I’m going to open this review by stating a fact: I am not unbiased here. Superman is my favorite character in any medium ever. I live and breathe his mythology. I’ve written a guide to his DTV movies here. I have read every prose novel featuring the character. I know all the movies. I am a Superman diehard. It was unlikely I’d hate this movie.
But even with that said, it feels like James Gunn went harder than he had to. This is a breath of fresh air in a genre that’s been feeling overdone lately. We just had the Cannon infused Thunderbolts* which was low-key. This is back to the bigger than life feeling and honestly, it’s truly big in a way I missed.
The plot to this universe launching film is simple: Superman (David Corenswet) intervenes in a conflict between nations that casts doubt on his good guy status including with new girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan.) When Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) uncovers a dark secret about the Man of Steel, his image is further destroyed. But Luthor has his own secrets, and an unlikely figure steps in to expose him.
This is a very James Gunn movie. There are a lot of themes of found family vs biological family. Gunn doesn’t trust the military industrial complex. He loves his over the top evil villains, which I mean it’s Lex Luthor, so I get it. It looks and feels very Gunn. So if you’re not on board with Gunn, you’re not going to like this film.
I happen to hardcore love what Gunn does, so I ate this film up. And I think the obvious point I have to make is he gets Superman. Now I actually love Man of Steel, so I want to make it clear I think that film did too. What Gunn gets is this is a different moment. Man of Steel is a film that speaks to the unconscious realization my generation was sold a bill of goods in a certain political figure and how we’d feel distrust of someone else trying to be a heroic figure.
Gunn gets that right now we’re disillusioned, and the axis has shifted. The world is dark and ugly, so his Superman is a wildly imperfect, awkward nice guy who represents who we wish we were. He’s not a god above men. He’s an outcast in the vein of Gunn’s other heroes. How Gunn makes Superman of all characters achieve that is with a thesis that being good would be awkward and weird in reality.
The movie is thus a bold work of hope. But it’s one couched in the realization that having hope is in fact a fantasy. Gunn has been accused of going too hard on the hopepunk idea, but I think he’s actually very clear-headed that it’s a fantasy. Even here, the truth is Superman is just a guy trying to do good, but not exactly perfect at it. By contrast, evil is efficient and skilled. Superman thus becomes us, normal people wanting to fix this.
The film has some flaws that I have to note before I cover the cast. The script is messy as only a very specific but unfocused person can be as a writer. I think the Krypton reveal works for me, but I get it. It’s weird. The Ultraman plot is, look, it’s stolen from The Boys comics. And then there’s the weird plot with Miss Teschmacher (a scene stealing Sara Sampaio) where it’s really good, but also I think Gunn hasn’t at all thought through his issues with the popular girls. Over and over, Gunn sure loves shaming them. He tries to fix but yikes.
The strongest suit here really ultimately is the cast. Corenswet gives a very different, awkward Superman. Brosnahan plays a harder edged Lois Lane. Hoult is a terrifying Luthor. Edi Gathegi is cool as hell as Mister Terrific. Nathan Fillion is a blast as Guy Gardner. Anthony Carrigan kind of reprises his Bill and Ted work, but that’s fine.
What counts is this: This movie works. It’s a nice, solid meditation on Superman in the modern day. More than any try in my lifetime, it feels like this one exists to get things going to see the character again. I look forward to the future.
Watch the trailer right here.
All images via Warner Bros. Discovery.
Directed by James Gunn
Screenplay by James Gunn, from DC Comics
Produced by James Gunn, Peter Safran
Starring David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced, Zlatko Burić, Skyler Gisondo, Wendell Pierce, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Sara Sampaio, Beck Bennett, María Gabriela de Faría
Premiere Date: July 7, 2025
Running Time: 129 minutes
Cinema from the Spectrum 
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