem for me with Superman 78, again, a movie I've seen so many times is, like, it's a two and a half hour movie and the first 40 minutes in my opinion are not that great

and they're kind of boring and honestly when I watch them today on streaming I just kind of fast forward them and start with like the first scene in Metropolis you know Marlon Brando not knowing the name of Superman's planet and Krypton and nobody wanting to correct him

and all the scenes in Smallville and you know Glenn Ford's a great actor as well but just, yeah, the guy who's kind of, like, got Christopher Ree's voice coming out of him, the young guy playing the young Carr Kent, and those scenes, I just, I don't think hold up all that great. Christopher Reeve absolutely holds up. And the scenes with him and Lois and flying, and, you know, there's like, very, like, elemental Superman things in the last 90 minutes of the movie. the first 40 minutes I don't hold that close to my heart

so it's almost like the last 90 minutes of Superman 78 those are definitely like my favorite Superman movie but there's that whole other part of the film you know I will admit the poem that Lois Lane reads that was supposed to be the lyrics of a song that wasn't put on the soundtrack there's some stuff in there

that moment is more magical without that narration so as much as I love Superman 78 like you guys said, it is very much a product of its time. And we may look back in 20, 40, 50 years at this movie and say, boy, that was a product of its time. If I'm still alive and they're still making superhero movies and I'm 90, I'll be lucky to have an opinion of them, but you never know. That's the thing.

Like, I think you always have to consider things in the cultural context. So I do think it's interesting how this movie seems more like a remake of Superman Returns. There's a lot of similarities I'm going to talk to you guys about right now. But Matt, Cameron, Colton, thank you guys so much for joining me. Cameron, you're fired. Now, like we were saying, Superman 78 is very much a film of its time. Certain parts have aged poorly. Like Matt said, there is the Shakespearean-esque Krypton opening, which owes more to 70s dystopia sci-fi films like Logan's run or THX-1138. But I do disagree with Matt about one thing. Those small-ville scenes are crucial.

That is where we see who Clark Kent really is, just like we do in this movie. When Paul Kent says, son, you're here for a reason. It's not to score touchdowns. He is telling Clark that his powers should be used for a greater purpose. Richard Donner specifically did the film in three phases, a Shakespearean opera, a Norman Rockwell painting, and a comic strip. I don't think that anything in Metropolis works without those first two parts. And I don't necessarily think it's fair to compare these two films.

Superman 2025 would not soar if it didn't have Superman 78 to fly behind. But what do you guys think? Is this the best Superman movie? Let me hear your thoughts down in the comments below or at me on Twitter, Blue Sky Threads, or on our free-to-join Discord server. And if it's your first time here, please subscribe, smash that bell for alerts. For Spring Crush, I'm Ryan Erie.