On Set: DOUBLE FEATURE! “Superman” and “Fantastic Four”.

KHOL film critic Jeff Counts reviews two big summer superhero movies.
(DC / Warner Bros)

by | Aug 4, 2025 | Film & TV

There was a time, not so long ago, when Marvel could do no wrong and DC could do no
right. But then the “Infinity Saga” ended, and the entire comic book movie genre lost its central
focus – the big successful thing everyone from both brands was measuring their stories against.
For DC, this was an opportunity to press reset. For Marvel, it’s turned into more of an indefinite
pause.

First up is DC and “Superman”.

One of the biggest intellectual shifts, post-Avengers, was the move of director James Gunn from
Marvel to DC. He hand-crafted the “Guardians of the Galaxy” movies and gave us some of
Marvel’s funniest and most endearing characters. So, when DC announced they were handing
over their keys to Gunn for a complete universal reboot, it was hard for DC fans not to be
excited. Aside from a one-off “Suicide Squad” reset in 2021, “Superman” is Gunn’s first real
proof of concept. The best decision he made with his take on the Kryptonian orphan was to stay
away from the obligatory origin story. We’ve seen it so many times, we don’t need it anymore.
So when Gunn drops us right into the middle of the story of a fully formed hero, it feels
incredibly refreshing. David Corenswet is perfect in “Superman’s” title role, not least because he
doesn’t seem to mind sharing the screen with a big cast of friends and enemies. In any James
Gunn film, team dynamics are more important than any one person, and Corenswet clearly
enjoys banter with Nathan Fillion, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult and others. The only
character who suffers from the lack of first act development is Hoult’s Lex Luthor. He’s
appropriately evil and smart, but not as easy to accept at face value as the others. Someone who is not at all difficult to relate to, but probably should have been, is Krypto. He’s the trusty canine companion of Superman who steals every scene he’s in. Only Gunn could have pulled off something as ridiculous as a super-dog.

Now, on to Marvel, and “The Fantastic Four: First Steps”.

Advertisement

This is the first time since they bought the Marvel brand, that I can feel the influence of Disney
on the MCU. I don’t know for sure, of course, but “Fantastic Four: First Steps” seems like it was
made to promote a billion-dollar update to Tomorrowland. Everything in this movie looks like a
carefully curated prop, like behind every wall is a drab breakroom and a person with his costume head in one hand and cigarette in the other. I know this will sound crazy when talking about something so deeply fictional, but “Fantastic Four: First Steps” just feels fake. Like “Superman”, this film plants the viewer into a tale that has been going for a while. We don’t get to see how the four special people who make up the team got their powers. At first, it seems like the right call for these heroes too. But I started to wish for more substance pretty early on, and I was still looking for it at the end. The story is fine. The cast is all on point. But the script is weak and often corny. Corny could have worked well in this retro-futuristic “I Dream of Jeannie” aesthetic, but everything around the words must be fully committed and, well, real.

“Fantasic Four: First Steps” is not a bad film. It’s simply a film that aimed low and hit the mark.
If your dollars and your time are too precious for two films this month, go see “Superman” while
it’s still in the theater. You can save “Fantastic Four” for later when it drops on Disney Plus. I
don’t think you can draw any big conclusions about the states of Marvel and DC based solely on
these two movies, but one of them has been put on notice by the other.
I’m Jeff Counts and this is KHOL Jackson Hole Community Radio.

Want More Stories Like This?

Donate any amount to support independent media in the Tetons.

KHOL 89.1 Jackson Hole Community Radio Membership Support Ad

About Jeff Counts

Before moving to Jackson in 2019, Jeff spent five years reviewing movies as co-host of the public access television program "Big Movie Mouth-Off." When not focused on film, Jeff writes about opera and co-hosts the classical music interview podcast "Ghost Light."

Related Stories

Pin It on Pinterest