Superman Review (2025) – DC Studios promising New Frontier with the Big Blue Boy Scout
James Gunn’s Superman is a return to form and a great way to start the DC Universe’s new cinematic Universe and new Superman, David Corenswet, is doing a fine job of portraying the DCU’s Big Blue Boy Scout.
Gunn’s Superman (which was originally titled Superman: Legacy) had one of the harder tasks in the franchise and that’s to usher in this grand cinematic world of Gods and Monsters and I dare say that it did its job.
The casting was pretty tight with David Corenswet as Clark Kent and Superman in the lead. It’s really Christopher Reeves who made it an art of doing separate performances for Clark Kent and Superman and now in 2025 we are getting that same vibe with Corenswet. His Clark is the textbook definition of mild-mannered and his very harmless and dorky without trying hard to do so. Meanwhile as Superman, his got this air of confidence.
Rachel Brosnahan elevates the Lois Lane character to the next level also while hitting the sweet spots of comic book accurate Lois with the spunky Lois that we got with Margot Kidder’s take in the first Superman movie. You can show through the actions on her scene that she’s really got a lot of questions about what’s happening. In short she looks inquisitive enough to be an actual Pulitzer prize journalist and not a girl pretending to be a journalist but is actually a damsel in distress. Come to thing of it, in this version, she’s hardly a damsel in distress.
Another big game changer here was Nicholas Hoult‘s portrayal of Lex Luthor. It’s a new take for Lex who isn’t some weirdo (who talks in crypto nonsense but ultimately acting like a whiny teenager) or sounding like an above average criminal. This version is tech genius slash god complex adult man whos developed a cult-like following but still disdains that humanity chose an alien over kneeling before him and singing him praise.
Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor
I also appreciated the time Gunn took to develop the supporting characters for his take on the Man of Steel. We’ve got a Jimmy Olsen that’s more “modern” and definitely lives up to his reputation as a chick magnet played by Skyler Gisondo to the short but sweet team of the Daily Planet. It’s enough to familiarize audience for their future appearance and learn what they do but not enough to develop story arcs for them and that’s perfectly fine.
It’s also pretty obvious that Gunn is dipping his hands on some Justice League flair by introducing the Lordtech sponsored “Justice Gang” who also plays a nice bit in the story they include characters like Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl (Isabel Merced) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). I did love the fact that we have A Green Lantern here but not the Green Lantern we want, rather the cockiest of the GLs, Guy Gardner, played by Gunn’s friend Nathan Fillion. The team is there not just to provide another vantage of how Superman interacts with the populace but also with the metahuman community.
Justice Gang
It’s also a great way to redeem actor Edi Gathegi’s past role in another comic book movie, X-Men: First Class where he played Darwin and was unceremoniously killed off despite just seconds before saying that his mutant power was adaptation. Remember that?
The plot in general felt like a Silver Age comic book that’s been stretched to 120 minutes and that’s perfectly fine. And since it’s Silver Age, you can expect a Superman that’s jovial and naive to some extent. A Superman that’s more man that god or Super. Which I think was the main reason Snyderbros are up in arms. Their idea for Superman as a dark, brooding all powerful man has been supplanted by a Superman that smiles and takes time to save everything AND everyone including rampaging kaijus wreaking havoc on Metropolis. It’s this Superman that’s brimming with positivity and always looking for the best way to SAVE EVERYBODY that’s the embodiment of the good in Superman. This is a Superman who even spares a few seconds to save a squirrel from certain death.
It’s also through Gunn’s writing and direction that we see that this Superman is one that always does what’s right, even going as far as discarding politics. Plus it’s through this new movie that we see the alien / immigrant aspect versus the ultra rich that breathes new life to the character for the 2025 audience. Plus its not as preachy as it reads.
One of the biggest crutches for me for Superman was the overexposure of Krypto. I liked Krypto as a character in the books and I was assuming they found the right balance for its appearance in the film, but I really felt like it was excessive.
And the other thing is how Superman comes off as weak, which I think was intentional because it helps us understand him when he says that he’s human. Also in my headcanon, I think that he seems weaker because he hasn’t been exposed to that much solar radiation that makes him incredibly strong and fast as what we’re used too. Remember this is the first movie in a long line of movies and by the time we see him when they form the Justice League, he’s already as powerful as the Superman we know.
Catch Superman as it’s now playing on cinemas from Warner Bros Pictures!
9/10
