Superman (2025) - Movie Review

The Movie: Superman

The Director: James Gunn

The Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced

The Story: Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.

The Rating: 9 / 10

The Review:

Let me get this out of the way right now. For me, the Richard Donner Superman movie starring Christopher Reeve is and always will be the standard that all other super hero/comic book movies are compared. As a kid, it was my introduction to super hero cinema and, in a lot of ways, laid the foundation for my love of comic books, science fiction, fantasy, and all that fun stuff. Franchises like Star Wars, Star Blazers (Space Battleship Yamato), and Lord of the Rings, all became very formative pieces of the my childhood and yet, the man of steel, as portrayed so brilliantly by Mr. Reeve, has always stood tall above the rest.

Let me also say that Zach Snyder's DC universe, which featured the Man of Steel heavily, was a resounding disappointment outside of the first Wonder Woman and the first Aquaman, so I've been waiting and hoping for a return to cinematic glory for one of the most iconic fictional characters of all time. As I'm sure everyone knows, James Gunn did a fantastic job with his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy as he reshaped how comic book movies could be made and created something genuinely unique and special at a time when Marvel's own cinematic universe was already considered top tier entertainment.

When Gunn was announced as the person who would take the helm of the DC universe moving forward, I was pretty excited to see how he was going to tackle the challenge of breathing new life into a franchise that had sunk to depths that seemed impossible to recover from. And now here we are. Superman is back. The Man of Steel has returned. Finally, a new Superman is here. Would it and could it ever live up to the hype and is it even possible to properly get the character back on screen in any sort of credible way? This is where casting the right people would be absolutely essential.

Right there front and center. David Corenswet is Superman. I mean, seriously, I haven't seen a casting choice this spot on since the early days of the MCU. There's bits and pieces of both Christopher Reeve and Henry Caville in his performance and yet, he 100% makes the character his own. The demeanor, the posture, the way he speaks, the subtle and not so subtle differences between when he is Superman and when he is Clark Kent. Also, before watching this movie, I didn't think anyone would ever be able to even come close to matching the presence and charisma that Margot Kidder brought to her performance as Lois Lane and yet here I was watching Rachel Brosnahan do just that.

Individually, both actors are impressive and then any time they're on screen together, the movie elevates from just a fun action movie to something that is embedded with a true sense of humanity thanks to the chemistry that they share. Their back and forth relationship is really at the core of what makes this movie work so well and I think that's exactly why Gunn added in an extended interview scene for the two of them to share. Sure, there are metahumans all over the place in this movie and the story is epic in scale with cosmic and interdimensional elements thrown in and yet it all still felt real and relatable. The movie is about people, the choices we make, and how Superman's core values of truth justice, and helping people are what we all should really be focused on.

In that respect, there's a lot of messaging in the story but it's never preachy or political or overtly analogous to our own reality and the whole thing just feels right and good like we're supposed to carry that out of the theater so we can go make the world a better place. I've always judged the quality of a movie based on how it makes me feel when the credits start to roll and I want that first impression and wave of emotion, good or bad, to stick with me even when I get to this point where I'm tapping out my review. This movie just feels good. When I left the theater, I was happy and it seemed like everyone else was feeling the same way. That right there is what a Superman movie should be and James Gunn absolutely nails it.

One of the other things I really love about this movie is that it respects the audience. There's no hand holding through tons of explanation and exposition, we're just dropped into this universe that is fully fleshed out and moves us right into the heart of the story. There are a ton of characters, some at the forefront and we get to know them intimately, and there are others who pop up a couple times and we know they're important but, outside of people who know the history and lore of the comics, we have no idea who they are outside of maybe their name and what powers they have, if any.

We see the seeds planted for what will eventually be the Justice League and we get to meet characters like Green Lantern and Hawk Girl along with a few fun little cameos that also help to expand the overall universe. Do things get a little goofy at times? Sure they do, this is a comic book movie about a guy from space flying around in a red cape trying to save the world and, as I mentioned earlier, there's a nice bit of comedy mixed in to remind us of that. Superman is the hero we've been waiting for. Superman is the movie we've been waiting for. See it in IMAX, see it in 3D, or see it in whatever format you choose, just make sure this is a movie you see in the theater.