#edigathegi

Review: SUPERMAN (2025)

Director: James Gunn Writer: James Gunn Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Frank Grillo, Sara Sampaio   Reviewed by: Joshua Raynor   Summary Superman 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. Also, with the help of Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Mister Terrific, he must also stop Lex Luthor, his mysterious henchman Ultraman, and The Engineer from destroying his good name, and the world.   Positives I'm going to start this review off by saying I know there are people out there who will disagree with my thoughts on this film, and that's alright. Film is subjective. Everyone who watches it will have their own unique experience with it. You don't have to agree with me, but no matter what, these are my thoughts and opinions on this film. With all of that being said, I thought this film was absolutely incredible! James Gunn delivered a wonderful story of hope and strength and what it means to truly be good. It's a perfect start for his DCU, and makes me incredibly excited for what's to come next. Gunn did an impeccable job pulling double duty, writing a solid script that really managed to understand who Superman truly is, at his core, while also directing this incredible film and showing us all that brightness doesn't take away from what a superhero can do, and being a good person is exactly what Superman strives to be every single day.

The entire cast in this was phenomenal, starting off with the Man of Steel himself, David Corenswet. He brought to life this version of Superman that we haven't seen in quite a while. People have become too cynical over the years and only seem to want a Superman that's focused on violence and destruction, instead of doing what's right and being a good person. David's performance here is so wholesome that it might come off as hokey to some, especially when he uses words like "golly" and "darn," but that's what I loved about it. And it worked particularly well juxtaposed against the Justice Gang. The Justice Gang saw Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi, and Isabela Merced bring to life the characters of Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Mr. Terrific, and Hawkgirl. This team works for Maxwell Lord (who we get a quick glimpse of, played by Sean Gunn) and their goal is to protect the planet from intergalactic threats, no matter what. So, for example, whereas Superman wanted to get the rampaging kaiju out of the city alive and study it, the Justice Gang were all about the fight and killing it quickly. At one point Guy even mocks Superman's rule about not killing if possible, and we see Hawkgirl straight up kill a dude, saying "I'm not like Superman." Then there's Mr. Terrific, who is very much so emotionally separated from other people, which is basically the opposite of Superman, who embodies empathy for all humankind.

Nicholas Hoult's Lex Luthor was a stand out as he was probably the closest to the comics version of Lex that I've ever seen done in live action. He's definitely become my favorite portrayal of this character. He's smart and cunning, yet cold and calculated, and is absolutely vicious as well. The fact that he was able to create a side of himself that was able to trick everyone around him, while hiding his true intentions, shows just how cunning he really is. And with the help of The Engineer and Ultraman, Lex is able to really tear apart Superman's good name with the people of Metropolis, and of the world. It's such a cold-hearted, devious plan.

Speaking of The Engineer and Ultraman, I thought they were both portrayed in really interesting ways. The Engineer, while typically shown as a vigilante, working with groups like Stormwatch (I assume PlanetWatch was meant as a reference to this) and The Authority, made for a great side villain, and with The Authority on slate as an upcoming DCU film, I'm really hoping we will get to see her again. And then we have Ultraman. What I loved about this version was that instead of opening up the DCU to the multiverse already, they went a different route, basically merging characters like the comics version of Ultraman with the Kon-El Superboy and Bizarro. It was quite fascinating.

We also get to see a nice little arc for Metamorpho, or as Lex refers to him as, The Element Man. Anthony Carrigan does an incredible job playing this role. And he looked amazing! I was shocked when I got to see him in his entirety. I was worried that he would look ridiculous, but he didn't. I also want to mention the Daily Planet crew, specifically Lois Lane and Jimmy Olsen. Played by Rachel Brosnahan and Skyler Gisondo, respectively, these two did a wonderful job of shining amongst their super-powered co-stars. They embodied the characters perfectly and I really hope we get to see them pop up periodically in other projects, perhaps the upcoming Supergirl movie.

And speaking of Supergirl, her appearance at the end as the drunken party girl version of Kara makes me really excited for her movie, and especially for how she will interact with Jason Momoa's Lobo. Even though there are a lot of side characters in this film, I never once felt like they were overshadowing Superman. They played their roles perfectly, and never once took away from the fact that this, at its heart, is a Superman story. Even the Justice Gang's outfits do a great job of downplaying them, not being flashy at all, allowing them to remain out of the main focus. There's so much more I could talk about in this movie, especially all of the amazing easter eggs and references to the comics (and I'm sure there's more that I missed), but I would be remiss if I didn't mention one of the bright spots in this film... Krypto. This rambunctious little dog was so cute and adorable. He was a perfect addition to this film, going so far as to give Superman a reason to get really angry with Lex. Perhaps Lex should have watched John Wick, because then he'd know you just don't mess with someone's dog.

