Movie Review: Superman (2025)

When James Gunn was hired to lead the overhaul of DC at Warner Brothers alongside his longtime producing partner Peter Safran in November of 2022, the brand was in rough shape. The perception that they were Marvel's loser little brother that was making no attempt to get their shit together had only intensified after their largely poorly received movies also stopped making money at the top of the 2020's and the largely underwhelming final crop of films from the previous DC regime (Shazam!: Fury of the Gods, The Flash, Blue Beetle, Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom) that were released after Gunn took his executive post managed to add even more layers of feces to the big shit sandwich he was inheriting. The billion-dollar question that Gunn was facing as he drew up the plans for DC's new era was how do you get people to care about the comic giant's properties again, especially in an era where superhero movies are no longer the safe bets for hits that they were from 2000-2019? The answer is build something on a foundation of passion and love for the iconic characters that are headlining these stories and hope that the audience follows. In the inaugural big screen venture for the newly minted DC Studios, Gunn himself delivered big time on the company's new mission statement with his take on Superman.

The first thing that endeared me about Gunn's Superman is that it wastes no time with setup and just drops you into the action right away. Admittedly, it took me about 15-20 minutes to get my bearings of what was going on in the universe, but once I figured out the players and their role in this universe, I was hooked. There's something refreshing about a movie adaptation establishing a new cinematic universe/character electing to bypass the framework of a traditional origin story. It's not like every time you pick up a comic book, you're going to be greeted with a detailed back story of how every character became who they are in that specific issue or series, so why should the movie adaptation be obligated to play by a different set of rules? Having Superman be firmly established as a hero whose become beloved through his desire to be kind and desire to do anything he can to help people, Lois Lane be the only person who knows that her bumbling nerd Daily Planet co-worker Clark Kent is Superman since she's dating him, Lex Luthor be consumed by his desire to destroy Superman, the Justice Gang be a separate entity that's fighting the various killer threats that make their way to Metropolis, etc. before we meet them on screen doesn't prevent satisfying narrative arcs from emerging or character development to be stunted. Gunn simply asks the viewer to accept that we're meeting these characters at a point in their journeys where they're already on the path that everybody knew they were going to eventually end up on. Not every member of the audience is going to be on board with this approach obviously, but I felt like it was a savvy narrative choice that speaks to Gunn's desire to prove he's not dicking around with DC's rebranding efforts.

As what's become the norm for Gunn in his superhero work, his thorough understanding of the characters he puts on screen is the driving force behind Superman's success. Clark Kent/Superman is the most purehearted superhero there is. The Kents raised him like he was their own child and the compassion and love for humanity they instilled in him has informed how he sees the world. It's only fitting that Gunn made a Superman movie where the character operates as this beacon of light in an increasingly dark, cynical world. That's not to say his worldview and confidence aren't challenged, but his ultimate belief in seeing in the good in mankind and fighting to preserve it is what pulls him out of the depths of despair. After watching every other Superman movie released during my lifetime only capture a tiny essence of what the character was really about, it was great to see a movie that bears his name fully embrace the character's signature traits.

Of course, Gunn's passion for and knowledge of the characters he's putting on screen is also evident in the strength of his casting choices. These performers don't just do a good job of bringing these iconic characters to life, they've already become tethered to their legacies for the rest of time. David Corenswet is a ray of pure light, hope and love as Superman. Rachel Brosnahan imbues Lois Lane with an unwavering integrity and dedication to questioning everything in the pursuit of the truth that makes her the perfect complement to Superman/Clark (Side note: the chemistry between Brosnahan and Corenswet is insane). Nicholas Hoult perfectly captures the unique combination of maniacal, petty and pathetic that makes Lex Luthor such a detestable villain. Edi Gathegi is so consistently magnetic, cool and funny as genius inventor superhero Mister Terrific that I'm kind of bummed that he doesn't already have his own spin-off movie in the works. Nathan Fillion makes for a really entertaining cocky asshat as the Justice Gang's self-appointed leader Guy Gardner. Isabela Merced erases the memory of her shaky turn in Madame Web with her strong work as the snarky Hawkgirl. Several other supporting characters of note (Anthony Carrigan's Metamorpho, Skyler Gisondo's Jimmy Olsen, Sara Sampaio's Eva Teschmacher, Maria Gabriela de Faria's The Engineer, Pruitt Taylor Vince's Jonathan Kent, Nora Howell's Martha Kent, Zlatko Buric's Vasil Ghurkos, Frank Grillo's Rick Flag Sr.) all have at least a moment or two where they make a huge splash that elevates the film. I said this after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol.3 came out, but it bears repeating: Gunn is Quentin Tarantino-esque in his ability to put the right people in the right roles and make them shine regardless of how much or how little time they have on screen. Having somebody with this rare gift for casting at the top of the executive hierarchy for DC should be a massive asset for them moving forward.

Superman is precisely the type of fun, vibrant triumph that DC needed to kick off this new era. While using a movie from a brilliant, seasoned pro superhero movie director in Gunn would be an unfair measuring stick for future DC films, I'm hopeful that it will be able to usher in an era of superhero filmmaking where talented filmmakers are bringing characters they know and love to the screen. As Gunn has said numerous times recently, the only way to defeat superhero movie fatigue is by taking more risks and injecting creativity into the genre. May Superman be the first of many DC projects to deliver on his promise of reinvigorating the genre through enthusiasm, boldness and ingenuity.                                   

Grade: A-