(WARNING: Moderate spoilers for Superman (2025) ahead.)
I’m a certified old, definitely in the Joel category. So I didn’t quite know what it meant to be “back.” My kids say “WE ARE SO BACK,” and I smile and nod and keep it moving rather than admit my confusion. Then, I exited the theater after 2025’s Superman.
Folks: WE. ARE. SO. BACK.
As Good as It Gets
2025 has been incredible for movies thus far. Between Thunderbolts* and Sinners, with Fantastic Four: First Steps right around the corner, being Black and a nerd has us eating real good. I’ll be honest – that context in mind, I was a little skeptical to get behind yet another DC project when I’ve been burned before. A lot.
I am a lifelong fan of comic books and all things nerd. I have always had a special affinity for DC’s works, and especially the Superman family of characters. When I was younger, they were considered less “cool” than characters like Batman or Spawn (which I also love), because those were more dark and edgy, and it was the 1990’s. My fandom is such that I saw the movie Steel in theaters. I, of sound mind and free will, watched a movie starring Shaq, Ray J, and John Bender from The Breakfast Club.
Were the DC movies of late quite that bad? No, but I’d be lying to say they weren’t a let-down for someone looking for their favorite characters on-screen. Movies like Man of Steel, Batman v. Superman, and Justice League were not bad in a traditional sense – but they didn’t capture what made the characters they were portraying who they are. The writing was trying far too hard to be gritty, and it brought down both the mood and quality of a whole series of films.
After the success of projects like the Snyder Cut of Justice League and The Batman, I was a mix of worried and resigned. If this is as good as it gets, that’s acceptable, I guess, but not what I wanted for my favorite heroes. I wanted more than the faux noir and edge that we’ve become accustomed to with everything from 300 to Watchmen and beyond.
Dawn of a New Day
Let me be clear: this is not that. This is not that in the slightest. Gone is the grim veneer that seemed mandatory in a DC movie, right along with the Snyderverse’s apparent allergy to colors. The first thing you’ll notice is that this movie is BRIGHT. Some intentional decisions were made here that, on the surface, seem counterintuitive to what we know of filmmaking. One of the biggest ones is the usage of the sun. Some scenes almost seem blown out in their lighting, and I will fully acknowledge this may not be for everyone and could be distracting or overwhelming on a big screen. For me, though, it works. It evokes the power of the sun and invigorates us as viewers as much as it does the last son of Krypton.
This isn’t the only place where the film and its director, James Gunn, make an effort to connect the viewer to Superman and make him more relatable though. One of the biggest digs I consistently hear about the Man of Steel is that his power set makes him boring or low-stakes. He does have, after all, god-like powers. What does one do with that? How does the movie address this? A slow Star Wars-style text crawl that cuts immediately to our hero having just gotten
handled…
whooped…
mollywhopped, if you will, by a villain.
First Time for Everything
The movie makes it clear that this is a first for our new Supes (played with both great levity and depth by David Corenswet), and that he’s been at this job for the last several years. This kind of worldbuilding is often overlooked and can do so much heavy lifting for a film that has the level of background knowledge that Superman inevitably has. We know the context.
So, this movie picks up on a relatively green Blue Boy Scout and gives us a slice of life with his work, relationships with his coworkers, and interactions with his family. This is presented in a natural way and maximizes its minutes with establishing characters that are both faithful to their comics counterparts and unique personalities. We are presented with the film’s central conflict, and its antagonists in the Hammer of Boravia and the frankly iconic Lex Luthor.
Generational Performance of a Generational Hater
I have to take a moment here to give flowers to Nicholas Hoult, whose complete dedication to his part gave everything and everyone in this movie something to rally around (against). Every scene with Hoult’s Luthor is intense, arrogant, and single-minded to a point of legitimate concern.
What I admire about James Gunn is his ability to make us care about his characters. It could be someone we’ve known for years but were mostly indifferent to (Superman), someone we know nothing about (the Guardians of the Galaxy, Peacemaker), or someone we have known and loved to hate our whole lives (Luthor). He does this by making characters that are grounded, even in their scenery chewing hyperbole. Lex Luthor is, at his core, a first ballot, hall of fame level hater. That is his prime directive, and anything more is at best superfluous and at worst detracts from his character. Nick Hoult captures this perfectly with a self-aware performance that borrows from the real world. It overlaps quite a bit with the almost comically evil turn of the character we got from Jesse Eisenberg but perfects it by keeping his eye on the ball and never forgetting the character. Lex Luthor made this movie exciting by being a true antagonist and getting in our heroes’ way at every turn.
