'Superman' review: Soaring high into a new era for DC

The Star

14-07-2025

Cast: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, María Gabriela de Faría, Isabela Merced.
A new cinematic era for DC superheroes is officially up, up, and away, as James Gunn's reimagined Man Of Steel soars to a high that DC movies have not reached in a long, long time.
If you like your DC superheroes gloomy, brooding and dark, look away now. For the rest of you, look up – the new Superman is more fun than he has been for years, and the new movie is arguably the best one since 1978's original Superman: The Movie , starring the late Christopher Reeve.
Speaking of the late Reeve, he finally has a worthy successor in David Corenswet, who embodies the strength, purity, and humanity of the character like never before.
Sure, Brandon Routh ( Superman Returns ) and Henry Cavill ( Man Of Steel , Justice League ) may have looked the part, but their takes as the Big Blue Boy were hamstrung by story and characterisation flaws in their respective movies.
It's the glasses that make me less super, man.
Well, there was no such problem with Superman , especially with James Gunn helming it. With the Guardians Of the Galaxy trilogy and The Suicide Squad already under his belt, Gunn certainly knows how to make a comic book movie.
Emphasis on the 'comic book' part, because the director leans heavily into the character's roots in this one, never once pretends that this is anything other than a fun, summer blockbuster based on a guy who comes from another planet, can fly, and wears his red underwear on the outside.
Reasoning that people don't need to see baby Kal-El crashing on Earth again, Gunn eschews the usual origin story and starts his movie with a fully formed Superman crashing onto Earth instead, the aftermath of losing his first ever fight.
Don't make Lex angry. You don't want to see him in Beast mode.
It's a, er, groundbreaking introduction to not just our hero, but also his arch-nemesis Lex Luthor, whose arrogant confidence in his own brains is ably portrayed by a suitably dastardly Nicholas Hoult.
A great Superman deserves a great villain, and this Lex Luthor more than lives up to that. Hoult plays up the villain's arrogance and cold-heartedness with sociopathic relish – you can feel his resentment towards Superman keenly, and the cool way he executes his plans make him more than a match for the hero.
The entire movie is basically driven forward by this 'brain versus brawn' rivalry, as Luthor tries his darndest to destroy Superman with the help of the shape-shifting Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and the mysterious 'Ultraman' (no, not THAT one).
Never fear, the Justice Gang is here!
Superman himself is a little oblivious to Luthor's plans though – he's too busy making sure Krypto the superdog doesn't destroy his Fortress Of Solitude.
At the same time, he is trying his utmost best to make the world a better place with everything he does, from little things like saving people from alien giant monsters, to stopping a war in a foreign country, an act that puts him in the bad books of the American government, who think he and other metahumans are supposed to be working for THEM.
Among the 'other metahumans' are the self-styled 'Justice Gang' – led by the abrasive Green Lantern Guy Gardner (a wonderfully jerk-ish Nathan Fillion) alongside the ultra-smart Mr Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and the warrior-like Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced).
Trust me, this portal is a... terrific way to get around. Geddit?
With all the metahuman action going around, something had to give. As a result, the only gripe I have is that we don't really see the Clark Kent side of the character that much.
Beyond a five minute look at his bumbling reporter side and a touching detour to his parents' home in Smallville, Corenswet is in Superman mode for almost the entire movie.
This extends to his relationship with Broshanan's Lois Lane as well – the couple are already an item here, with Lois already aware of his secret identity.
On one hand, we are spared the awkwardness of another 'Lois guesses Superman's secret identity' scene, while on the other, it also deprives us of another way of allowing Corenswet's Clark to shine.
Sorry about the debris, I didn't have time to clean up the city before our date.
His chemistry with Broshanan is off the charts though, and a far cry from the limp Starro of a relationship between Cavill and Amy Adams previously.
One particular back and forth between the two, in which he agrees to being 'interviewed' as Superman, is especially electrifying, with Broshanan showing more of her journalistic side in that five minute exchange than in the entire movie.
This movie is meant to herald a new age of DC movies, and happily, Gunn has got it off to a great start. This is the closest a movie Superman has come to capturing the spirit and fun of the comic books stories since the first one.
It's fun, exciting, and full of colourful characters. Plus it's got Krypto the supercute superdog. What more do you need?