Film Review: Superman Retrospective

Superman is a film that wears its heart on its cape — not through sentimental overreach, but via a deep-rooted sincerity that feels almost radical in today’s cinematic landscape. While it opens with the grandiosity expected of the genre — soaring visuals, cataclysmic stakes — it ultimately reveals itself to be something rarer: a meditation on compassion, restraint, and quiet moral courage.

The emotional core rests firmly on Superman’s unwavering gentleness. Even at his most powerful, he never postures. Instead, he listens. He saves not out of obligation, but from deep-seated empathy — a trait the film wisely centres. His kindness is not portrayed as naïveté, but as strength made visible. It’s this emphasis that gives the film its quiet power, elevating what could have been archetype into parable.

Cinematographer Lena Whitlow frames Superman not as a god descending, but as a man walking slowly towards those in need. There’s an almost sacred stillness to the way the camera lingers — not on destruction, but on its aftermath: the holding of a hand, the return of breath, the silent acknowledgement of survival. Light isn’t just used to awe, but to soothe.

Dialogue is modest, carefully metered, often allowing character action to bear the weight of theme. A glance. A delayed response. A refusal to retaliate. These moments speak louder than exposition ever could. The screenplay’s strength lies in its restraint — it trusts the viewer to recognise grace when they see it.

Where the film stumbles, it does so in pacing. The middle third slows perhaps too deliberately, drawing out internal conflict that, while thematically relevant, dilutes momentum. Yet the final act finds its rhythm again, culminating in a resolution that trades spectacle for resonance — one that affirms, with aching simplicity, that doing good isn’t about being seen. It’s about showing up, again and again.

Superman doesn’t seek to redefine the superhero genre. It reminds us why we needed heroes in the first place.

Cinematography: 4.5/5

Score: 4/5

Plot: 4/5

Dialogue: 4.5/5

Pacing: 3.5/5

Ending: 5/5

Overall: 4.5/5