It’s been a long time since I’ve been this excited about a superhero movie. Before going into the theatre, I had already heard a laundry list of gripes about the film, and I personally didn’t really want to get my hopes up. But I was excited because, well, you can’t help being excited about a character who’s as decent and straightforward and upright as Superman is (in most iterations).

I expected it to be intense, full of references I would need to read up on, and honestly – work.

I left entertained.

Synopsis

Superman (2025) (thereafter referred to as Superman) is a superhero film based on the titular superhero. It is the fourth (third, if you count Superman Returns as following the original movie continuity) movie iteration of the character, and the first film in the new DC Universe (DCU) film franchise. It follows the eponymous superhero, who has already been established on Earth, as enemies unearth his secrets and he, in turn, has to discover what his foes are plotting before it’s too late.

Director: James Gunn

Writers: James Gunn

Cast:

• David Corenswet (Superman/Kal‑El/Clark Kent)

• Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane)

• Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luthor)

• Edi Gathegi (Mister Terrific/Michael Holt)

• Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho/Rex Mason)

• Nathan Fillion (Green Lantern/Guy Gardner)

• Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl/Kendra Saunders)

• María Gabriela de Faría (The Engineer/Angela Spica)

• Wendell Pierce (Perry White)

• Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen)

• Beck Bennett (Steve Lombard)

• Mikaela Hoover (Cat Grant)

• Sara Sampaio (Eve Teschmacher)

• Neva Howell (Martha Kent)

• Pruitt Taylor Vince (Jonathan Kent)

• Frank Grillo (Rick Flag Sr.)

• Sean Gunn (Maxwell Lord)

• Milly Alcock (Supergirl/Kara Zor‑El)

• Bradley Cooper (Jor‑El)

• Viola Davis (Amanda Waller)

• Angela Sarafyan (Lara Lor‑Van)

• John Cena (Peacemaker)

Run time: 129 minutes

David Corenswet is endearing

As the title character, it’s important that Superman is someone we root for. And that’s what David Corenswet brings to the role. He plays a sincere Superman who has such a clear black-and-white moral compass that it brings him into conflict with the complexities of the modern world – and also of the characters around him, like Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). He cries not just because of relationship issues (as Clark Kent usually does), but at his own frustrations, failures, and foibles. It’s that authenticity – that he wants to do the right thing, even if it’s difficult and results in uncomfortable consequences for him – that brings you to his side. We all want to try our best, don’t we?

And Superman tries his damn best because he’s not a god.

Ultimately about Superman’s humanity rather than his godhood

It’s this choice to focus on Superman’s vulnerability, rather than his invulnerability, that drives the movie’s narratives and situations. Previous films have mostly chosen to focus on how indestructible and far above humanity he is, but Superman takes a different approach with it.

Superman takes the TV approach to the character, which is to focus on him as Clark Kent, the person, falling prey to all the mistakes that we make as fallible humans. It chooses to focus on his fears, his desires, his mistakes – as his ending monologue states. And in the context of this film, which is that it’s part of a greater whole, the newly minted DCU – it works. It shows him as one of the characters in a vast, vast universe, and it also reveals why this superpowered character can’t solve every single problem – because he’s just a man.

Carefree, chaotic, and casual

The absolute lack of serious intensity that have been in previous Superman films (which all depict him as a god descending to live with mortals) means that we get an entertaining movie that’s not afraid to be outrageously campy and unbelievably over the top. There’s a joy in the film, a joy that revels in the fact that this is a superhero movie, set in a world with superpowered beings and aliens and monsters, a joy that translates to the audience experience.

Most importantly, you don’t feel like you’re missing out by not watching every other aspect of the DCU. There are sly mentions to Gods and Monsters, which is technically the first DCU entry in the series and an animated TV series – but if you don’t watch it, it feels fine. There’s no FOMO in watching Superman. And that lends such a carefree spirit to the overall film that you can really sink in, enjoy yourself, and not make mental notes to look something up later.

Nonstop action

It’s not just that we get plenty of action scenes (as we should) – it’s also that plotwise, the narrative continues forging forward unabated. There are moments of pause, but it’s that – a pause. Not a lengthy mid-movie lull. It does chunk the heavy lifting of needful exposition into monologues or very on-the-nose dialogue, but that pays off because more time can be afforded to watching superheroes punch things. That’s what we’re all here for, after all.

Plenty of cameos and fan service

From the cast list, you can already see the number of mid-tier DC characters that appear in the film as supporting characters. But there are also blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moments for more engaged fans, like Jitters or the Hall of Justice. I mean, even the inclusion of Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). and Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi) speaks volumes about how the film respects all aspects of the DC (and not just Superman) mythos.

