Asher Luberto
It’s a bird, it’s a plane … it’s a Superman movie worth watching? The latest addition to the D.C. universe, which James Gunn took over after a marvelous stint with Marvel, eschews the hero’s kryptonite — dreary, ponderous Zack Snyder films — for a persistently positive and perpetually wonderful summer blockbuster. A handful of decades ago, Superman used to stand for truth, justice and brightness, but recent incarnations have replaced buoyancy with bleakness. In the whimsical arsenal of Gunn, Superman is back as a lovable hunk.
Henry Cavill might have moped through the role like he was in a Nirvana music video — a sad-eyed, woe-is-me victim of landing on the wrong planet — but not this Superman (David Corenswet). After getting his butt kicked by aliens, Superman battles a PR scandal having stopped the fictional Boravia from invading another country, which angers tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who doesn’t like seeing someone else get all the attention. But Superman keeps a good attitude throughout.
A man of steel with a heart of gold, Superman brushes off his sorrows like dust, putting aside the haters in order to focus on his undercover persona as a journalist at the Daily Planet, where he wears nerdy glasses that can’t hide his inherently exquisite looks. Not from Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), anyway, who knows his identity and who tries to help him through his troubles with feisty humor. Elsewhere, Lex Luthor commandeers a private army of mutants he plans to unleash on the Department of Defense, as well as a hoard of minions who toy with a volatile “pocket universe” that could rip a hole in the galaxy. There’s a bunch of monkeys in charge of spewing misinformation about Superman as well, which gets him cancelled faster than Diddy got cancelled from music.
Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane and David Corenswet as Superman (Jessica Miglio / © 2025 Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.)
While Gunn’s metaphors are a tad blunt (as well as a bit personal), he tempers that seriousness with humor and color. Gunn was let go from Marvel for “unethical Tweets,” and the attacks on Superman being an alien are clearly meant to resonate with current immigration policies, but it’s never bogged down by handwringing. Gunn’s Superman is closer to Ken than Cavill, an aloof hunk who gets sidetracked mid-battle by a squirrel. The entire thing is imbued with his sensibility, as Guardians of the Galaxy-type outcasts join forces with Superman to take out Lex Luthor, including an increasingly funny Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) and a gradually grating Jor-El (Bradley Cooper), both of whom contribute to a fatal flaw among superhero movies: a bloated excess of characters. A more coherent film would certainly have less sidekicks.
That being said, the action sequences are absolute bangers. Corenswet turns in a stoic performance as Superman — he doesn’t just look the part with inky black hair, chiseled cheek bones and azure eyes, but acts it as well — and Gunn shoots the powerful, breathtaking fights with clarity and energy, effectively using pop music and slow-motion to create ballets of bombast on cue with his Guardians films. You can’t stop tapping your feet while Superman bashes in the face of a skyscraper-sized kaiju. It reminds you that these movies are actually supposed to be fun, not just tedious rehashes made to make a quick buck.
It proves that Superman is the hero we need right now. Unburdened by a dark backstory or gruesome visuals, he is determined to leave this planet better off than how he found it. During moments of fear, desperation and tragedy, the shining beacon that is Superman reminds us to fight for truth, love and unabashedly for others who are burdened by grief and circumstance. He doesn’t just save the day, but perhaps the entire D.C. Comics (and superhero genre?) from a pessimistic streak of sad-sack “heroes” who look as disinterested as toddlers being force-fed broccoli. When Superman tells Lois Lane that “there’s nothing more punk than having a big heart,” it rings true, especially in a genre of heartless bloodbaths and among an audience needlessly pinned against each other over their political beliefs. He may be Superman, but he’s still a man — a man who understands that optimism (housed within invigorating action cinema), can bring all types of people together.