Superman is going to the dogs – and he’s got his groove back.
That’s the message from the new movie, “Superman.” It delivers the action, emotion and power of the famed comic book, TV and film character.
The Superman myth is alive and well in 2025 thanks to director and writer James Gunn. He offers a script laced with political and social overtones – not to mention media manipulation.
And this time the Steel Man is beholden to a Steel Dog. Krypto – an unruly Krypton pup who came to earth with “powers and abilities” far beyond mortal dogs – steals the show.
There’s plenty of ferocious fighting, mind-blowing CGI graphics and ear-splitting sound in the film. That goes along with antics of the old Daily Planet gang: Clark Kent, Lois Lane, Jimmy Olsen and Perry White. Lex Luthor also kicks out some nasty jams.
Superman is played with a stoic, bravado by David Corenswet. He’s reminiscent of the late Christopher Reeve. While he can’t match Reeve’s charisma, Corenswet imbues the character with a righteous sense of justice.
Rachel Brosnahan – best known for the “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel” Amazon series – is a joy to watch as the rambunctious, spunky Lois Lane. In this version of Superman, she already knows his secret identity of Clark Kent.
That doesn’t stop Lois from bugging Superman with a barrage of probing questions for a story. When he tries to dodge them with a joke, she replies: “there’s nothing funny about good journalism.”
Superman then retorts: “I’m media savvy enough to handle any kind of questions.” He then proceeds to put his Superfoot in his Supermouth.
Nicholas Hoult dominates the screen as the vile, amoral Lex Luthor. Bald and boiling with vengeance towards Superman, Luthor uses science, the media, government and torture to destroy “the Alien” known as Superman.
Luthor is a billionaire who has mastered the media and assaults Superman’s reputation with lies. Luthor teams up with a foreign dictator to take control of another country. Luthor deals with his old girlfriends by locking them up. Luthor viciously executes an innocent man who helped Superman.
It’s all designed to kill the alien, because Luthor despises interplanetary immigrants and non-humans.
“You’ll never understand me, Lex,” Superman tells Luthor at one point: “I am human. I screw up like everyone else.
Sklyer Gisondo –known for his role on Max’s “The Righteous Gemstones” – brings a playful innocence to Jimmy Olsen. Gisondo plays a key role in breaking the story of Luthor’s evil plans. He does so by using
Lex’s gal pal –Eve Teschmacher, played by Sara Sampaio, as a source.
Perry White is played with authority by Wendell Pierce — known for “The Wire.” Pierce doesn’t have much screen time, but he makes the most of it.
Basically, the plot concerns Superman’s problems in coping in a new world with his old ideals. Luthor discovers a video from his Kryptonian parents – including Bradley Cooper in a brief cameo as his father Jor-El — that belittles earthlings and says Superman should dominate them.
Public opinion turns against Superman. But with the help of the Justice Gang — including Mister Terrific, Hawkgirl, and Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern — Superman is able to continue the fight.
Nathan Fillion plays the Green Lantern character; Edi Gathegi is Mister Terrific, and Isabela Merced is Hawkgirl.
Put them all together with Superman, and they are able to meet the challenge of Luthor and his evil minions.
Sometimes, the endless super battles and massive urban destruction scenes are tedious. Also, the execution scene – Luthor playing Russian Roulette with a loaded gun aimed at a prisoner — was disturbing.
But, in the end, Krypto saves the day.
Director James Gunn said the dog character was inspired by his own rescue dog, Ozu. Gunn wrote on Instagram:
“He was the worst dog you could possibly imagine. He immediately came in & destroyed our home, our shoes, our furniture – he even ate my laptop.
“It took a long time before he would even let us touch him. I remember thinking, “Gosh, how difficult would life be if Ozu had superpowers?” – and thus Krypto came into the script & changed the shape of the story…”
Krypto puts the bark and the bite in Superman’s latest return to the screen.
Tony Violanti writes about music and entertainment for Villages-News.com. He was inducted into The Buffalo Music Hall of Fame as a music journalist.