Superman (2025)

Dir: James Gunn

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

Although there are some glimpses of James Gunn’s signature style as he ushers in this new era at DC, a lack of cohesion and too many characters prevent even our Kryptonian hero from shining brightly in this comic book reboot

I have often remarked in my reviews that the film industry has become increasingly stale over the years, largely due to the oversaturation of the comic book film market. Marvel and DC have dominated the industry for the better part of a decade. While Marvel has proven to be more successful both financially and critically in the long run, both companies have started to see a decline in box office figures and audience reactions in recent years. Despite this current downturn, Marvel was unparalleled in the industry for several years, which ultimately contributed to the struggles of the competing superhero franchise at DC.

Although DC experienced its share of success, the DCEU never quite reached the heights of Marvel. Its more melodramatic and bleak approach to the superhero genre has resonated with cult movie fans, many of whom are avid supporters of the divisive filmmaker Zack Snyder. Following Discovery, Inc.’s acquisition of DC and Warner Bros. in 2022, the newly appointed CEO of Warner Bros. Discovery, David Zaslav, sought a creative leader to reboot the DCEU, similar to Marvel president Kevin Feige. In 2023, it was announced that filmmaker James Gunn would take on this role, having previously cut ties with Marvel and Kevin Feige after his work on the “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy.

Gunn’s signature unconventional style and his success with the DC project “The Suicide Squad” in 2021 make him a promising candidate to revive the DCEU. What better project for the 58-year-old to kickstart the franchise than “Superman”? The red-caped Kryptonian is one of the most recognizable and beloved comic book heroes of all time, having been depicted on film and television countless times. Most recently, he was portrayed by Henry Cavill in “Man of Steel” (2013), “Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice” (2016), and “Justice League” (2017), as well as in Zack Snyder’s director’s cut of the latter, released in 2021. Under the guidance of Gunn, the iconic red and blue costume is now worn by David Corenswet, and his portrayal of the flagship DC superhero, who has long been associated with hope and justice, comes at a crucial time given the current geopolitical climate.

We are introduced to a beaten and bloodied Superman three years into his tenure as the guardian of Metropolis, a fictional city in the United States. Having been sent to Earth three decades earlier by his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El (Bradley Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Angela Sarafyan), Kal-El (David Corenswet) has dedicated his life to serving and honouring the human race. This dedication stems from a seemingly heartfelt message delivered to him by his parents moments before the destruction of their planet, Krypton.

In an effort to prevent civilian casualties, Superman intervenes to stop the nation of Boravia from invading the neighbouring country of Jarhanpur, creating political tensions between Boravia their political ally, the United States. As retaliation for his intervention, Superman is defeated for the first time by a metahuman known as the “Hammer of Boravia”, who secretly works for billionaire and Superman’s arch-nemesis, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

To de-escalate potential conflict between the allied nations, Superman agrees to be interviewed by his girlfriend, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), who is also his colleague at the Daily Planet and also knows his true identity as the mild mannered reporter, Clark Kent. While Superman is defending Metropolis from a kaiju sent as a distraction, Luthor infiltrates Superman’s Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica and decrypts the message from Superman’s parents. He manipulates the message’s context, turning public opinion against Superman and forcing the superhero to surrender to the U.S. government.

Luthor, who is secretly collaborating with the Boravian dictator, plans to take advantage of the invasion of Jarhanpur by being granted half of the invaded landmass. He also aims to condemn Superman to life imprisonment in his pocket dimension.

I went into my viewing of the latest reimagining of “Superman” with sky high expectations as I find the character of Superman to be one of the most fascinating superheroes. I have always been captivated by the hero’s contrasting personas, and I had full confidence in James Gunn as a filmmaker to bring his distinct visual and narrative style to the comic book genre for its betterment. Unfortunately, it pains me to report that Gunn seems to have stumbled right out of the gate as he attempts to launch this latest vision of a DC Extended Universe.

While there are glimpses of the dark humor, quirky characters, screwball creative choices, as well as unconventional storytelling, Gunn has become synonymous with, he never fully captures what makes Superman such a compelling hero. Despite the CGI-laden action sequences—some of which fare better than others—there is a shocking absence of heart and warmth throughout the film. A significant factor in this deficiency may be Gunn’s overconfidence in his audience. Most Hollywood blockbusters tend to talk down to viewers, but Gunn seems to flip the script by not providing enough emotional depth for the audience to genuinely connect with these characters.

I am quite familiar with Superman and the cast of characters surrounding him, including his colleagues at the Daily Planet, his adoptive parents Jonathan and Martha Kent, and his enemies, in this case, Lex Luthor and Ultraman. Gunn appears to assume that everyone is well-versed in these character dynamics and does not adequately incorporate them into the narrative. He seems to take for granted that the audience understands why Lois loves Superman or why Luthor despises him, which results in lazy character development and storytelling.

A crucial aspect of Superman as a hero is his civilian alter ego, Clark Kent, and how Clark perceives humanity while trying to integrate into society without revealing his true identity. By starting the film in the middle of the narrative, the development of Clark/Superman and Lois’s romance is established before the film’s events, leading to a noticeable lack of chemistry between Brosnahan and Corenswet. This shortcoming detracts from the emotional depth and drama of the film.

Corenswet does prove to be an excellent Superman though; his physical and emotional performance as the caped Kryptonian surpasses that of Cavill in the previous iteration of the DCEU. Unfortunately, Corenswet is hindered by the limited time he spends as Clark Kent, appearing in that role for only one scene throughout the 130-minute runtime. Portraying Superman is always a challenge, as it requires a dual performance: the confident and stoic superhero and the nerdy and timid journalist, and to this day, only the late Christopher Reeve has successfully pulled off both sides of this character.

While I found the narrative and character dynamics in “Superman” to be incoherent and unrewarding, there are some individual aspects that deserve recognition. Among the numerous side characters introduced, a few stand out. Most notably, Edi Gathegi as the intellectual member of the Justice Gang, Mr. Terrific. Gathegi brings a great sense of dry humour to the role, embodying the frustration of the more intelligent member of the poorly named superhero team as he grapples with the idiocy of his colleagues, particularly Guy Gardner/Green Lantern, portrayed by Nathan Fillion, a regular collaborator of James Gunn. Other enjoyable additions include Krypto the superpowered dog, who makes his first live-action appearance, and Anthony Carrigan as the elemental superhero Metamorpho, who actually has a stronger and more emotional character arc than Superman himself.

I commend Gunn for making bold creative choices that many Hollywood filmmakers shy away from. This hesitance has contributed to Marvel’s decline, as it often restricts the creative freedom of its filmmakers. Although Gunn’s efforts may not have achieved the desired results, I would much rather see a filmmaker like him attempt to steer a struggling franchise in an exciting new direction than watch it slowly sink into a cinematic black hole.

The Verdict:

Overloaded with too many characters and a narrative structure that lacks emotional depth, James Gunn’s “Superman” doesn’t reach the heights that the new creative director of DC had hoped for. While his bold creative choices show some promise, the cult filmmaker will need to strengthen his storytelling if he intends to surpass his rivals at Marvel in the superhero box office.

Superman is now showing in UK Cinemas

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