Editors’ note: In honor of Leif Allgood and the stories they brought to The Pinion, we are sharing the final draft of their ‘Superman’ movie review, published posthumously with minor edits.
Is it a bird? Is it a plane? No, it’s Superman! The man of steel, symbol of hope, humanity and the indomitable human spirit, despite him being an alien. The story of the famous Kryptonian has been adapted thousands of times over 80 years, whether it be on the page or the big screen. Through the fantastic and the flops, people continue to love Superman after all this time. This 2025 “Superman” is fantastic; just off the bat, an overwhelmingly fantastic movie that made me reappreciate the superhero movie genre and Superman as a whole.
With the buildup to the movie, I was fairly excited to go watch it because the last superhero movie I watched was The Batman back in 2022. When I went to go watch it with my dad, we both had very different expectations of what it was going to be. He was expecting it to be a regrettable experience since he isn’t a fan of Superman in the slightest. My expectation of it was that it was going to be decent, nothing substantial, but overall, just okay. We were both proven wrong in the best way possible.
The movie is just flat out amazing and perfectly captures what Superman is and what he stands for, while giving it a refreshing twist on the franchise. Superman has always been a character about hope, kindness and goodwill towards everyone, and the movie perfectly captures it, putting emphasis on the “man” in Superman.
With the mentions of counterculture with the use of the song “Punkrocker” by Iggy Pop and the Teddybears, the movie brings up a wonderful point: punk rock, a culture born from oppression and about injustice, is kind; that kindness and being human is the most punk.
With features from lesser-known characters such as Mr. Terrific, Green Lantern (Guy Gardener) and Metamorpho, it’s a mess and hodgepodge of the DC universe in the best way possible. Every person in their roles in this movie gives their absolute all. I felt like they gave their absolute best performances possible and that nothing felt half baked. Nicholas Hoult as the nefarious Lex Luthor was the true standout performance for me; just the utter emotion and hatred you feel in his performance captures the true pettiness of the character displayed in the comics. Superman also touches on some important political issues in the real world such as militarism, immigration and the Israel-Palestine conflict.
