Superman (2025), directed by James Gunn, is the fresh start that DC needed: a film that embraces the classic and emotional essence of the hero, mixing humor, action and heart without fear of being cheesy. With David Corenswet as Clark Kent, Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and Nicholas Hoult as a sarcastic and menacing Lex Luthor, the cast raises the bar for the production. The light and colorful tone rescues the spirit of the comics and leaves behind the darkness of the previous films. Despite a slip-up when dealing with political themes, the film delivers a more human, fun and relevant Superman — an exciting breath of fresh air in the superhero movie scene.
Forget Christopher Nolan's Batman, or even Zack Snyder's version. 'The Batman' brings a new interpretation of the famous Dark Knight. Inspired by noir cinema and films like 'Zodiac', 'Se7en' and 'Chinatown', the production delivers a slow-burning story, with an investigation into the corrupt underworld of Gotham City politics and the mafia. Directed by Matt Reeves (of 'Planet of the Apes: War'), the feature film addresses the second year of the Caped Crusader's performance, in an excellent interpretation by Robert Pattinson - who lends his most dramatic side here, bringing weight to the hero. To this is added a cast of weight, with Andy Serkis and Jeffrey Wright standing out - but with Zoë Kravitz's Catwoman stealing the show. The action sequences, although rarer, are breathtaking, carrying a certain pomp that fits, yes, the DC character. When all of this is added together, we have a more detective version of Batman, in an enveloping atmosphere movie that, if it does not make us feel better at its end, does carry in its conclusion a message of positive reflection. It may not be the Batman you were expecting to see, but you will certainly be happy to find him.
This second chapter of the Aquaman saga, the superhero played by Jason Momoa, arrived in theaters with a sense of outdatedness – after all, the feature is part of the old DC expanded universe, while James Gunn prepares new films, with other actors, for a new phase of the studio. In the story, Aquaman must forge an unlikely alliance with King Orm (Patrick Wilson) when an ancient power is unleashed that begins to threaten Atlantis and the rest of the world with irreversible devastation. James Wan (The Conjuring) has good insights in action scenes with creative camera movements, taking advantage mainly of the good dynamic between Momoa and Wilson, bringing back the mix of humor and action. None of this overlooks the musty smell that the film carries, as it is part of a already dead universe, and it doesn't make Aquaman 2 seem to make sense for a franchise of films very loaded in that aspect of being "sharable". There is no future. But at least, there is a thread of fun here, which should be the last moment for fans of this defunct universe to peek at what this franchise could still be.
Sequel to the 2019 film, 'Shazam! Fury of the Gods' starts differently. Billy Batson (Asher Angel) is now a teenager, nearing adulthood, who can transform into a superhero (Levi) when he invokes a sort of mystical power. Now, however, he is not alone: his foster siblings also share the power and begin to defend the city of Philadelphia, in the United States, from villains. This is the case with three Greek gods (Helen Mirren, Rachel Zegler, Lucy Liu) who threaten the superhero family by facing other strong mystical powers. The film doesn't have the brilliance of DC's "independent" productions like 'Batman' and 'Joker', but it's also far from being a disaster like 'Batman v. Superman', 'Justice League', and even 'Wonder Woman 1984'. The film has a certain freshness, similar to that seen in Gunn's 'The Suicide Squad'. Like in the first feature, director David F. Sandberg ('Lights Out') knows that Shazam's story cannot be as grand as Batman's journey on the big screen, for example, or Superman's. He needs to focus on the little, on the closeness of these heroes who are actually teenagers experiencing almost magical powers. That's where the fun and the difference of the film lies, which doesn't take itself too seriously and therefore doesn't make any commitment to the viewer to be grand or opulent. It goes straight to the point, being its main virtue and making the experience the most enjoyable possible in the end.
After years in the oven, Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson achieved his greatest dream: to star in a superhero movie. And not just any one: originally a villain, Black Adam is one of the most complex anti-heroes of DC Comics, with a dubious morality and a totalitarian and anti-imperialist history. Unfortunately, the cinematic version gets lost when trying to give space to all these nuances, in a story that lacks shine. Still, the action scenes are good (even with too much slow motion) and we have the opportunity to see the Justice Society - the oldest DC team - on the big screen. If it lacks magic and there is an exaggeration of clichés, at least 'Black Adam' delivers honest entertainment during its two hours of duration. Click here to read the full review.