For me, it enriches the universe so much more, and it’s great (and to an extent, logical) to see that Superman doesn’t operate in a vacuum in his own city.

Superman is not at full power for most of the movie 

I’m kind of on the fence about it. Superman is hampered or disadvantaged for a fair bit of the movie, for myriad reasons. That doesn’t mean he isn’t the most powerful protagonist in the film, it’s more that we see him struggle quite a lot. While that makes for good conflict and a more relatable protagonist, it also makes me wonder if events could have been less convoluted and resolved more quickly if Superman were constantly super. Nevertheless, it paves the way for us to see bigger, better, and more superpowered feats in future movies – as well as the possibility for more god-tier villains appearing in the future to enable said feats.

Nicholas Hoult is incredibly over the top

I’m not sure if this decision came from the director (James Gunn) or actor (Nicholas Hoult). But this Lex Luthor was… cartoony. Not in the Clancy Brown (who played Lex Luthor in the DCAU) kind of way, but in the way that makes him unrealistic. He’s Evil with a capital E. While I get that this is ultimately a fictional universe, his vaunted mental prowess is more of an informed characteristic (we see all his brilliant inventions!) rather than one that’s actually depicted (like making intelligent decisions). He looks like he’s about to burst a blood vessel at times and makes questionable choices like taunting and gloating way too much. He makes for a good foil for Superman, though.

The colours are overdone

Superman is a bright and colourful character, yet this film’s colour grading… doesn’t make use of that. The saturation is so out of whack and we have so many pointless lens flares. I get it – Superman is solar powered, so lens flares remind us that he’s connected to the Sun. But does it have to be so yellow? It does show the limitations of James Gunn’s range as a director, when all his films have such similar colour palettes and styles. Personally, I think it could have benefitted from a more vibrant colour palette.

Should you watch Superman?

Yes of course you should. It’s entertaining and you don’t need pre-knowledge of anything (except, well, that Superman is Clark Kent, I suppose) to be able to enjoy it. It features a character who makes mistakes but has that infectious earnestness. You can’t help but feel hope, hope that it’s possible to do the right things and that you should do the right thing. That is, after all, what Superman is all about.

It’s been a while, and honestly, I’m glad Superman is back.

Rating: 9/10

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Bonus: my favourite Supermen

This is more a bonus for me than anything else but I wanted to do this and here are my two favourite Supermen (in no particular order).

Tom Welling as Clark Kent in Smallville

I kind of… grew up with Smallville? I suppose it shows my age. But to have Superman be in what is basically a teen melodrama mixed so many genre elements that it appealed to me like no other. You had that whole secret thing (nobody can know he has super powers), the fantasy of having super powers, a very hot supporting cast (Kristin Kreuk, Erica Durance, Allison Mack… heck even his mum, played by Annette O’Toole, was hot), the aforementioned teen melodrama and angst. I can sum up Smallville as Clark Kent whining about how he just wants to be normal when half the time he very much relishes not being normal, and how he has to get over it to become Superman.

I totally related (this is embarrassing) to Clark Kent’s angst – because when you’re growing up, you have so many secrets to hide. You also wish you were just like everyone else – but when you are treated like everyone else, you rail against the machine and say you want to be unique, etc… Bonus was how Clark Kent became emo whenever he had Red Kryptonite, which is also very relatable. 

George Newbern as Superman in Justice League/Justice League Unlimited (DCAU)

I was more of a fan of George Newbern’s rendition of Superman (before him, it was Tim Daly in Superman: The Animated Series) because he was way more emotional with his Superman. And in Justice League, we saw Superman getting irritated many, many times. Darkseid gets on his nerves, he gets exasperated with Lex Luthor, Captain Marvel/Shazam rubs him the wrong way – it’s so rare that we see Superman get thrown off balance for non-Lois Lane reasons, but Justice League had it in spades. This, more than anything, humanised him for me. He even goes “this is Lex-flipping Luthor for crying out loud” (and we know what “flipping” was really supposed to be if this were said by an adult) at one point. You can almost hear Superman going “why are all of you to stupid to see this?!” and many times, he’s right.

I liked George Newbern’s Superman for showing us his constant annoyance – because when you have super powers and yet have to show restraint when you’re surrounded by idiots, it’s a very comical kind of frustration that ensues. He never had Red Kryptonite to influence his emotions either, you know that irritation is genuine.