The Screen Scribe

There was something strange about the summer of 2025. You could feel it in the marketing. In the trailers. In the air-conditioned hum of multiplexes trying to make sequels feel fresh. Last time, I laid out the players. A Kryptonian reboot. A long-suffering superhero family. Another dino resurrection. A ballerina with a grudge. Now the season’s mostly run its course, and I’m ready to call it.

The dust has settled, the numbers are in, and the fan discourse has reached critical mass. It’s time to crown a victor. But first, let’s size up the field.

Superman (Warner Bros. / DC Studios)

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%

Global Gross: $522.7 million

James Gunn’s relaunch of the Man of Steel was billed as a hopeful return to form, a pivot away from the heavy shadows of Snyder’s era. The marketing leaned hard on warmth, charm, and primary colours. On paper, it worked. Critics were largely positive. Box office was solid.

But I did not feel it. For all the sunlight and smiles, the film came across as hollow. The character at the centre felt impulsive and underwritten, surrounded by a cast of archetypes rather than personalities. Lex Luthor was a generic tech bro. The Kents were reduced to corny caricatures. And the story stumbled through a minefield of tonal misfires.

It may have won over some, but for me, this version of Superman never soared. And when you remove the legendary S logo, what’s left is just another guy in a cape. Give me the Snyder mythic grandeur any day.

Fantastic Four: First Steps (Marvel Studios)

Rotten Tomatoes: 87%

Global Gross: $250 million (First week of its run as of writing)

This was the MCU’s moment to prove it still had some magic left in the tank. First Steps was not just another superhero reboot. It was Marvel’s first family finally getting a film worthy of the name.

And it delivered.

Leaning into retro-futurism with a ‘60s sci-fi flair, the film found its tone quickly and stayed there. The ensemble cast was strong, the script was light without being fluffy, and for the first time in a long while, a Marvel movie felt like it was enjoying itself. No cameos. No multiverse. Just character, chemistry, and cosmic stakes.

It did not break records, but it reminded audiences what the MCU used to be capable of. A much-needed course correction. And, for a week or so, it felt like Marvel was back.

Jurassic World: Rebirth (Universal Pictures)

Rotten Tomatoes: 55%

Global Gross: $727.4 million

You know exactly what you’re getting with these films. Dinosaurs. Panic. A park, of some kind. Rebirth is the studio’s attempt to start fresh after the bloated final chapter of the last trilogy, and it succeeds in the most limited sense. It’s cleaner. Slightly leaner. Visually polished.

But it has no soul.

The characters are thin. The plot is driven by convenience. The horror elements flirt with atmosphere before jumping back into well-worn blockbuster formulas. Yes, there is a new apex predator. Barely. Yes, it looks scary. But the film never gives itself permission to be bold. This is branded content, and it plays exactly like it.

It remains a box office juggernaut franchise, but that is where its success ends.

Ballerina (Lionsgate)

Rotten Tomatoes: 74%

Global Gross: $132.3 million

Spinning off from the John Wick universe, Ballerina had an uphill climb. Ana de Armas brings style and intensity to the lead role, and there are glimpses of the kinetic worldbuilding that made Wick a cult phenomenon. But those glimpses are just that.

The story never really moves past its basic revenge template. The action is sharp, but not revolutionary. The emotional core, while hinted at, never feels fully formed. Wick’s shadow hangs heavy here. Without Keanu in the driver’s seat, the franchise feels slightly adrift.

It is not bad. But it lacks identity.

And Then There Was One…

Across the board, most of these films did what they were expected to do. Some pleased critics. Some pleased shareholders. A few managed both. But none of them truly excited me.

Except one.

F1: The Movie (Apple / Warner Bros.)

Rotten Tomatoes: 83%

Global Gross: $523.4 million

This one crept up on me. It wasn’t even in my original Summer Blockbuster list. I walked in expecting another slick sports drama, the kind where you check your watch halfway through a second act pep talk. What I got was a focused, thrilling, unexpectedly emotional ride that easily earned its place among the year’s best. It may not have the highest RT score, or box office, of the summer blockbusters, but it has something none of the rest do: a soul.

Brad Pitt is outstanding. Charismatic without leaning on old tricks, vulnerable without drowning in melodrama. His chemistry with Kerry Condon, playing a brilliant strategist with no time for ego, grounds the film in something real. The script understands the language of legacy, of ageing out, and of chasing relevance in a world that moves faster every year.

And the direction. Good grief, the direction. Joseph Kosinski takes everything he learned from Top Gun: Maverick and applies it to four wheels. The racing sequences are breathtaking. Real speed, real stakes, no shaky cam nonsense. The camera is your cockpit, and every corner, every crash, every pit stop feels earned. It is one of the most technically accomplished films of the year, and one of the most human.

F1 was never supposed to win the summer. But it did. It crossed the finish line first by remembering something simple: blockbusters do not need to be loud or crowded or lore-logged to leave a mark. They just need to be good, entertaining and resonant. In a summer dominated by reboots and retreads, the most original thrill came from the least expected place. F1 reminded me why we go to the cinema, to feel something. To lose ourselves in a world so vivid, we can almost smell the burning rubber. It was sleek, smart, emotional, and fun. A blockbuster that didn’t need a cape, a clone, or a callback to work.

Call it the underdog win of the year. And call me impressed.

Because in the end, F1 didn’t just race past expectations. It obliterated them.