July 7, 2025
After gaining access to files from the Fortress of Solitude, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) has accused Superman (David Corenswet) of being sent to Earth to subdue it in the name of Krypton. With his powerful henchmen -- the nanotechnology-charged Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and the mysterious masked fighter Hammer of Boravia -- Luthor was able to bring Superman down on his knees and incarcerate him in a pocket dimension.
Writer-director James Gunn began the film with an intro recounting events from 3 centuries ago, 3 decades ago, 3 years ago, 3 days ago, 3 hours ago, up to 3 minutes ago until we see a severely injured Superman hurtling down from the sky into the snows of Antarctica. He was involved in an armed conflict between two countries -- Boravia and Jarhanpur. Of course, Luthor was behind the scenes manipulating the strings of the war, and the Hammer.
As we have previously seen in his previous Marvel films -- the "Guardians of the Galaxy" series (2014, 2017 and 2023) and the reboot of "The Suicide Squad" (2021) -- Gunn's signature brand of action and humor and pop rock music are also all over his version of "Superman." With this heartful story that made Superman the unexpected underdog, Gunn was able to restore our emotional connection to this beloved superhero from planet Krypton.
A major factor for this film's success was the casting of David Corenswet as the Man of Steel. Aside from his relatively unfamiliar and unwieldy name, Corenswet is coming in with the disadvantage of taking over the role many fans think should have stayed with Henry Cavill of the Zack Snyder DC films. However, Corenswet brought to his Superman a winsome charm, as well as a tangible sense of human vulnerability that makes us care for him.
The humanity of this Superman are obvious in his various personal relationships. Corenswet's Clark Kent has an electric chemistry with Rachel Brosnahan's Lois Lane, certainly more than Cavill and Adams did. The scenes he shared with his Earth parents Jonathan and Martha Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell) creates a wave of filial nostalgia. Even how Superman treated the robots of the Fortress, like Greg (Alan Tudyk), evoked pure kindness.
Particularly delightful among Superman's relationships was the one he had with the super-dog Krypto. It is a Kryptonian breed, but it looked furrier and more terrier-like than the cartoon Krypto. This naughty canine would just do whatever chaotic activity it set its mind on doing, while poor Supes helplessly tried to order him to stop, to no avail, resulting in some of this film's most unpredictable and unruly scenes. Dog owners will identify, and smile.
Superman also interacts with a new group of heroes called the Justice Gang. Their Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion) with a weird streak and who sported a blond bowl haircut. Their Hawkgirl (Isabel Merced) was a fearsome flying fighter, but had a grumpy attitude about her. The coolest of these new heroes was Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), whose extraordinary techie action scenes elicited spontaneous applause. Metamorpho (Anthony Carrigan), a metahuman who can convert his body into any element, is introduced with a conflict of dramatic heft.
And then there is the classic genius villain -- Lex Luthor. Nicholas Hoult gave him an air of angry pride we did not see from previous actors. The way this Luthor was "personally" fighting Superman virtually by calling out every punch and kick delivered by the Hammer was ingeniously executed. This Luthor evil was borne out of extreme envy, the intensity of which Hoult conveyed with such remarkable restraint, which may make him Oscar-bound.
There were several callbacks to the original 1977 "Superman" film by Richard Donner from which Gunn gained his inspiration for this version. Of course, the iconic theme music by John Williams was heard many times, evoking memories of younger days past. The singular silver font and presentation of the closing credits was met with cheers. Christopher Reeve's son Will Reeve even has a cameo appearance as a news reporter.
The Daily Planet crew were all there, led by their gruff editor-in-chief Perry White (Wendell Pierce). For serious DC fans in the know, there were cameos by government agent Rick Flag, Jr. (Frank Grillo), and tech billionaire Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn), who was the corporate sponsor behind the Justice Gang. Before the film ended, there was also a sneak preview of a certain Super relative who is set to have a movie of her own in 2026.
Overall, Gunn's vision of Superman was old-fashioned and sentimental, but updated with complex science fiction with innovative technology. How Lois Lane can pilot a new-fangled air craft or how Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) could be an irresistible ladies' man may seem silly, but chalk those up to Gunn's campy sense of comedy. I have high hopes this film could give the struggling DC film universe the boost it needs to reach new heights it deserves. 9/10
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