Zahiaa Zeraat

“Superman (2025)” — A Hero for Our Time I was deeply moved by James Gunn’s Superman (2025). This film resonates powerfully with our era’s anxieties and hopes, offering not just spectacle, but a meaningful reflection of our world. Superman feels less like a distant myth and more like someone who truly represents us—especially through what I perceive as its principled sympathy toward the Palestinian people. From the very beginning, Gunn’s approach breaks from grim, origin-heavy retellings. Instead, we encounter an already established Superman navigating a week of intense moral and geopolitical trials—no capes or backstory required . David Corenswet’s portrayal is quietly emotional, a hero who embodies hope, kindness, and justice in a world that often dismisses such values as naively old-fashioned . The film’s aesthetic is delightfully comic-book vibrant—quirky, colorful, and heart-filled. It tosses in playful elements like Krypto the superdog and a robot butler, yet balances them with meditations on misinformation, authoritarianism, and the abuse of power by billionaires . It’s a tonal balance that only someone with Gunn’s unique sensibility could execute: light yet serious, warm yet thought-provoking. What elevates this film for me is its political resonance. The conflict between Boravia and Jarhanpur—a narrative of an aggressor nation against a more vulnerable neighbor—unavoidably evokes parallels to the Israel–Palestine situation . Many critics argue this is intentional. The film doesn’t explicitly state that Superman is "pro-Palestine," but the allegory is unmistakable: a morally upright Superman defending the innocent resonates as an affirmation of Palestinian suffering and resistance . As one viewer shared on Reddit: > “The new Superman movie taught me how to be empathetic about the Gaza War… it made me think about the kids in Gaza—they were all innocent victims thrown in a political war.” That emotional ripple speaks volumes. It shows that storytelling—even within mainstream superhero cinema—can awaken empathy and moral reflection. Of course, the film has its flaws. Critics point to an overstuffed plot, uneven CGI, and some tonal inconsistency . Yet even these flaws feel like the marks of an ambitious attempt to do something more—someone reaching for depth where prior films only tread illusions. In short, Superman (2025) is more than just a reboot; it’s a hopeful reset. It merges idealism with relevance, offering a Superman who dares to stand on the side of universal empathy and human decency. For those of us yearning for a hero that seems to genuinely “translate” our values to the screen—especially in solidarity with the Palestinian cause—this film feels like an overdue, overdue arrival. ---