Superman

Director: James Gunn
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Ed Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Sara Sampaio, María Gabriela de Faría, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Nina Howell, Mikaela Hoover, Beck Bennett, Christopher McDonald, Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan, Alan Tudyk, Michael Rooker, Pom Klementieff
Running Time: 129 min.
Rating: PG-13

★★★ ½ (out of ★★★★)  

In the decades following Richard Donner's Superman and its 1980 sequel, there's been this massive struggle over how to best present a new film that would again do justice to an iconic character. But from the slavish homage that was 2006's Superman Returns to Zack Snyder's broodier take on the material with his divisive Man of Steel in 2013, no one's really been able to crack the code since. 

Part of the problem stems from just how familiar we are with the origin story, putting the franchise in a precarious spot where DC's entire future hinges on studio chief and writer/director James Gunn's ability to somehow work around it. But within the first few minutes of 2025's Superman, he does just that, as a few sentences of text appear across the screen to concisely bring us up to speed. 

We're immediately off to the races with composer John Murphy's spine tingling new version of John Williams' iconic score as backdrop, giving us our most promising sign in years that someone may finally get this right. And with our hero's beaten and bloodied body prone on the ground, Gunn already sheds much of the baggage that's held this property down by simply getting right down to business. From then on, there's no looking back, which isn't to say the movie's flawless, just that it seems to grasp Superman's essence in a way other attempts haven't. 

After stopping the nation of Boravia from invading the neighboring country of Jarhanpur, Superman (David Corenswet) is left battered by an armored metahuman assassin known as the "Hammer of Boravia" before rambunctious super dog Krypto drags him back to his Fortress of Solitude to heal. But upon returning to Metropolis, Superman discovers billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has unleashed a monster kaiju on the city, getting help to fight it from"Justice Gang" heroes Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Ed Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).  

As Superman's interview with Daily Planet colleague and girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) puts a temporary strain on their relationship, Luthor and his mercenaries Ultraman and The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) have infiltrated Superman's fortress, restoring a controversial message from his birth parents, Jor-El and Lara Lor-Van (Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan) that turns the public and government against him. Demoralized and full of self-doubt, Superman will now need to rediscover his true purpose in order to thwart Luthor's master plan. 

Gunn doesn't shy away from Superman's inherent goodness, reflected in the character's ability to see the world for how it should be rather than what it is. Christopher Reeve played this trait sincerely, which is what made him the measuring stick for all who followed, including Corenswet, who possesses that similar quality when wearing the cape or bumbling around the Daily Planet offices as Clark Kent. And like Reeve, there's no adjustment period needed for us to wrap our heads around the fact he's Superman. From the first moment we see him, he just is.

With Superman still beloved by the citizens of Metropolis at the film's start, alter ego Clark Kent is in the awkward early goings of a secret relationship with Lois, who's already well aware of his true identity. While none of their Daily Planet co-workers even know they're dating or have an inkling who Clark really is, the fun facade they put on at work is enough to wish the film spent even more time there. 

You could actually quibble we don't get quite enough of Corenswet as Clark, if only because he plays the role so effectively. With his trademark glasses and  moptop of unkempt curly hair, his physical transformation is topped only by an underconfident demeanor and body language that has you believing photographer Jimmy Olsen (Skylar Gisondo) and editor-in-chief Perry White (an underutilized Wendell Pierce) wouldn't suspect a thing. 

If it's easy to immediately accept Corenswet, this applies equally to Brosnahan as the spunky, determined reporter with whom he shares a palpable chemistry that serves the film well, even when they're apart. Their flirty but occasionally contentious back-and-forth during her interview sets the stage for what follows, including the crisis of confidence Superman experiences when his biological parents' unsettling goal for him is revealed. So rattled by this, he'll eventually seek solace and answers back home in Smallville, where adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) help him rediscover his true purpose.

