'Superman' Review: James Gunn's Uplifting Man of Steel Reboot Soars Up, Up, and Away
Look in the sky. It’s a bird! It’s a plane! For the love of Krypton, it's a great Superman movie!
The launch of James Gunn and Peter Safran's long-awaited DC Universe reboot takes flight with, again, a standalone Man of Steel flick. Unlike the Jesus-ification of Cavill's iteration under Zack Snyder or the long-forgotten Reeves-ification of Brandon Routh under *shudders* Bryan Singer, Gunn's iteration starring David Corenswet finally captures Superman in his truest form: an immigrant and a midwestern dork with a heart of gold, trapped in a super-powered hunk body, symbolizing hope for all. Mind the key word, "hope," a feeling that this film evokes and ultimately earns, unlike the empty pastiche in every other modern retelling to date. This is the best the Man of Steel has been all millennium.
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MPA Rating: PG-13 (for violence, action and language)
Runtime: 2 Hours and 9 Minutes
Production Companies: DC Studios, Troll Court Entertainment, The Safran Company
Distributor: Warner Bros. Pictures
Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn
Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced
Release Date: July 11, 2025
In a world with metahumans, Clark Kent/Kal-El (David Corenswet) is three years into his role as Superman. When not doubling as Daily Planet journalist Clark Kent, Superman spends his days fighting monsters, stopping international conflict, and, above all, saving every life he comes across. Even when some of those said heroic excursions are disrupted by newly formed the Justice Gang — Green Lantern/Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) — and their reckless tactics, Superman makes sure no living thing is harmed. All of this is to the dismay of billionaire megalomaniac Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who devises an elaborate plan to defame Superman with his goons at LexCorp. When he infiltrates Superman’s Fortress of Solitude and exposes his Kryptonian background to the public, including a detail unbeknownst to Clark, the world turns on him. With the help of his girlfriend Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), his colleagues from his double life, and his adorable superdog Krypto, Clark must discover his self-purpose as Superman, clear his name, and uncover Luthor’s evil plot.
James Gunn flawlessly captures Superman's essence
Despite growing up with Smallville, admittedly, I was not much of a Superman fan. Powers aside, he was always uninteresting to me as a character. The DCEU didn’t help his case either. Between Zod's neck snap and Cavill's CG-stache fiasco, the DCEU defamed Superman even better than Luthor could. It wasn't until Adult Swim’s anime-styled My Adventures With Superman that I found myself not just interested, but also adoring Superman. The charming Jack Quaid-voiced depiction of Clark was a lovable dork, much like this Superman, who is in his peach-fuzz days and determined to protect people. At its core, My Adventures With Superman captured the significance of the character in a way many other media iterations in this century failed to.
James Gunn does about the same in movie form. Keeping that affectionate Super-streak, Gunn goes tonally even lighter than his Scooby-Doo series, encapsulating the vitality of Clark Kent and Superman in the same adorkable manner. He instills the hope that many iterations fail to capture by demonstrating Clark's faith in the goodness of humanity and his overall concern for human life in his heroic duties, vocalizing his love for humanity and embracing his midwestern origin in every frame. The first chapter of Gunn's DC Cinematic Phase may be called "God and Monsters," but he spends the whole film demonstrating how Superman is no god — while providing an elaborate "no kings"-on-main sociopolitical commentary through Lex Luthor. At his core, Clark is a good-hearted dork raised by sweet-natured country folk who wants to help people everywhere. He goes about his superhero excursions as if he was radicalized by Spike Lee’s Do the Right Thing. Kent's "golly-gee" midwestern charm and even simplicity are propped up. David Corenswet's cape flutters, if only in spirit, in every delivery, and his actions are adorned with those goodie-two-shoes country boy euphemisms that contribute to this exemplary portrait of our titular character.
