Superman (2025)
Director: James Gunn
Screenwriters: James Gunn, Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster (Characters created by)
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced
by Jacob Davis
In 2025, a Superman film is burdened to achieve more than produce a profit at the box office. James Gunn’s latest superhero fare was tasked with re-establishing the cinematic presentation of DC’s most iconic character, and creating the platform a wider DC transmedia universe to finally compete with Marvel after over a decade of critical, creative, and financial floundering. Despite some flaws, Gunn has succeeded—the DCU’s flagship film strikes a balance between the dark/serious and light/comedic aspects of comic book hero stories while staying true to their nostalgic, sometimes cheesy aesthetics.
Superman doesn’t bother with the traditional origin story first film, beginning in media res for the universe and Superman’s story. Superman is not the first “metahuman,” but he is undoubtedly the strongest, and we meet him as he has faced his first defeat in battle. While his origins are conveyed and play into the story, it sticks to telling a classic Superman versus Lex Luthor tale filled with action, humor, and plain fun.
What makes this so effective as a Superman movie is that it stands in such contrast to Zack Snyder’s presentation of the Man of Steel. Snyder’s Superman was an angsty god on Earth, a Randian hero who struggled with whether it was even worth the effort to save others. Gunn’s Superman is a paragon of goodness and virtue, raised by the downhome Ma and Pa Kent of Kansas to do the right thing and care for others. He says “gosh” and “darn” while others around him swear. He turns himself into the authorities to rescue Krypto the super-dog rather than going full John Wick. His strong sense of morality and humanity are a part of his greatness, but are also exploitable by nefarious actors. With Gunn’s Superman, there’s never a question of “what” or “why” when it comes to Superman’s motivation and perspectives. The classic, bright suit is also a huge improvement on the darker, more “realistic” suits of the 2010s.
Various corners of the Internet had their opinions on David Corenswet prior to release, but Corenswet was a great choice for Superman. There’s no cultural baggage to detract from his embodiment of the role compared to the use of a bigger name. Corenswet perfectly portrays an endearing naïve earnestness that has to contend with the social and moral complexities of the world. He’s believable as an all-powerful, near-invincible hero, and believable in the moments of weakness or frustration. This is Superman for the next decade (potentially beyond), and it would be difficult to ask for better.
The cast around Corenswet is excellent, too. Rachel Brosnahan plays a tough, work-focused Lois Lane who has only started seeing Clark/Superman in the recent past. She offers real aid to Superman throughout the film, and shares strong performative chemistry with Corenswet in every scene they share. Nicholas Hoult knocks Lex Luthor out of the park—he’s menacing, condescending, merciless, and hyper-focused on defeating Superman. He’s a cartoon supervillain with some teeth that doesn’t fall into madman caricatures. Edi Gathegi and Nathan Fillion standout from the other metahuman characters in their performances and the creative approach, offering moral and character contrast to Superman while still being good guys. Sara Sampaio also impresses as Eve Teschmacher, her character evolving from her initial presentation as a comedic, selfie-obsessed ditz stereotype.
The film’s plot is a bit too convoluted, though. Lex Luthor has a few too many wrinkles to his plan to defeat Superman once and for all. While the elements are grand and dire enough for the silver screen, the first DCU film might have been better with a somewhat simpler story. Without getting too deep into the weeds, a new evil metahuman, a inter-dimensional prison in a pocket universe, an international conflict, and a rift in the fabric of space-time all have a part in the story. On the plus side, they all offer their fair share of cool action moments. Gunn’s 360-degree action shots set to classic rock make their appearance, and Gunn gets to show his capability with slow motion to great effect. Superman holds up collapsing buildings to save a single person, and slides down a Rainbow Road-style antimatter river while fighting off bad guys. There’s a variety that effectively sets the aesthetic tone of the DCU beyond the nostalgic décor and silly suits, and it may have been the need to worldbuild that led to the plot complications.
Overall, Superman accomplishes what DC needed it to accomplish. As of writing, it beat Man of Steel and every other 2025 film in box office previews with $22.5 million, tracking to potentially have the highest opening weekend of 2025. It’s been well-received by critics and audiences. It’s a quality product that shows DC’s true potential in the superhero media marketplace, deviating from Marvel’s tendency towards a cookie-cutter house style. DC has always had a strength in its cinematic dynamism, but the 21st century audience desire for universal cohesion failed. James Gunn’s DCU now has the potential to finally put the company on track and get audiences engaging with extended universe works, which would be a big win for the post-COVID film and theater industry.
Score: 7.5/10
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Couldn’t have said it better myself, great review!