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Superman (PG-13)

Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced

Release Date: July 11, 2025

Runtime: 2 hr. 9 mins.

Genre: Action/Adventure, Science Fiction

“Superman,” DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

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Review

For decades, Superman was considered the brightest bauble in DC's tiara (at least until that title was claimed by Batman). However, in recent years, that jewel has become tarnished as a combined result of neglect and malpractice. While audiences have leaned into the grimness and moral ambivalence of The Dark Knight, a hero taking the higher road and fighting for "truth" and "justice" has become antiquated and out-of-touch. After Zack Snyder's attempted redirection was increasingly met with reactions varying from indifference to dislike, Warner Brothers/D.C. decided it was time for something different. So they poached James Gunn from his comfortable Guardians of the Galaxy post and charged him with reviving the D.C. Universe in general and Superman in particular.

Gunn's uneven Superman is not an unqualified success but neither is it an abject failure. Snyder's adherents will probably hate it because it leans more into the heroic/idealistic version of the Man of Steel embodied by Christopher Reeve than the conflicted one portrayed by Henry Cavill. Indeed, the 2025 Superman includes notable callbacks to its 1978 predecessor. John Williams' score - as important to the Superman movies as the cape and costume - makes a return after largely being absent during the Synder era. The Williams score never quite breaks through in its full-throated glory but its strains are unmistakable. The credits also hearken back to the style employed during the first two Reeve movies.

When it comes to casting the leads, Gunn has hit a double home run. Not only is David Corenswet the perfect embodiment of the comic book superhero but his look is more like Reeve than any of the other actors to have inhabited the character on either the large or small screen since the 1980s. And Rachel Broshnan's Lois Lane is a more worthy a successor to Margot Kidder's interpretation than Kate Bosworth or Amy Adams. The playful scenes between Lois and Clark in Superman represent the best the film has to offer - I wish there had been more of them and that the movie had leaned into the rom-com aspects evident in Superman and Superman II. Other roles are effectively filled. Nicholas Hoult enjoys his scenery-chewing moments as Lex Luthor - less fatuous than Gene Hackman, not as creepy as Kevin Spacey, and not as forgettable as Jesse Eisenberg. (And he bears more than a passing resemblance to Eric Bana's Nero in the 2009 Star Trek.) Sara Sampaio supplies comic relief as Miss Teschmacher, and the duo of Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell lend a dash of pathos and humanity to the roles of Clark's adopted parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent.

Even unburdened by the necessity of re-telling the origin story that everyone knows, Superman feels overstuffed with too many secondary characters stealing the spotlight away from Lois and Clark. If their relationship feels like it gets the short shrift, that's because the screenplay must make time for the fledgling "Justice Gang" of Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). The inclusion of these other "metahumans" feels like a misstep. It would have arguably been more welcome to see a movie focused on a stand-alone Superman rather than cluttering up his grand return with other superheroes.

By the time Superman catches up with the title character, we're told that he has been in the saving-humanity business for three years before suffering his first defeat. In attempting to stop a war between the neighboring countries of Boravia and Jarhanpur (insert obligatory allegorical reference here). That's when Superman comes face-to-face with Ultraman, a metahuman with a better arsenal of punches. Unbeknownst to him, Ultraman owes his allegiance to megalomaniacal genius Lex Luthor, and Lex is out to bring down The Man of Steel. Lex's tools are numerous but his bottom line is singular: "Brains beat brawn." (He's still apparently into real estate, though.)

We get the expected fight scenes. Lots of them. One includes a giant monster that appears to have wandered into this one from Universal's Monsterverse. There are robots that fare about as well in battle as C-3PO (and are voiced by Alan Tudyk, who has become the go-to actor when this kind of voicework is needed). And then there's the damn dog Krypto. Although I get that Krypto is comic book-certified, the superdog's inclusion is childish and off-putting - there's a reason why Krypto's previous appearances have been limited to Saturday morning cartoons and other animated variations (including an infamous team-up with Scooby-Doo).

Ultimately, Superman is a solid popcorn action film and reasonable re-introduction of Superman in a form closer to his classic interpretation. But the decision to force-feed the audience with other superheroes dilutes the overall focus. As mostly mindless summer fun, it stands up well alongside the other productions being offered during the summer of 2025 but I can't help but wonder whether the movie's secondary purpose - to introduce Gunn's vision of the D.C. universe - may have eclipsed its primary one. In 1978, Superman offered viewers a transcendent comic book experience. In 2025, Superman feels a lot like many of the other superhero movies out there - fun, frisky, and forgettable.

© 2025 James Berardinelli

Synopsis

“Superman,” DC Studios’ first feature film to hit the big screen, is set to soar into theaters worldwide this summer from Warner Bros. Pictures. In his signature style, James Gunn takes on the original superhero in the newly imagined DC universe with a singular blend of epic action, humor and heart, delivering a Superman who’s driven by compassion and an inherent belief in the goodness of humankind.

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