Yes, I Said “Heroes”
Superman also introduces us to the Justice Gang, a small group that is funded by Maxwell Lord (a blink-and-you-miss-it Sean Gunn). This consists of Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner, the arguably worst but equally arguably most entertaining Earth Green Lantern, Isabel Merced as Hawkgirl, and Edi Gathegi as Mr. Terrific. This collective is a somewhat antagonistic, but ultimately friendly, group to Superman and almost serve as veteran figures to his rookie. All three of them steal every scene they are in, and special props to Edi Gathegi as the not legacy or previously seen on the big screen Terrific. His performance is, well, terrific, and his timing and foil to Rachel Brosnahan’s bombastic and sharp-witted Lois Lane are absolutely spot on. His fight scenes are also among some of the best I’ve seen in any superhero or even action movie, period.
Perry White is his classic, grumpy self, and Jimmy Olsen’s charm isn’t so meta anymore as the ladies love him. Lois Lane is fiery and a great contrast to the, for want of a better word, simpler Clark.
Ma and Pa Kent are in rare form and occupy just enough of the movie to establish their place in the mythos without overstaying, and Krypto is the best good bad dog since Ace in Batman Beyond: Return of the Joker.
All of the performances hit. There wasn’t a one that stands out as not being good, it’s just a matter of which is the best (SPOILERS: it’s neck and neck between Edi Gathegi and Nicholas Hoult).
Big Blue
That said, though, I do need to talk about the solar-powered elephant in the room: how does David Corenswet do as our new Kal-El/Clark Kent/Superman? In a word: great. In a bunch of words: I had little hope about another DC project going in, and even in just a preview, my hope was restored. Corenswet portrays a young, but not brand new, Superman, who is embroiled in a conflict in both his personal and hero lives. Having recklessly intervened to prevent an invasion in a foreign country, he deals with the fallout from his new love interest Lois and the US government. He spends the whole movie on the back foot and playing from that position is absolutely to the benefit of the film’s tension and stakes. It is sincerely uncomfortable to watch sometimes in part because our villains are presented so credibly and in part because the conflict itself is executed to devastating effect. Clark is awkward, humorous, and wholesome, and so is Superman. The almost childlike innocence is refreshing and brings so much heart in a way I’ve come to expect from a James Gunn-helmed work. He really makes you believe in Superman’s belief – in a better world, in the redemption of all people, in hope. And so many little things happen to reinforce that. I have never been so emotionally invested in a squirrel or an intergalactic zoo.
Not All Light Hearts and Woodland Creatures
Speaking of the elephant in the room, though, I couldn’t talk about this movie without talking about its central conflict. In the film, the fictional nation of Boravia invades the equally fictional nation of Jarhanpur, and this is both the inciting incident and central frame of most of the runtime. It is impossible to look at this and not see the real-world parallels and implications. I’m honestly shocked James Gunn even got away with putting it to screen, but it works perfectly to portray a more modern Superman at the same time as going back to his roots: this is a Superman for the people, and not just the American people. The movie handles this deftly and, in doing so, makes a challenge so big that it becomes a feasible obstacle even for a man who can fly and outrun bullets. It also nods to Action Comics #900, which saw Superman renounce his American citizenship under similar circumstances, and Absolute Superman, where Kal-El is more globally motivated due to being raised on Krypton until puberty.
The conflict also illuminates the character of Lex Luthor in a big way and gives us one of my favorite portrayals therein of part tech bro and part scientific mad genius. In the end, there are twists galore that I won’t go into here, but I will say I was both surprised and impressed with how much Superman “went there.”
Verdict
If it’s not already clear, Superman is a movie I highly recommend. Is it perfect? No. One of my biggest gripes is that it has a blistering pace and is all gas no brakes from beginning to end. It’s also unnecessarily corny as anything in parts, and that won’t be for everyone.
But, to borrow from another universe entirely:
“It’s the greatest gift we have: to bear their pain without breaking. And it comes from the most human part of us: hope.” – Charles Xavier, X-Men: Days of Future Past (2014)
A little belief will get us through the darkest of trials. By the end credits, if it’s made nothing else clear, Superman shows that in spades.
If you’re a fan of the character, comic books, or action sci-fi, I say go check it out on a big screen for sure.
Cover image via IMDb
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