Once Superman surrenders and is held in Luthor's pocket universe prison, Gunn's script hits its stride at a midway point where most superhero entries drag or lose steam. Helping is Hoult's coldly consistent portrayal of Luthor as an Elon Musk-inspired meglomaniac who not only comes across as a credibly dangerous geopolitical threat, but a petty, jealous control freak whose ego can't handle the mere existence of a Superman. And those  worried the ancillary heroes would overwhelm the story or merely serve as a DCEU spin-off teaser will be pleased to know the Justice Gang's introduction couldn't go smoother. The only complaint is that Merced's Hawkgirl should have more to do, but Fillion's cocky, bowl haired Guy Gardner and Gathegi's stoic but hilarious Mr. Terrific make up for it, each leaving huge impressions.  

Gathegi's Terrific nearly steals the movie in his teaming with Lois, particularly during a brilliant fight sequence set to Noah and the Whale's "Five Years Time." But the most important supporting character is Krypto, the loyal caped canine with a knack for misbehaving at the right moments, like during Superman's fight against a formidable and strangely familiar looking Ultraman. Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen's involvement plays better than expected while Anthony Carrigan impresses as Metamorpho, a cell mate whose unusual abilities could either destroy or save Superman. 

It may be the worst kept best secret but Milly Alcock's cameo as Superman's cousin, Kara Zor-El/Supergirl is noteworthy, less for her showing up than the edgier context and presentation of this character. Think Will Smith in Hancock, or maybe more accurately the beloved comic book on which her upcoming film is based. True to form, Gunn also delivers a highly anticipated Superman/Luthor showdown that'll be remembered more for philosophy than fists. The speech and ensuing reaction is surprisingly emotional, resulting in a different kind of closure. At least until we get the inevitable rematch. 

With a plot both timely and direct, this incarnation of Superman doesn't lose sight of the idea that heroes are nothing without formidable villains and action spectacles mean more when you care about those involved. Briskly paced and judiciously edited, it's a good sign when any blockbuster comes to a close and you find yourself wanting more. By giving us what many complain superhero movies lately lack, Gunn avoids the pitfalls plaguing an iconic character and hampering a desperately needed rebirth. Now that he's gotten one, the rest of the pieces just might fall into place.                                               

Death of a Unicorn

Director: Alex Scharfman
Starring: Paul Rudd, Jenna Ortega,Will Poulter, Anthony Carrigan, Sunita Mani, Stephen Park, Jessica Hynes, Téa Leoni, Richard E. Grant, Kathryn Erbe
Running Time: 107 min.
Rating: R

★★½ (out of ★★★★)  

For better or worse, Death of a Unicorn is both everything its title suggests and also somehow a lot less. Making his directorial debut, writer Alex Scharfman immediately gets down to business when a unicorn is struck by a car in what might be the film's most compelling scene, if only because that premise carries so much potential. But after creating an air of mystery surrounding where this story's headed, it unfortunately goes downhill from there.   

Accurately described as a mix of drama, fantasy and action, it's all of those at once, yet plays as a single, irritatingly long joke that runs out of gas before the conclusion. Sure, it's messy, but the repetitiveness makes it feel more like a slog, testing viewers patience with how often one character is continuously ignored and dismissed. That even actors as talented as the film's co-leads can't save this speaks volumes, even if they fare better than expected given the circumstances. 

Widowed lawyer Elliot Kintner (Paul Rudd) takes teenage daughter Ridley (Jenna Ortega) with him to spend the weekend at the estate of his wealthy boss Odell Leopold (Richard E. Grant), also meeting his wife Belinda (Téa Leoni) and son Shepard (Will Poulter). But on the drive over, Elliot accidently hits and severely injures what appears to be a white unicorn with his car. Laying on the road near death, Elliot seemingly puts it out of its misery with a tire iron, though not before Ridley experiences strange visions and halucinations after touching its horn. 

When Elliot and Ridley arrive at the mansion with a unicorn in their trunk, Leopold sees an opportunity to use the creature's magical healing properties to cure his cancer and monetize the treatment, enlisting his family, butler (Anthony Carrigan), assisstant (Jessica Hynes) and a pair of scientists (Sunita Mani and Stephen Park) to help. But while Ridley's research uncovers the true danger of what they're doing, larger, more vicious unicorns look to reclaim their young. With Ridely's warnings falling on deaf ears, Elliot will have to choose between his own daughter and an obsessively greedy boss.  

