Superman
What a relief to have a fun Superman movie again!
Finally rid of Zack Snyder’s deathly serious interpretation and with Bryan Singer's failed Superman Returns experiment feeling like more of a bad dream with each passing day, the Man of Steel gets a much-needed injection of playfulness in James Gunn’s Superman without sacrificing high-level stakes, character development, and emotional resonance.
Firmly in the same realm as his The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker yet with far more heart, Gunn’s first feature as head of Warner Bros.’ DC empire expertly weaves in those entries’ sicko monsters and gonzo humor, earning big laughs from weird things happening in the background and delivering mammoth thrills via clear-eyed action in the foreground.
Wisely holding with series tradition and casting a relative unknown as Kal-El/Clark Kent, the writer/director makes an instant star out of David Corenswet (Twisters), whose cool handling of the character’s many facets and dramas easily makes him the best steward of this iconic role since Christopher Reeve.
With this firm foundation in place, Gunn trusts viewers to trust him, tossing them into the middle of a complex struggle already at fever pitch with Superman suffering his first ever defeat. Doling out the ass-whooping is a metahuman known as the Hammer of Boravia, allegedly a representative of the eponymous nation that Superman recently stopped from invading its helpless neighboring country of Jarhanpur.
The conflict raises all sorts of intriguing questions regarding Superman’s role in global affairs, particularly with U.S. allies. And things get even more enthralling on a political level when it's revealed that Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is behind the whole thing and in cahoots with the Putin-esque Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos (Zlatko Buric).
An obvious stand-in for Elon Musk, this Luthor has a cult of followers and, most tellingly, DOGE-like sycophants who carry out his high-tech war against Superman and cheer his victories like the spineless toadies they are. Luthor’s privatized military and prisons, firm anti-immigration stance, and folk hero sway with the U.S. government and the American people rounds out this damning portrayal and breathes bracingly modern life into a well-worn villain.
On the human front, Corensweat and Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane are a delightful couple, and Skyler Gisondo’s goofy energy proves an excellent fit for their Daily Planet colleague Jimmy Olsen. But stealing the show are fellow heroes Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced, Alien: Romulus), and especially Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi, For All Mankind), whose cool tech know-how and hilarious one-liners make him a most welcome presence.
These unified good guys — plus talented canine Krypto — match up nicely against Luthor and his evil cronies as Superman proves to the world that he's truly there to help. And despite random, ill-fitting bursts of emotion from Superman and Luthor that mar the climax, the overall battle gets so much right that these blips are easily forgivable.
Amidst the electrically directed fights, Hoult gives a single sneer that officially makes his Luthor the most punchable cinematic character of 2025. Moments like this, enacted by a talented ensemble and, just as important, via an appealing style suggest that plenty more of its kind are in store as long as Gunn is calling the shots.
Grade: B-plus. Rated PG-13. Now playing at AMC River Hills 10, Carolina Cinemark, the Fine Arts Theatre, and Regal Biltmore Grande.
(Photo: Warner Bros.)
