James Gunn's Superman has similar ambitions in mind. However, the screenwriter behind The Specials and The Belko Experiment is not interested in just making a $200+ million version of the George Reeves Superman TV show or the Christopher Reeve Superman movies. Instead, this is the most lavish spiritual and visual Spy Kids sequel one could imagine witnessing.
That's not a complaint either. Superman is a classical, kid-friendly movie to a tee, bursting with enough bright colors to fill up a Lisa Frank coloring book. It's also another indicator that Gunn (following the Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy and The Suicide Squad) has a gift for satisfying crowdpleaser blockbusters. "It just comes natural," as a wise George Strait once crooned.
Beginning in media res, Gunn's Superman picks up three years into Superman/Clark Kent's (David Corenswet) stint as a Metropolis crime-fighter. The kind-hearted Kryptonian is in hot water with certain souls after stepping into a foreign conflict. Specifically, he stopped Boravian (DC's equivalent to Russia or Israel) soldiers from invading the neighboring country of Jarhanpur (DC's equivalent to Ukraine or Palestine).
Even while mired in controversy, Superman's opening scene shows that this friendly alien isn't stopping his quest to protect the innocent. When he isn't fighting robots or monsters, Superman takes on the alias of mild-mannered Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent. Also working at this institution are intrepid reporter Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and dynamic journalist/Kent's love interest Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan).
Superman's juggling of these two halves of his identity becomes even more challenging thanks to Lex Luthor's (Nicholas Hoult) wicked machinations. This billionaire's seething hatred for this Kryptonian inspires a complicated evil plan that involves infiltrating Superman's Fortress of Solitude and getting the public to turn even more hostile towards the symbol of truth, justice, and DC Comics merchandise. "Who am I?" is the question Superman grapples with as Luthor's cruelty ramps up and threatens even more innocent lives. Also factoring into the proceedings are Justice Gang superheroes Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Kendra Saunders/Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Guy Gardner/Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), as well Luthor's nefarious helpers like The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría).
Call Superman a key line from Smash Mouth's All-Star because this thing "hits the ground running." Picking up right as Superman is in the middle of a battle with a mechanical adversary, this superhero film wisely eschews origin stories for its principal heroes and villains. Why build up the entire movie to Luthor's head finally getting shaved? Much like the animated Spider-Verse movies, Superman recognizes that its oversized, colorful characters are pretty self-explanatory. Nathan Fillion's immediate jerky swagger as Guy Gardner, for instance, says more about this character's interiority than any 100-minute origin story ever could. Why not, then, just hop right into the fun stuff instead of dragging everyone's feet through yards of lore?
The drawback to this plot approach, though, is that the more grounded human character in Gunn's Superman script often struggles to get heard. Big costumed crime-fighters and expository dialogue about "pocket dimensions" and Luthor's wicked plans are the storytelling priorities. Players like the Daily Planet crew, meanwhile, vanish for long stretches of screentime. Granted, I'm biased in craving more of Mikela Hoover's adorably-realized Cat Grant. Still, a third act where these journalists are immensely disconnected from the action encapsulates how Superman's crowded script can't give everyone the room they need. Even Lois Lane sometimes feels like an afterthought in these spectacle-driven proceedings.
Luckily, what Gunn's script excels at is comic book mayhem and pathos. Happily, the former element involves plenty of bright colors, including Mister Terrific's use of vivid red hues in his drones or the various complexions populating an ominous river Superman briefly gets trapped in. Much like how Gunn previously made no bones about bringing characters like Rocket Raccoon and Starro to live-action, so too do the likes of Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan) or Krypto leap to the silver screen with transfixing visual conviction. All these qualities inform a slew of fun action sequences (such as squabbling superheroes fighting a monster with everything from robots to massive oven mitts) brimming with excitement. The third act especially delivers a cornucopia of awesome crowdpleaser moments destined to send audiences everywhere (and a certain bimbo lady film critic) into fits of gleeful clapping.
In addition to just being a lot of fun to watch, Superman also demonstrates how much Gunn has grown as a screenwriter in terms of pathos. Gunn's earliest days featured a borderline nihilist streak in his non-Scooby-Doo work (an inevitable byproduct of his Troma upbringing). In 2000s The Specials, every ramshackle superhero had seething contempt for each other while the "normal" people were mostly idiots. 2006's Slither, meanwhile, saw Gunn viewing rural America as being full of "yokels" whose only value was in getting monstrously transformed by slug aliens.