Scharfman takes the increasingly popular route of satirizing the ultra wealthy, with all their bizarre habits, rituals and obliviousness to how normal people live or behave. This is taken to the extreme once the eccentric Leopolds uncover the potential windfall that awaits from replicating and distributing the unicorn's healing powers. But despite their makeshift lab and the reluctant support of a spineless Elliot, the consequences turn predictably dire.

Up to this point, seeds are planted for what should be an exciting mystery-adventure, until the script starts hitting the same notes. Feigning interest in Ridley, the Leopold clan do their best to shun the only character with a brain, writing her off as a clueless, angsty teen. But that gag's run into the ground when these affluent manipulators are bombarded with evidence that harvesting mystical unicorns isn't the safest idea. 

The gory, chaotic unicorn attacks are accompanied by poor digitized effects, but considering how movies twice this budget often look worse, that's actually not the dealbreaker here. Neither is Rudd, who fares decently in a thankless role, his charisma partially shelved as the uptight Elliot spends most of the picture dutifully following the family's marching orders. 

Ortega is the undeniable star of this, and while she can play moody teens in her sleep by now, she holds the film together as a still grieving Ridley, whose pain is only compounded by a father she can't connect with. Poulter's performance as the spoiled, patronizing nepo baby is also a highlight, but by the time Sheperd gets his, the plot's already preoccupied with redeeming Elliot, who treats his own daughter as badly as the Leopolds. 

Rather than settling on a tone, the story's all over the map, squeezing what it can into a run time that feels longer than its 107 minutes. Luckily, the zany acting turns and occasional flashes of creativity do help keep everything afloat once Scharfman's script flies off the rails in the last two acts. While not quite funny enough to qualify as a comedy, but containing too few scares to pass as horror, its closing minutes feel unearned, leaving us to wonder how much better this could have been with a more consistent vision.

Bill and Ted Face the Music

 

 

Director: Dean Parisot

Starring: Keanu Reeves, Alex Winter, Kristen Schaal, Samara Weaving, Brigette Lundy-Paine, William Sadler, Anthony Carrigan, Erinn Hayes, Jayma Mays, Hal Landon Jr., Beck Bennett, Kid Cudi, Amy Stoch, Holland Taylor

Running Time: 92 min.

Rating: PG-13

 

★★★ (out of ★★★★) 

 

Before watching the long-anticipated third installment of the Bill and Ted series, Bill and Ted Face the Music, I couldn't help but consider how other recently sequeled and rebooted films and TV series have fared under the similar circumstance of waiting decades to see the light of day. 2014's Dumb and Dumber To and 2016's Pee-Wee's Big Holiday were both creative disappointments that grossly overestimated fans' loyalty and patience, proving that just a trip down memory lane isn't always enough. The former tried too hard to replay the characters' antics from the original, while completely losing sight of how their advanced ages would affect our view of their behavior. Pee-Wee fared only slightly better, if only because of Paul Reubens, who was let down by a toothless story that failed to grasp the subversive genius and lunacy of the character. Only Netflix's Cobra Kai has shown exactly how well this can be done, retroactively enhancing the legacy of The Karate Kid by actually improving and building upon what was most beloved about the original. 

 

Ideally, the Cobra Kai treatment is what we'd want for Bill and Ted, which has bar to clear that's probably a tad lower than those aforementioned properties, despite a still sizable fanbase. But after numerous false starts and promises for a sequel, is it too late? Well, if it's good enough, then no. That's always the answer. As to whether Bill and Ted Face the Music is actually worth the wait, that's a little more complicated since increasingly fewer sequels are. But that's not a criticism when you consider the time we had to build up our expectations and contemplate the paths a potential follow-up could take in failing to fulfill them. When put in those terms, this is a lot of fun, if overstuffed and spotty at points. 

To his credit, director Dean Parisot (Galaxy Quest) doesn't merely coast on the many thrills of Keanu Reeves and Alex Winter effortlessly sliding back into their iconic roles, even as we couldn't have guessed they'd be co-starring opposite two actressess capable of matching them. And while I can only imagine what those unfamilar with the franchise would think of it, they won't watch anyway, so the film gets away with indulging in some fan service. The originals were always kind of viewed through rose-colored glasses and that this has a self-referential awareness of that nostalgia only serves to make the experience more enjoyable.