Gunn highlights a potent an immigrant diaspora arc through Superman
Superman's narrative flow evokes a '90s-styled comic book flick — like Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles and Men in Black — with its episodic procedural flair reminiscent of a classic Saturday morning cartoon. Forgoing the overplayed origin story route, it thrusts you into the middle of a pre-existing world, and rather than being story- and universe-driven, Gunn's script is mostly concerned with deconstructing the titular hero, exploring how he navigates his environment and heroic lifestyle in a grounded, deeply personal way. The first act is brilliant in that regard, spotlighting Superman's heroic duties and framing them like a regular 9-to-5 to convey his humanity through action and draw you into the rhythm of his everyday life. Gunn unsurprisingly delivers a frenetic, colorful, and fun affair. However, it gradually becomes destructively chaotic and overuses a 360-degree camera movement throughout many of the set pieces. Still, each sequence remembers what a good comic book movie should do: prioritize protecting people over fighting foes.
With Superman, Gunn's continued exercise of incorporating political commentary into his superhero films — like The Suicide Squad's anti-imperialism and Guardians of the Galaxy 3's anti-corporatism — reaches a new level of sophistication. His captivating examination of Clark and his Kryptonian immigrant diaspora lies at the heart of the conflict. A new twist on this iteration's origin fuels widespread hostility toward him, creating a genuinely heartbreaking portrayal of a marginalized Man of Steel targeted by a xenophobic defamation campaign. Gunn's script excels at using these circumstances as a catalyst to deconstruct Superman’s identity and ultimately, triumphantly reaffirm the hope embodied by his gigantic "S."
Cast of steel
David Corenswet is phenomenal in the titular role, eliciting the emotional weight and pressure of the character in subtle moments. As aforementioned, he brings such a charming flair to his Clark, completely embodying the character as if he were lifted off the comic book page. Furthermore, he has an exceptional chemistry with his ensemble, particularly with Rachel Brosnahan. Brosnahan is by far the best Lois Lane in film. She infuses Lois with an exuberant, defiant energy that perfectly suits her role as an investigative journalist and makes her a formidable romantic foil to Clark. The film establishes the two's romantic affair at a rocky point, not just because of the Hannah Montana-ing of Clark's identity but because of their conflicting traits—her rebellious nature and his straightforward goodness. Gunn efficiently farms their relationship to help the plot along and gives them a sweet love story.
In his remarkable portrayal of Luthor, Nicholas Hoult, who is by far one of my favorite character actors working today, embodies classic Disney-styled villainous flair. I use the term "Disney" in the sense that he is both menacing and downright vile, and he becomes completely insane to the point where you think his pupils are literally red. And above all, his obsession-fueled haterade is mixed with a hint of homoeroticism. His character is an amalgamation of the evil tech billionaires running rampant today — Bezos, Musk, and Zuckerberg — but Hoult's intensity and fervor make it uniquely his own.
Also worth mentioning is Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific. Finally given him the retribution he deserved after Matthew Vaughn did him dirty, Gathegi plays the coolest character in the Justice Gang, if not the whole film. Gunn loves to raise the public image of his favorite niche heroes (see: The Suicide Squad). Damn, he does it again! Mr. Terrific has the best action set piece as well, and Gathegi brings an effervescent old-school swagger. Besides the adorable CG dog, Krypto, Gathegi steals the show every second he's onscreen.
Relevant Commentary Caught in Universe Buildup
As if the contemporary xenophobic elements weren't enough, there are a lot of fascist elements in this portrayal of Luthor. Notably, Luther imprisons innocent people in a remote detention facility for the pettiest of reasons and embroils himself in an international invasion conflict very reminiscent of the Israel/Palestine conflict. Paired with Superman's immigrant status and Luthor's anti-Superman militia, one can draw parallels to the ICE detention centers, even though production was completed about a year ago, long before the situation escalated to where it is today! That location does take up much of the screen time, especially during the second act which is full of overstimulating chaos and suffers from a lull in pacing. It does give way to its supporting players like Lane, Terrific, and even playboy Daily Planet reporter Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo), but Gunn places a frustrating emphasis on future-franchise-farming that's so taxing. It's an overstimulating experience overall, but given how emotionally hopeful its message is, some of it may be forgiven. Tied to a surprisingly cathartic "no kings" motif that is perfectly aligned with our current times, this is the Superman film we both deserve and need right now.
Final Statement
Powered by a flawless David Corenswet and potent social commentary, Gunn's stunning portrait of Superman soars up, up, and away with the best Man of Steel to grace the screen this millennium, portending a bright and beautiful future for DC Studios.
