Tag: superman

Supergirl (2026)

  • Director: Craig Gillespie
  • Screenplay: Ana Nogueira
  • Producer: Peter Safran, James Gunn
  • Cast: Milly Alcock, Matthias Schoenaerts, Eve Ridley, David Krumholtz. Emily Beecham, David Corenswet, Jason Momoa
  • Cinematography: Rob Hardy
  • Editing: Tatiana S. Riegel, Fred Raskin
  • Score: Claudia Sarne
  • Genre: Superhero
  • Runtime: 108 minutes

While Superman has been based on Earth since infancy, Kara Zor-El’s existence has veered on a disparate course. Upon the destruction of Krypton’s core, Kara’s father, a scientist, activated a force field which preserved Argo City. That wasn’t enough to save her mother from an untimely death due to Kryptonite poisoning. For her safety, Kara was transported to our planet to live with her cousin, Clark Kent.

This personal turmoil has shaped her into an inebriated mess, living a life of imbibing and its inevitable morning after comedown. A likeable character, nonetheless.

Not one for settling in a specific place, Kara (Milly Alcock) is off gallivanting elsewhere in the galaxy. There’s a lot of nasties out there. One of them, Krem of the Yellow Hills, slaughters the family of a young girl, Ruthye (Eve Ridley), in cold blood. Ruthye is hellbent on revenge and persistently tries to get her own back.

With a female central protagonist, perhaps you’d assume aiding Ruthye in her quest to take down Krem and his gang of space pirates would be the impetus for saving the day. Especially since the depraved bunch have imprisoned girls to be their child brides. Yuck. Alas, it’s poor Krypto, Kara’s dog, shot with a dart of poison that gives Kara reason to act. She has three days before her pet pooch perishes.

‘Supergirl‘ is an intergalactic spectacular. It’s every bit as fun as last year’s ‘Superman‘ flick. There’s a different director – Craig Gillespie (‘I, Tonya‘, ‘Cruella‘) – but this film retains the same feel and vibrancy. The set design is so detailed, with so much going on in a single frame. The character design is great too; Krem with all those metal beads covering his face and Lobo (Jason Momoa) looking like he’s a member of Kiss.

Ready for more DC blockbuster action? The sequel to ‘Superman‘ – ‘Man of Tomorrow‘ – releases next summer.

My rating: 8 / 10

Superman (2025)

  • Director: James Gunn
  • Screenplay: James Gunn
  • Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced
  • Cinematography: Henry Braham
  • Score: John Murphy, David Fleming
  • Genre: Superhero
  • Runtime: 129 minutes

From deep beneath the rubble which lay the DCEU bursts forth an all-American saviour… James Gunn? Not who you were expecting? Gunn, the mastermind behind the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy‘ franchise, has flitted between Marvel and DC in the past few years. Following the release of ‘Guardians Vol. 2‘, he was controversially fired due to some dodgy tweets so crossed over to DC where he directed 2021’s ‘The Suicide Squad‘. After being brought back to finish the ‘Guardians‘ trilogy, Gunn has now made DC his permanent home; he’s the head honcho (along with film producer Peter Safran) of the DCU. It’s a soft reboot of the previous cinematic universe, a mishmash of original characters and former favourites. It remains to be seen at this stage which actors will stay in their roles or who will be completely recast.

As for ‘Superman‘, this is no origin story; Superman is an established protector of the planet, has been for three years prior; he and Lois Lane are an item. We’ve had enough genesis stories of late, so this saves precious time when we can instead embrace the future. It’s bold, fresh and colourful. The icy Fortress of Solitude in the Antarctic desert and Green Lantern’s emerald-hued energy constructs are superb. Yes, Green Lantern is one of a bunch of new heroes introduced as part of the ‘Justice Gang’ alongside Mister Terrific and Hawkgirl.

David Corenswet fits the role of Clark Kent / Superman like a glove and Brosnahan makes a capable Lois Lane. I had issues with Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal of Lex Luthor – I felt an older actor with more gravitas should play Superman’s arch-nemesis. Hoult is maybe too young but we all have to start somewhere.

Speaking of starting somewhere, ‘Superman‘ kicks off the DCU with gusto. Gunn might not be directing every movie in this universe but he’s got grand plans – I think Kevin Feige ought to be scared.

My rating: 8 / 10