Summary
An ambitious Superman saga that struggles to find its footing amid an overcrowded plot, delivering flashes of humanity but too often lost in its own sprawling setup.
We often talk about comics as modern continuations of ancient myths, but nowhere is that more apparent than with Superman. In the nearly 90 years since his creation, the character has been endlessly remade and reinterpreted in print and on screen. We recognise his immigrant story, the struggle to find belonging in an adoptive world while staying connected to his origins. He echoes the ancient Greek heroes, or can be read as a Judeo-Christian figure: Moses, or any number of messianic analogies. For modern audiences, it feels as though he’s always been with us.
So writer/director James Gunn doesn’t need to waste time on an origin story. We already know it. Like Matt Reeves’s The Batman, Gunn drops us into a world where Clark Kent (David Corenswet) has already stepped onto the global stage as Superman. While navigating a new-ish relationship with fellow reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), he faces the consequences of intervening in a conflict between warring nations. As Superman begins to question his heritage and mission, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) manipulates world powers in a bid to bring down the Man of Steel.
Gunn takes several bold swings early in SUPERMAN, introducing the titular hero bruised, bloody, and mid-battle, letting the audience catch up with an adventure already in motion. Heroes like Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) are already established. Metahumans and monsters are common enough in this world. There’s a moment where Superman fights a giant fire-breathing kaiju, pausing to rescue squirrels and children alike, and it’s genuinely refreshing to see a film finally depict the everyday heroics of a comic book character. Likewise, his super-friends battling an interdimensional imp in the background while he shares an intimate moment with Lois feels ripped straight from the panels.
On the flip side, as Gunn’s nascent DCU rises from the ashes of the DCEU, he often tries to sprint before walking, stuffing in as many references, characters, and cameos as the already chaotic plotting can handle. (It’s almost ironic that there’s a mid- and post-credits stinger, given the whole film already feels like one long setup). Gunn leans on these moments like a crutch: Supes whistles for super-dog Krypto only when the plot demands it; Lex presides over a command centre like it’s an esports arena, with characters firing exposition back at him. Long stretches shift the spotlight to the supporting cast, leaving surprisingly little Superman in this Superman movie. Even then, Gathegi’s Terrific and Merced’s Hawkgirl exist more as placeholders than fully realised characters, with no room for meaningful definition.
In trying to balance myth, modernity, and multiple characters, SUPERMAN ends up both thrilling and frustrating: a film that knows who Superman is, but isn’t always sure how to let him shine. At times, it works. Corenswet fills out the tights with quiet confidence, and Brosnahan is pitch-perfect casting. Fillion’s Gardner, allegedly modelled on The Golden Girls’ Sophia Petrillo, is the casually will-wielding Lantern fans have been craving. At others, like an entire sequence set inside a pocket universe, it’s hard to tell what’s going on from minute to minute. Characters debut, a CG dog and a floating head ride a river made of Minecraft pieces, and composers John Murphy and David Fleming have the audacity to quote John Williams’s iconic score at the moment it feels least earned.
By the time the film climaxes, with two near-identical digital rag dolls punching each other in mid-air, it’s hard not to feel a little deflated. At its best, SUPERMAN shows us why the myth endures, but also what happens when it gets buried under too many distractions. Even in the denouement, more new characters are being rushed in to set up a cinematic universe.
Gunn’s distinctive takes on Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad worked precisely because the source material was as irreverent as the filmmaker himself. He never achieves that alignment here. As the familiar 1978 font appears in the end credits, Gunn seems to still be searching for the clarity and simplicity that made Superman a symbol in the first place. Perhaps, to paraphrase a Jor-El from another world, they can make a great movie — they only lack the light to show them the way.
2025 | USA | DIRECTOR: James Gunn | WRITERS: James Gunn (based on the DC Comics) | CAST: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced | DISTRIBUTOR: Warner Bros. Pictures, Universal Pictures (International) | RUNNING TIME: 130 minutes | RELEASE DATE: 10 July 2025 (Australia), 11 July 2025 (USA)