Superman (2025/USA) is a movie that brings to life a few of the contemporary global issues plaguing the world right now. Thought-provokingly, this DC universe movie focuses its attention on us versus them, tech billionaire overlords, corporate greed, settler colonialism, neo-colonialism, wars, conflicts, sufferings, etc.
To quote DC Comics: “Superman is the Man of Steel. He is the ultimate symbol of truth, justice, and hope. Besides, he is the world’s first superhero. And he is a guiding light to all.” But it seems that perhaps the use of all of these human-like qualities has made this 2025 movie a controversial one, in times like these.
“Superman” Hits Out At Tech Billionaire Overlords, Social Media Bullying, News Narratives Controls, Dirty Geopolitics & More Issues
Not Really A Spoiler Free Review of the Superman (2025/USA) Movie
The introduction
Well, the protagonist of the movie is Superman (David Corenswet), who is an alien from the planet Krypton. But, in reality, he is more human and humane than most. Then, in complete contrast, there is an antagonist, the tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who is evil personified. His (personal and corporate) greed knows no bounds. To fill his coffers, he is willing to kill all the citizens of the fictional Jarhanpur nation. So, he uses his billions to push the fictional Boravia nation to wage a violent war. And when Superman support the poor people of Jarhanpur and stops the war, Lex uses all of his resources to destroy him.
It was hilarious to come across a scene in the movie, where villain Lex uses many monkey bots to run the #SuperSpy #SuperShit (hate speech & fake news) to destroy the online reputation of Superman. Besides, the Lex is also supplying the deadly weapons and other technological support for wartime mass murders.
Does the story deals with the the contemporary geopolitical matters?
Notably, this 2025 Superman movie delves into an armed conflict between two fictional nations, Boravia and Jarhanpur. Interestingly, many viewers have claimed that this is a symbolic narrative for the ongoing Israeli-Palestinian conflict in the Middle East. Where one side (Boravia/Israel) is heavily armed with modern arms by the Western Nations, esp. the USA, while the other side (Jarhanpur/Palestine) valiantly struggles with their ancient weapons. So, to save humanity from a lopsided war and certain annihilation, Superman decides to step in. And, many powerful people, including Lex, do not like this intervention by Superman.
Please note: There is a lot of online (and social media) controversy surrounding the above-mentioned (Israel and Palestine) interpretations; now it is up to the movie viewers to interpret this film according to their own understanding.
Despite the vehement opposition, Superman take up the cudgels for the poor denizens of the Jarhanpur, to serve humanity and help the world to become a better place. Now, this portrayal of nations is a real bone of contention. But let us not forget the message passed on to Superman by his parents from Krypton.
Now, we have to honestly ask ourselves, are these modern Tech advancements (like IT & AI) making our world a better place? Isn’t the world of 2025 still witnessing the rising incidents of impunity, discrimination, democratic deficits, armed conflict, weak institutions, poverty and inequality?
That is why our broken world needs the healing touch of someone like Superman. But then, that only happens in a comic book or a movie.
It even touches upon the real world human rights issues
Now, many movie viewers claim that the fictional Jarhanpur represents the present-day Gaza in the Palestinian nation. While the fictional Boravia symbolises Israel. Furthermore, the movie depicts the fictionalised roles of the USA political establishment, its Tech Billionaires, its Social Media, its News media, etc. Remarkably, the visual and narrative similarities to the real-world situation have sparked controversy. Thereby, very clearly, blurring the lines between fiction and reality. No wonder the plotline of the movie has created a lot of controversy. It even compelled the movie writer and director, James Gunn, to come out and issue a clarification that the film is not meant to be a direct commentary on the Middle East. Bravo, Gunn, for the provocative movie!
The International Criminal Court (ICC*) is in the process of investigating the "Palestine situation," which involves alleged war crimes and crimes against humanity that have taken place in Gaza and the West Bank. (News Source: ICC & HRW websites)
The 2025 Superman movie raises quite a few important questions. And these uncomfortable questions are raising a lot of heat around the world, especially in the Middle East. For instance, take the real-life cases of the Tech Billionaires, who are making privacy and human rights redundant. Are these good steps for us?
The conclusion
The screentime in this movie is dominated by David Corenswet (Superman), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), and Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor), who play three key characters. And all three of them did justice to their characters. Actor David Corenswet breathed a lot of life into the lead role of Superman; it seems he is in for a long haul. At least, Superman stood up like a real hero and made a difference. The rest of the ensemble cast played their respective characters well. And we loved the use of special effects to portray the wild imagination. Moreover, a bunch of jarring moments can be overlooked.
While enjoying this very well-made sci-fi movie, we were impressed with the characters of defiance and resilience shown by Superman as well as the poor people of Jarhanpur. But there is certainly much more to the Superman story than the conflict between the two nations, mentioned above. The major portion of the story is dedicated to exposing the shenanigans and exploitations perpetuated by the Tech Billionaire overlord (s) of the world. So, before we sign off, we humbly suggest that our readers watch this thought-provoking movie, then make up their minds, enjoy it and draw their conclusions.
FM Rating
| FM Rating of Superman (2025) | 3.90/5 |
Poster
Key Details
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Sci-fi, Superhero |
| Original Language | English (USA) |
| Duration | 2 Hours 9 Minutes |
| Creators of Superman | Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster |
| Writer | James Gunn |
| Director | James Gunn |
| Main Cast | David Corenswet (Superman), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor), Bradley Cooper (Jor-El), Angela Sarafyan (Lara), Edi Gathegi (Mr. Terrific), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Neva Howell (Ma Kent), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Pa Kent), María Gabriela de Faría (The Engineer), Sara Sampaio (Eve Teschmacher), Wendell Pierce (Perry White), Beck Bennett (Steve Lombard), etc. |
| Taglines | It begins. Look up. |
| Distributor | Warner Bros. Pictures |
| Production Co. | DC Studios, Troll Court Entertainment & The Safran Company. |
James Gunn's film Superman was released digitally in the US on Friday, is expected to be available for streaming on OTT platforms such as Amazon Prime Video and Apple TV in India shortly.
Trailer & Synopsis | Official
Superman (David Corenswet) must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way, he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned. Furthermore, when Superman gets drawn into conflicts at home and abroad, his actions are questioned, giving tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) the opportunity to get the Man of Steel out of the way for good. Will intrepid reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and Superman's four-legged companion, Krypto, be able to help him before it's too late?
We also loved the two scenes in the closing credits; the first was that of Superman and Krypto on the moon, while in the second one, Superman and Mr Terrific work on rebuilding Metropolis, as the adjustments and alignments need to be done.
We also liked the touching music "Look Up" from Superman, check its video on YouTube. And, check out the FM Review of the Sunny (Season 1/2024), another Sci-fi series.
Poster and Featured Images of the Superman (2025/USA) Movie are credited to DC Studios.
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