Since then, Gunn has used his superheroes to grow as a writer and exhibit a more nuanced approach to the human race. The guy who previously used his characters as just punching bags for sometimes amusing dark comedy now crafts films where King Shark longingly gazes out at the "ordinary people" he wishes he could be. Much like with the most heightened Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad moments, Superman exhibits tremendous affection for its silliest concepts and characters. Some comic book movies make "yellow spandex" jokes about their source material's most outlandish qualities. Superman continues the welcome James Gunn trend of not just embracing comic book silliness, but uncovering the rich pathos within conceptually ludicrous material.
Laser vision and ice breath are not Superman's greatest superpowers. Instead, it's those quiet, affecting moments (devoid of any self-conscious, intrusive quips) that are this feature's greatest strength. "You see everyone as...beautiful," Lois Lane tells Superman at one point. Gunn's script also sees beauty in everyone who inhabits this world. From everyday Kansas residents like Ma (Neva Howell) and Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vance) to folks selling falafel on the street to robots with no consciousness to Lex Luthor's girlfriend Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio).
Modern misguided attempts at "old-school" comic book movies like Wonder Woman 1984 failed partially because they didn't seem to love their characters. Superman, meanwhile, wants to give even its most fleeting inhabitants a hug. Gunn's camera lovingly lingers on the little bits of life in this universe, like Krypto playing with cows or ordinary citizens looking out for one another when disasters strike Metropolis. Best of all, there's an outstanding sequence where Pa Kent comforts a dejected Clark with words of wisdom like "parents aren't good at letting their kids discover themselves...we give them the tools to make fools of themselves." Who knew the man behind the sometimes wearily edgelord dialogue of The Specials would one day write such intimate poignant dialogue.
That's another great virtue of this latest reimagining of Jerry Siegel and Joe Schuster's lastingly influential creation. Every cast member gets to leave a positive impression, a happy byproduct of Superman's default heightened acting style. That includes David Corenswet, an extraordinary discovery as the film's main superhero. There's nary even a hint of irony in his delivery of Superman lines like "dang it!" or "what they hey, dude?" He just feels like he walked right out of a classic Superman comic (or All-Star Superman, the more modern publication that heavily influenced this 2025 film).
Corenswet also had dynamite chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan, whose spunky Lois Lane is an endless delight. Nicholas Hoult, meanwhile, is a deliciously wicked treat as Lex Luthor. Hoult's performance absolutely radiates ceaseless malice just in his insufferable facial expressions. It's a delightful turn, especially following up his wildly varied (yet consistently impressive) work in late 2024 features like The Order and Nosferatu.
Among supporting players, Gathegi is the MVP as Mister Terrific, particularly in how he's able to maintain a consistent stoic expression while demonstrating outstanding comic timing. Gisonodo is also a hoot, I'm so glad Gunn's screenplay features a mid-movie digression where his Jimmy Olsen basically goes on his own mini-adventure. Superman's great discovery, though, is Sara Sampaio channeling big Chrissy Chlapecka energy as Eve Teschmacher. Right from this movie's first post-title card scene, Sampaio's physicality portraying Teschmacher snapping selfies had me rolling. There's also such love in Sampai's performance, though, that makes the character extra transfixing. This performer isn't realizing Lex Luthor's girlfriend as a caricature but with real affection and humanity (all while scoring big laughs).
Superman's flaws (like certain sets or colors not looking as sharp as they could've been if captured on film) are unmistakable, particularly when it comes to an exceedingly crowded plot. However, it's hard to care that much when the feature nails the poignancy, performances, and fun with so much flair. Channeling Spy Kids vibes turn out to be a good look for Superman, especially since it means James Gunn unabashedly embraces sentimentality and heightened spectacle. With such confidence, no wonder Superman produces so much showmanship and excitement.
It took Hollywood 44 years, but this superhero finally got another sublime movie. If you're looking for an energetic summer blockbuster that'll make you cheer, well, to paraphrase a pair of tunes from the 1966 Broadway musical It's a Bird... It's a Plane... It's Superman*, Superman has "got what [you] need" since it's "super nice".
* = Hey, I actually saw this show during its summer 2010 Dallas Theater Center run. I had no idea it was at the time "reviled" and odd to do a revival of the show. 14-year-old Lisa Laman just assumed, since Spider-Man: Turn Off The Dark was in the news at the time, that every comic book superhero eventually got a Broadway musical. I also remember being very confused why Superman was facing off against generic scientists and bank robber baddies instead of contending with Lex Luthor or Brainiac.
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