Superman

2025

Directed by: James Gunn

Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi

Prepare for an extremely biased review here. I have been a lifelong Superman fan, rocking the S-shaped logo on my shirt and collecting comics since I was a kid. He remained my favorite superhero even through the dark ages of evil Superman games like Injustice: Gods Among Us and his many mischaracterizations in the Zach Snyder films. During those dreary times, I waited in the shadows for an actual good Superman adaptation that understood the character and didn't try to cynically "modernize" him. So, when I heard James Gunn was going to take a crack at the character I was cautiously optimistic but tried to temper my expectations. Honestly, now having seen it twice, my expectations were blown out of the water.

It is nowhere near a perfect film, but you can't deny this is the most unabashed comic book movie we've gotten since maybe Scott Pilgrim vs. The World or the Sam Raimi Spider-Man films. This movie skips the boring origin story stuff and just drops you into an incredibly realized world right in the action. David Corenswet plays a refreshingly sincere Superman who isn't afraid to be corny and throw in a "Golly!" or "What the hey, dude?" That charming vibe plays great against Rachel Brosnahan, as Lois Lane, who brings more skepticism and retrospection to Superman's admittedly black-and-white worldview. And, Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor... oh my god... he steals every scene he's in. You don't see many classic supervillain types in these comic book movies anymore, so it's nice to have it here. Hoult radiates pure #1A hater energy every time he's on screen!

This doesn't even get into all the side characters in this movie, which I feel are in for the perfect amount of time. They all have their space to shine and leave you wanting more, but don't overshadow the main players; except for Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). That guy had so much aura in this movie, I think he'll become a lot of kids' new favorite superhero because of this movie. The worldbuilding is fantastic here and really makes you curious to learn more. It feels like you're watching an episode of the animated series or jumping into a random arc in the comics, with its breakneck pacing and "no time to explain, let's keep going" attitude. This kinda nonstop spectacle might not be for everyone, but for a DC fan like me, I had the dumbest smile on my face the whole way through and I do think this is a better way of getting people into comic book characters than a million origin stories like the MCU did.

As much as I like the fast pace, we could have used more quiet time. Maybe 15 more minutes to establish the status quo and dwell on emotional moments. This movie clearly had a lot riding on it so went all out, but for a sequel I'd like to see them slow down and focus a bit more.

Despite how quick this movie goes by, it did leave an emotional impact on me. It's rare for a modern blockbuster to have a real heart to it. Whenever I used to tell people my favorite hero was Superman, the response would always be he's "boring" or a "goody two-shoes" compared to edgier heroes like Wolverine, Batman, or Deadpool. But James Gunn seems to really get it. That a kindness isn't lame, it's badass (or dare I say punk rock). In today's political climate where empathy and sincerity have been neglected more and more, it's nice to have a big film where a good guy stops an evil billionaire and tells kids it's cool to be kind. It seems to be resonating with a lot of people too which feels good.

Like I said, I could talk way more about this movie: what it means for the future of comic book movies, it's fantastic cast of side characters, all the easter eggs and nerdy stuff, its surprisingly on-the-nose politically commentary (hell yeah!) but for now all I'll say is this.

I would recommend you watch Superman even if you're not a big comic book fan. It might be my new favorite comic book movie. I'm excited to see what's next for DC Studios. And, it's nice to see Superman is cool again.

Certified Platinum /10