Negatives After watching it multiple times, I still don't have any negatives for this movie. It has the perfect runtime, great pacing, an incredible score, really cool effects, and a great story, on top of everything I stated above.   Verdict Overall, this is one of my favorite superhero movies of all time, and is currently my favorite movie of the year. It's such a strong start to the DCU and opens doors for things to come, including the Lanterns series, The Authority movie, the Supergirl movie, and even a possible project centered around The Terrifics. I can't wait for more!!   Score: 5/5

#MrTerrific #Superman2025 #MichaelHolt #EdiGathegi #dc #dcu #dccomics #portrait #pencildrawing #sadiqssolitude

Full vid: https://youtu.be/Jsvfk3gSJCE

I’m not going to lie... when I first saw the announcement that Netflix was releasing The Harder They Fall, I was nervous, specifically because I thought it was an updated version of the Jimmy Cliff classic The Harder They Come.  My worries were eased as more information came out about the project, however... news about it being a Western, the immaculate cast and the impressive trailers all had me primed for a work with a potentially high enjoyment factor.  I am happy to report that The Harder They Fall more than lives up to the hype, and is wholly worth a percentage of your streaming time.

The Harder They Fall manages to be the kind of Western that speaks to the Rockstar Games generation, particularly fans of the Grand Theft Auto and Red Dead franchises.  This aesthetic is present in the way that the film balances a number of main stories and subplots with surgical precision, playing like a highlight reel of cut scenes minus action that a player can control.  All of the stories parallel in the way that they center around three main themes : families formed by shared ideals, the power of reputation and the hunger that comes with revenge.  These three themes have always been universally rich with potential, and all are mined to a satisfying degree and spread evenly amongst the main and supporting cast where appropriate, resulting in a story that is both sprawling and tightly interwoven, resulting in a definitive narrative thrust powered by high quality storyline quantities.

On top of these fictional strong points, the film also blurs the lines in regard to the world of historical fiction, using the real life framework of legendary Black outlaws and lawmen as character primer for fictional adventures.  With all of these characters supported by real life historical tales rather than in-film exposition, the available space is filled by performances oozing personality, with character moments abound and plentiful for all willing to step to the plate.  These historical figures are broken up into two narrative factions : the fictional Nat Love Gang, comprised of young dreamers and romantics aided by the legendary Bass Reeves, and the partially based on real life Rufus Buck Gang, filled to the brim with salty dogs that are rough around the edges due to hard upbringings and harder daily lives full of crime and danger.

On the production side, director Jeymes Samuel and company are aided by top notch editing, title design and sound design, giving the film a visual flair and immersive experience that stimulates the senses and emotions without overloading them.  There is an abundantly wonderful application of costuming and styling, not to mention an amazing attention of detail that goes right down to the level of dead teeth and frontier dentistry.  The music choices are ‘interesting’ to say the least, coming off as a bit sporadic... the score-based and genre appropriate music passages are serviceable, but at times, the film toes the line of coming off like a less nuanced version of Westworld, or the Rick Ross realms of Django Unchained.  The writing is wonderfully poetic, existing perfectly between the world of frontier life and hints of modern touches.  On the action side, there are short punches of entertaining action beats that build up to a grand, high-style climax full of great gunplay, fight choreography, big explosions and a story resolution that is brought full circle in a way that is both logically sound and gut-wrenching.

The foundation built by the main four cast members in The Harder They Fall reads like an all-pro team of modern day master thespians : Ildris Elba turns up the sinister dial on his suave nature to an imposing degree; Regina King basks in the hubris of a danger reputation backed up by very real skills and survival instincts; Jonathan Majors continues his streak of balancing effortlessly natural screen presence with vulnerable and raw nerve emotional outbursts; and finally, Zazie Beetz harnesses her coolness and raw attractiveness into a mixture of performative boldness and wisdom-based self-protective measures.  Just outside of this main circle are a host of top notch supporting performances, chiefly led by the über-cool Lakeith Stanfield, who owns his moments and tone shifts like an actor twice his age and list of appearances, like a young Harvey Keitel or Donald Sutherland.  Daniel Deadwyler also turns in a powerful performance that is largely empowering in the face of the discrimination that both Black folks and women would have felt in the time the film was placed, and does so without any hint of grandstanding or punching down.  The chemistry of R.J. Cyler and Edi Gathegi helps push the tertiary plot forward, with their Yinyang presences setting a high bar for all other gang members present.  Delroy Lindo happily steps into the role of legend in a casting that not only works in terms of the film’s world, but in a way that mirrors reality based on his long and consistently impressive body of work.  Appearances by Deon Cole, Damon Wayans Jr., DeWanda Wise, Julio Cesar Cedillo and many more fill out the large cast.     

Quotes From  The Blacklist: Redemption Season 1 Episode 4 “Operation Davenport.”