I'm happy to bounce ideas if you're stuck.

So glad it's not just me

Oh, believe me, I know the history (for better or worse).

My point about broadness is "finding out who the character wants to be" is basically the plot of every movie. Make it more specific and to be specific you need focus.

That's so broad tho, & is reflected in too many plots. We start w/ Jahranpur, then get distracted by the message, the justice gang, the pocket universe, & at some point he's questioning whether he is Kryptonian or human.

They all relate but are made weaker by each other. Addition by subtraction.

I'm one of those people who finds it a mess, though I've come to enjoy it despite that.

I find it so unfocused that the payoffs feel unearned. I don't really know what the film is about. And I feel like those distractions make characters feel like props instead of people.

I think there's a note within that note. I don't think audiences didn't like the saving of the squirrel; it's that the moment is a little jammed in there, which I don't disagree with. It just needed a better setup for the payoff, which I think is a problem throughout the film.

@zohrankmamdani.bsky.social ?

Though when you say "isolated" & "lonely," that's the exact Superman that comes to mind, and why I find him endlessly empathetic.

Real kick ass score and some awesome visuals. Fun enough.

It all felt like a lot of telling and not showing. Like the food cart guy who has to explain to us that Superman saved him once. Why not just have Superman save him in that scene?

The film was a just death by 1000 paper cuts for me. I can't quibble with the overall vibe, it's how it functions.

Honestly, if they just started the film with him intervening in the invasion and making connections to the people, especially the boy who calls for him at the end, I wouldn't feel this way. As it stands all of those people feel like props to me.

I don't think there can be "several" "central" questions. That's my main issue. There are too many ideas thrown out and none feel fully explored. As a result they don't feel fully answered to me. It all comes off as platitudes, hence the algebra test analogy.

I'm glad people found something to hold on to with it. It all just ran through my fingers.

"Empty" is the key word for me, and I never want to feel empty with Superman media.

Phew. I feel better, but I'm still sorry. I was looking to see if I could untag and just figured I was replying only to Nick.

Stupid Bluesky.

@visions-of-hope.bsky.social YOU WEREN'T SUPPOSED TO READ THAT

It also has one of the cruelest scenes I've seen in Superman media, & we're coming off the "grimdark" DCEU. I found it gross that we're invited to laugh at Eve while she's scared & desperate for Jimmy to care about her. A missed opportunity for character growth & makes us complicit in the abuse.

The film's biggest sin is I didn't leave the theatre thinking about Superman (good or bad) because it gave me nothing to think about, at least in a coherent way. I've described it to friends as an algebra test where the student got all the right answers but failed to show any of their work.

I just don't think the movie did what they wanted to do well. There is no central dramatic question. The story felt so unfocused that any attempt to have meaning felt lazy and, as a result, hollow and manipulative. Not to mention, the most interesting things seems to happen off-screen.

Let me say that my feelings have nothing to do with what they want to do with the character. I don't believe in "comic book accuracy" because characters like Superman like beyond the page and in our psyches.

Oh, good! I feared I missed it with all my Superman firewalls. I'll give it a watch!

Luckily, I don't have much of a following. No one's breaking down my door for my thoughts 😆

In that case, I'll hold more detailed thoughts for when you do see it.

a drawing of a superman logo with the year 1993 written below it ALT: a drawing of a superman logo with the year 1993 written below it

Unfortunately, I didn't like much about #Superman '25.

But you know what I LOVE about it?

I LOVE the excitement it has brought to fans, old and new. Every Superman is someone's first and somone's favorite, like it always has been & always will be. Whatever brought you to him, I'm glad you're here.

I muted Superman leading up to the release and it's the most peaceful existence.

I'm not sure I'll ever go back.

A new #Superman trailer just dropped and I am shielded from overreactions of both the positive and negative sorts.

I have no idea what this new movie will be. This is an exciting feeling.

Is this heaven?

Batman v Superman: The Ultimate Edition

Well, I say there is strength in knowing your weakness.

Just knowing what I know about the score from the motion poster has strengthened my resolve a bit. It's easier said than done of course.