Now married fathers, William "Bill" S. Preston Esq. (Winter) and Theodore "Ted" Logan (Reeves) have spent most of their adult lives fronting the band they formed as burnt out, dim-witted teenagers, The Wyld Stallyns, while still failing in their quest to write a song that will unite the world. Now playing family weddings as their Medievel princess spouses Joanna (Jayma Mays) and Elizabeth ((Erinn Hayes) look on in disappointment, they're about ready to hang up their guitars despite mini-me daughters Thea (Samara Weaving) and Billie's (Brigette Lundy-Paine) unending, headbanging adulation of their music. But after a visit from Rufus' time-traveling daughter, Kelly (Kristen Schaal), the guys are taken to the Great Leader (Holland Taylor), who informs them they have until 7:17 pm to write "the song" or reality will completely collapse upon itself, a process that's already underway. 

Armed with mentor Rufus' phone booth, Bill and Ted come up with a plan to travel through time and obtain the song from their future selves and bring it back with them, skipping the work of actually writing it. Blissfully unaware of the obvious flaws in that approach, they proceed to make an even bigger mess of things while their daughters also time travel to gather a hall of fame of great musicians to help their fathers craft this perfect song. 

Little do they all know a killer robot (Anthony Carrigan) whose name you won't soon forget is tasked with eliminating them, if only he can remain emotionally stable enough to do so. They also have a reunion with the Grim Reaper (William Sadler), with whom they still have lingering music business disagreements that caused a falling out. With pressure mounting, Bill and Ted may finally be forced to mature and write the one hit song that's always alluded them. And it's kind of a big deal, with the universe ending and all. 

It's almost as if every possible idea for this sequel that's landed on a studio executive's desk since 1991's Bogus Journey was crammed into this one's brisk 90-minute running time. That's not necessarily a bad thing when considering the overall zaniness of this series, but it does seem overcrowded and a bit uneven, resulting in a mixed bag filled with hits and misses. Luckily, there's more hits, with the proceeedings getting off on the right foot almost immediately when we meet the 2020 versions of these beloved characters still performing as they always have, albeit at far smaller venues this time around. The wedding that kicks things is one of the film's many laugh-out-loud moments and successful gags, giving us a pretty good idea of what's to come. 

Other than being a little older, heavier, and married, it's essentially the same Bill and Ted, almost as if no time's passed at all. Only, it has. But Chris Matheson and Ed Solomon's script doesn't run away from that and appropriately centers the story around these two middle-aged slackers being forced to finally grow up, if not for their own sakes, then to save their crumbling marriages. An early scene with the two couples in therapy is one of the cleverest, perfectly encapsulating the bone-headed philosophy of our two protagonists and providing relief that they haven't changed one bit. 

There's something substantially less pathetic going on here than we saw in Dumber and Dumber To, with recognition that they can't just repeat the exact same hijinx we saw decades ago and expect an identical result. Then again, the characters can't exactly change or evolve too much either. It's a thin line, but one the script mostly pulls off while keeping the spirit of the franchise intact. The movie gets into more problematic territory when confronted with the nuts and bolts of the plot, which somehow manages to make less sense than the previous installments. Needlessly convoluted at points, it does kind of have a thrown together feel, probably resulting from all the different incarnations this project must have gone through before Steven Soderbergh eventually stepped in as producer to help deliver what we have now.

The story thread involving Bill and Ted having various encounters with versions of their future selves is both wildly inconsistent and endearingly amusing at the same time, with the best of these sequences involving a face-to-face with their rich, pampered British rocker couterparts and a welcome Dave Grohl cameo. But it's the sub-plot involving their daughters that most obviously pays tribute to the original film, with Billie and Thea hopping through time to gather an all-star line-up of legendary musicians like Mozart (Daniel Dorr), Louis Armstrong (Jeremiah Craft) and Jimi Hendrix (DazMann Still, who looks distractingly unlike him). Then there's Kid Cudi, appearing somewhat randomly as a time displaced iteration of himself. 

