Matthew VanValkenburgh

It Looked Like Superman. It Moved Like Superman. But It Didn’t Feel Like Superman. I’ll start by saying this: I didn’t hate James Gunn’s Superman. There are moments of charm, energy, and visual ambition. I even found myself enjoying parts of it. But when the credits rolled, I didn’t feel moved. I didn’t feel inspired. I didn’t feel anything lasting. That’s a problem — because Superman is supposed to be the character who leaves you thinking long after you leave the theater. The film is packed with so much — so many characters, tones, and plot threads — that it never gives you time to settle into what really matters. It rushes to be fun, clever, nostalgic, or different, but never takes a breath to be true. The emotional core? Hard to find. The weight of Superman’s role in the world? Barely acknowledged. By contrast, Henry Cavill’s Man of Steel — for all its controversy — made a bold choice: it treated Superman as real. As someone alien, uncertain, powerful, burdened, and deeply human. Every scene, every choice in that film revolved around one central question: What does it mean to be Superman in a flawed world? It gave you something to wrestle with. In Gunn’s version, we get the opposite — and it feels deliberate. Whether or not it was done out of spite, it feels like an intentional swing away from everything Man of Steel tried to do. But here’s the thing: you don’t have to tear down what came before just to try something new. The right move would’ve been this: take what worked from Cavill’s Superman — the emotional depth, the visual weight, the philosophical heart — and blend it with a new hopeful tone, if that’s what you want to add. That’s how you build a lasting Superman. Not by rebooting for the sake of rebooting. Not by tossing out the gravity that made the character matter in the first place. Even visually, I struggled. The CGI-heavy action lacked physicality. Some moments felt more like a cartoon than a cinematic experience. When Superman doesn’t feel powerful, doesn’t move with weight, doesn’t carry the presence that Cavill had… you lose a big piece of what makes the character iconic. I’m not saying don’t watch it. I got some enjoyment out of it, too. But that’s all it gave me: temporary enjoyment. It didn’t stay with me. It didn’t inspire reflection. It didn’t make me believe in anything. It just… existed. To Warner Bros. and James Gunn: this isn’t meant to be an attack. It’s a plea. Superman isn’t just a comic book icon. He’s a symbol. Please don’t strip away the parts that made people believe in him — just because you want to make it “your own.” Growth doesn’t mean forgetting the past. It means building on it. Did anyone else feel this way? Or was it just me?