Grading the summer blockbusters

For fans of film, summer 2025 has felt a bit … familiar.

If the current box office trends continue, 2025 might be remembered as the year/summer when the magic of audiences being transported to a galaxy far, far away or heading out for a walk down a yellow brick road returned to the movie houses.

That may seem like the glorification of an industry that is still often maligned for its political beliefs, but at its heart, films still take us away from our everyday lives and remind us there is a world out there that is much more complex and maybe even more fascinating than we think. And I, for one, am grateful.

However, a few blockbusters that fell a bit flat were the latest “Mission: Impossible” and “Jurassic Park” offerings.

“Mission: Impossible” is, maybe, 30 minutes too long. While there are some wonderful set pieces, mostly highlighting Tom Cruise’s willingness to do some insane stunt work, when it is all said and done, audiences will not remember the story or the order in which this film falls. Was it third in the series or 11th? Wait, how many are there?

That may not seem like a big deal, but when the filmmaker relies so heavily on the need for flashbacks to connect, insert another “Mission: Impossible” film here, to the finale, somewhere the story is bound to get muddied.

“Mission: Impossible — The Final Reckoning” = C.

At this point watching a “Jurassic Park” film is a bit like reading a James Patterson novel: You will hopefully be entertained, but the formula is so overused the surprises are no longer spectacles and the dinosaurs are no longer, well, dinosaurs.

Who does not remember Sam Neill’s sunglass-removal scene when the Jeep crew in the original film finally stumbles upon a brachiosaurus? With John Williams’ lush musical score and Spielberg’s intelligent use of close-ups, the amazement on the faces of the actors made us believe we were genuinely placed in a world where dinosaurs can exist.

Therein lies the problem with “Jurassic World: Rebirth.” The most exciting scene in the film involves an inflatable raft and a family in peril as they try to paddle down a river away from a T-Rex — an actual dinosaur. Most of the other “hybrid” dinosaurs (and, yes, I accept the need to up the ante in terms of the threat) look like they belong in the latest Kaiju film. In other words, take away the placement of Williams’ familiar theme music, and one could be watching King Kong or Godzilla as easily as Jurassic Park.

Not to mention the entire plot centers around the unfortunate dropping of a Snickers wrapper. Wait, maybe they were going for a “littering is the real threat” theme?

“Jurassic World: Rebirth” = C-.

And speaking of regurgitated stories, DC and Marvel films, respectively, released the newly rebooted DC Film brand with “Superman” while Marvel attempts to recapture their superhero film mojo with “Fantastic Four: First Steps.” And here is the thing: Aside from the superhero attempting to save the day storyline, neither film is a retread of past films.

“Fantastic Four” does something wholly original, as far as superhero films go, as it makes you care more about the intimacy and importance of family than the galactic threat that could destroy the Earth.

Pedro Pascal’s Reed Richards and Vanessa Kirby’s Sue Storm, husband and wife in the film, form the emotional core, driven, initially, by a grand purpose to keep the Earth safe. The weight of that expectation, in Pascal’s Reed Richards, feels so sincere that when Sue tells him she is pregnant, it is clear that weight becomes even more personal. Without revealing why their baby becomes so significant to the story, here, the audience connects with superheroes with otherworldly powers, which is not an easy thing to do.

The best example I can provide of the film’s intimacy and honesty is that the biggest challenge the family faces has little to do with the film’s baddy Galactus and more to do with installing a car seat. Parents will get it.

“Fantastic Four: First Steps” = B+.

Now three weeks since its release, “Superman” remains the most fun and definitely the brightest of the films released this summer. Gone is the brooding dark Superman, an interpretation I did not dislike in Zach Snyder’s universe, replaced with David Corenswet’s love for humanity Superman. And, get this, his Superman smiles.

Maybe of all the superheroes in existence, as the oldest and genre grandfather, Superman has to be timeless. That is why, close to 50 years since its release, the original “Superman,” starring Christopher Reeve, remains the standard bearer on the character, and none have really lived up to that expectation since.

But with this film, Corenswet’s performance, via director/screenwriter James Gunn, humanizes Superman as effectively as Reeve did. Sure, saving the world from Lex Luthor is kind of important, but for Supes, it is no more important than saving a squirrel or a dog.

When Lois says, “It’s just a dog,” questioning why Superman would turn himself in to Luthor and the authorities, his response is not to defeat the bad guys; it is to save Krypto. “I know. And he’s not even a very good one. But he’s alone … and probably scared,” Superman responds. With three sentences the humanity of Superman’s timeless character is captured again.

Oh, and I am happy to report Progressive Field, the baseball stadium used in the filming, remains unscathed after Supes’ fight with Ultraman and the Engineer.

“Superman” = A-.

As expected during the summer movie release season, there are some hits and misses, but here is the thing: All of them involve spectacle, all of them are worthy of being seen on the big screen and all of them are reminders of what makes movies great … that as long as there are visual stories worth telling, that galaxy far, far away really is not that far away at all.

P.S.: Of all the grand-scale films seen so far this summer, my only A letter grade lands with a box office bomb … “The Life of Chuck.” A month after viewing, I am still thinking about the story and its characters and its universal questions. Give that one a “go” when you get the chance.

Brett Hiner recently finished his 28th year teaching English/language arts at Wooster High School, where he also serves as yearbook adviser and Drama Club adviser/director. When writing, he enjoys connecting cultural experiences, pop and otherwise to everyday life. He can be emailed at workinprogressWWN@gmail.com.