While none of this carries the impact of Socrates and Lincoln's contributions in Excellent Adventure, it still works, as does the eventual excursion into Hell where they reunite with William Sadler's jilted Grim Reaper. This, and everyone's interactions with Carrigan's socially awkward robot Dennis Caleb McCoy feel the most Bill and Ted of everything in the entire film and something that would feel right at home in either of the prequels. Other elements click, but given the choice, there's something immensely enjoyable about how those two characters are incorporated into the plot and play off Bill and Ted. 

It may have been the role that made him famous, but even well into his superstar ascent it was difficult for Keanu Reeves to shake the "stigma" of playing Ted that seemed to trail him throughout his career. Then something changed and the more the actor spread his wings in a variety of different projects over the decades, it became abundantly clear the character wasn't a stereotypically airheaded reflection of the person playing him. So it's a good thing Keanu never took that idea, or himself, all that seriously, instead building a varied résumé of work to prove his adaptability as a performer. 

The tide has now turned toward fans wanting the actor to reprise the role, not as a joke, but because we legitimately think he could bring a fascinating new dimension to it in upper middle-age. While I'm still unsure the part even necessitates that level of depth or commitment, watching him do this again just feels right. Moving from flannel to sports jackets while maintaining Ted's same sense of dopiness, wonder, hazy-eyed cluelessness with complete sincerity, we may have finally realized the actor and character really are inseparable. The only difference now is that we mean it as a compliment.

Largely avoiding the spotlight while establishing himself as a force behind the camera, Alex Winter always semed to have a gift for making Bill seem like the more grounded of the pair. Running with it from exactly where he left off in '91, the timing's definitely still there, making it kind of remarkable we've seen so little of him on screen prior to what's now his most high profile project in years. His outing here serves as a reminder that this was never an indictment on his comedic chops, as he's close to being one of the best things about this sequel.

When the guys do permanently bow out of these roles (as the film's ending already implies they may have), we at least know now they'll have more than suitable replacements. As Thea, Brigette Lundy-Paine delivers the most ingenious impersonation of Keanu Reeves playing Ted you'll ever likely see, right down to his voice, hand gestures and speech patterns, all while still finding a way to make the character's spirit completely hers. You won't be able to take your eyes off her as she delivers what feels like the ultimate greatest hits compilation of every "Whoa, Dude" and "Excellent" fans practiced with their friends as a kid. And yet, it somehow ends up being so much more, doing a better version of Keanu doing Ted than Keanu does. 

Since Bill doesn't have quirks that are quite as easily identifiable, Samara Weaving isn't given as much to play with, but there isn't a moment where she doesn't seem to be every bit her father's daughter in terms of appearance and personality. It's just great casting with these two, who steal the movie from their co-stars, especially as we realize the story's as much about these aimlessly likable 25 year-olds as it is their dads. 

Just trying to find their way, the supportive Billie and Thea and blindlessly devoted to the Wyld Stallyns music, but burdened by many of the same distractions that prevented their fathers' careers from ever truly taking flight. It would have been the easy way out to build the whole plot around Bill and Ted trying to fix some kind of rift with their estranged daughters, but they instead took the far more effective route of just making the girls funny and strange, and their dads' biggest, goofiest fans. It's really why the whole movie works, most especially in its closing minutes. 

The absence of the late George Carlin as Rufus was always going to be an issue, and while his presence is sorely missed, enough time has passed that it isn't the giant, insurmountable problem we imagined it could be. A holagrammed version of him does briefly appear via CGI in a respectful, undistracting moment and fans will be happy to see that his phone booth is just as integral to the plot as it was in the previous entries. Considering Rufus can't be suitably replaced, it at at least makes sense that his daughter would step in as a nod to the character, even if most of Kristen Schaal's comedic scenes opposite the Great Leader kind of fall flat through no fault of her own.

After all the years of hearing about and subsequently not getting a Bill and Ted sequel, the fact that we would finally be getting one was starting to feel like a no-win situation, if only because of the expectations. But it turns out that those involved knew exactly what they were making and did their best to make it feel smarter than merely a reunion tour celebrating a movie from their youth that probably wouldn't play as well now. Which isn't to say this doesn't give us a very large helping of nostalgic comfort food that's evident the second we see that classic Orion Pictures logo flash on screen. And with all the years available to release this sequel, did they ever ever pick the right one to have Bill and Ted write their song that could potentially unite and save the world. Funny how those things just seem to work out.