James Gunn’s Superman will be accused of doing too much, but like a kid watching a classic Saturday morning Justice League episode, you won’t care.
Superman (2025)
Directed by James Gunn
Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Isabela Merced, Nathan Fillion, Edi Gathegi
Runtime: 2 hours, 10 mins
Synopsis
After directly intervening in an international military conflict to save civilian lives, Superman (Corenswet) comes under fire from the U.S. government to hold him accountable. All the while, his archenemy Lex Luthor (Hoult) directly and indirectly forces Superman to confront the truth of his Kryptonian heritage.
How’s Big Blue?
The key to any Superman movie is always tied to how well Superman / Clark Kent is cast. With Corenswet, we don’t have any problems there. He looks the part, he emotes and carries himself well in both parts, though in the runtime, we get more Supes time than we do Clark Kent. I can understand if some fans aren’t ready to sign-off on his Clark performance just yet. I will say, however, his political argument with Lois (more on that in a second) sold what I needed for his performance. It articulates why this version of Superman is a bit more naive, while his heart and intentions are in the right place. This argument ends up being the core of the film, setting him up to get blindsided by later events in the movie, but helping us understand every decision he’s going to make.
Credit: Warner Bros
This version of Superman is also one of the corniest we’ve received since Reeve graced the screen. However, Corenswet plays his Kansas-styled, “aww shucks” mannerisms across Clark and Supes, while having a different type of demeanor with Lois and interacting with his parents. It honestly reminds me a bit of how southerners / midwesterners may hide their accent or affectations when they start big jobs or interact with new peers, but let that guard down more when they are at home. The interesting choice here, though, is Clark having multiple versions of this while the Supes persona channels good portions of his Midwest upbringing. This decision works well, as Supes uses his accent as a way to disarm and express his genuine concern for the people around him. So sure it makes him corny, but it makes him incredibly earnest, which is a trait we’ve sorely missed from Superman movies.
Super Stalwarts
Out of the usual Supes supporting cast, Nicholas Hoult’s Lex gets the most time with arguably the best monologue explaining his disdain for Superman. Hoult is chewing the scenery and will certainly be a memorable addition to the great Lex Luthor portrayals we’ve had over the years. Now, his plot is convoluted and a bit laughable at moments, but it largely speaks to how amazing Luthor’s mind is…and how disappointing it is that he can’t shake his hatred of Superman. Here’s a man who can create / access a second universe outside our own, yet he can’t apply that same aptitude towards his fellow man. When Supes gets his moment to shine, verbally putting Luthor in his place, it doesn’t come off as insulting: it’s tragic. Earth’s greatest hero, our greatest inspiration, could have been Lex Luthor, but he’s so insulted by the idea of the Kryptonian that he’s ultimately failed us.
Credit: Warner Bros
Lois Lane doesn’t get much screen time, but her argument with Clark over his mediocre writing, questionable ethics, and his decision-making as Supes inform the heart of the movie. If you didn’t understand why we had all gathered for this movie, this debate between our love interests sells why we should stand with Superman, but also hold Clark accountable. It’s the sort of tough love that only someone close to you can truly deliver, and it makes great use of Lois’s short screen time.
Credit: Warner Bros
The other Daily Planet and Justice Gang characters are solid where they are used, but the moments are purposely minimal. If you walked into this one expecting a ton of Green Lantern moments or some well-articulated defense of modern journalism from Perry White, you need to look elsewhere. When they are used, they are there to help move the story forward, like Jimmy Olsen’s relationship with Luthor’s girlfriend. It seems silly in the moment, but it plays well for laughs and doesn’t stop the momentum built up, eventually becoming a critical detail in sinking Luthor’s plans.
Surprise Stars
Look, I would be lying if I said I was looking forward to seeing Krypto in this movie. It was the one element I was unsure of, despite my excitement for this movie, however…
Krypto works great, like astoundingly great. They were hilarious in moments that needed levity, and Gunn knew exactly when to tug on the heartstrings a bit (make sure you stay for the first credits scene to see another example of that). But Krypto was also, every bit as chaotic as a super-powered dog should be, and was woven into fights seamlessly. While I doubt we’ll see them in a ton of future movies, I wouldn’t be upset at their inclusion in another Superman or overall DCU property again.
Credit: Warner Bros
The other hit character for me was Mister Terrific, portrayed by Edi Gathegi (who’s getting payback every minute he’s on-screen for his untimely and unnecessary demise in 2011’s X-Men: First Class). Saying he’s the comic relief would be a bit lazy, but he does receive some of the better comedic payoffs (especially in the post-credit scene) or comes in at the right moment to keep Supes and other characters on task as the situation deteriorates around them.
The Wider Universe
What seemed more important in this iteration of Superman was creating a new sandbox for Gunn to play with, which wasn’t narrowly defined or limiting to the other movies coming down the pipe. In this way, Gunn has succeeded immensely by dropping us into a universe in motion and letting us pick up the pieces along the way. That said, one may worry there’s not enough depth for future movies or even Superman sequels to latch onto, but judging this first release on that type of pressure should stay outside the scope of this review. We may look back fondly or with bewilderment that the new DCU kicked off this way, but that shouldn’t take away from the impact this movie has had.
Conclusion / Recommendation
James Gunn’s first entry into the DCU gives us a satisfying look into the daily life of Superman, while softly setting up a flexible and interesting world that fans are going to be eager to dip their toes into time and time again. Superman has always been a tough character to nail down, but with Corenswet in the driver’s seat, we can finally feel inspired and hopeful again about old big blue.
While Superman‘s IMAX run is over, I highly recommend going to check this out on the biggest screen you can while it’s still in theaters.
Score: 8.6 out of 10
- A Story Full of Heart- 9
- This story connects with so many pressing, modern socioeconomic conflicts that it might have made Christoper Reeve blush. Grounding Superman in today’s issues, showing us how his brand of compassion could guide us out, delivers an introduction to Superman’s humanity that plenty of audiences can resonate with and be inspired by.
- A Moderately Expanded Universe- 8
- There’s a lot of characters to fit into this tight runtime, but that’s also quite alright. Most moviegoers will have enough information to move forward, and even fan favorites like Krypto and Mister Terrific avoid the trap of overstaying their welcome.
- How Good Is Superman?- 9
- Corenswet delivers a solid, nuanced performance as Superman. While the numerous threads in this movie did pull away options for fleshing out his portrayal, he nails so many moments so well that we can at least feel optimistic, if not outright giddy, about what his future holds.
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