A well-crafted relaunch with charm, color, and heart. A few rough patches, but definitely worth seeing on the big screen.
🥃🥃🥃½ — HOUSE SPECIALTY WITH A TWIST
After years of dark and shadow-drenched Superman stories – from Man of Steel to Batman v Superman, James Gunn’s Superman (2025) flies into theaters with a fresh gust of optimism, color, idealism, and lots of ideas. And while not every punch lands with the force of a powerful locomotive, the film delivers an earnest and enjoyable reboot of the DC flagship hero that feels like a spiritual cousin to the classic Christopher Reeve Superman era, with a distinctly modern flair.
This isn’t your brooding Kryptonian, angst-ridden almost anti-hero of the last decade. This is Clark Kent with charm, sincerity, and just the right touch of dorky charisma. Gunn’s signature writing and directing style – those heartfelt characters with sharp edges – mostly works here, though the film occasionally struggles to balance its throwback tone with contemporary storytelling expectations.
The Plot: Truth, Justice, and a Lot of Setup
The story, as always, centers on Clark Kent (David Corenswet) as he navigates his dual life in Metropolis working at the Daily Planet alongside Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), trying to maintain his quiet Kansas values, and saving the world from a mounting threat that introduces us to a broader DC Universe. We get glimpses of other heroes along the way (Hawkgirl, Mister Terrific, Green Lantern) in their pre-Justice League iteration (humorously called/not called “The Justice Gang”), hinting at a more populated world than previous iterations, but it sometimes feels like the film is laying groundwork for future spin-offs more than focusing on its own central story.
The big bad of course is Lex Luthor (a very bald, but obvious Nicholas Hoult). But, it’s a more ideologically driven threat that forces Clark to confront what being a hero means in a cynical world. The stakes are global, but his actions may make things worse politically, and that hits home in today’s world. All that being said, the heart of the story remains in Metropolis, where Clark’s relationship with Lois grounds the action and gives the film its emotional core.
Superman Has A Super Cast
David Corenswet soars as Clark Kent/Superman. His performance is a welcome return to a brighter, more hopeful take on the character. He channels Reeve’s decency with a youthful enthusiasm that sets him apart from Henry Cavill’s more stoic Superman. It’s not parody or mimicry – it’s a respect for the character’s roots with a new modern spin, and at times a heavy sigh.
Rachel Brosnahan standouts as Lois Lane. Sharp, driven, and never sidelined, her onscreen chemistry with Corenswet brings real feel to their back and forth, already-dating-for-three-months dynamic. Brosnahan makers feels like a journalist who has earned that Pulitzer, I assume, not the comic book damsel waiting to be saved.
Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor. I’m not sure that he was given enough to work with here, or whether he was mis-directed, but his Lex Luthor is nothing new or menacing. Even his reasoning falls flat. Or maybe we’ve just been inundated in real life with real life egotistical figures and their petty jealousies. Who knows? Hoult isn’t terrible, I just wish he’d have brought something even more menacing or looney. (No one will ever beat Gene Hackman for just play fun!)
Supporting players like Nathan Fillion, bad haircut and all, as egotistical (not overbearing, just confident) Green Lantern and the amazing Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific provide some flavor, with just enough screen time to make us wanting to see more. It’s great world-building, but some of it comes at the cost of deeper character work in this film specifically.
Also, I must say that I thought I would HATE Astro. As a dog lover, I didn’t know what to expect. But, Astro rocked!
** SPECIAL NOTE: ALAN TUDYK HAS DONE ANOTHER MASTERFUL JOB PLAYING A SASSY ROBOT/DROID AFTER HIS AMAZING PERFORMANCE IN ROGUE ONE. **
The Script: Good Intentions, Uneven Delivery
As a screenwriting, I know how hard dialogue can be. And James Gunn’s screenplay aims high. There’s plenty of earnestness, with themes about hope, heroism, and morality in modern times. But that sincerity sometimes manifests as overly expository dialogue that falls flat or doesn’t feel right, with characters explaining the stakes rather than letting us feel them. There are great moments in the slowdowns, and then it revs back into action. On a whole, it’s pretty good, but you remember those bad lines…
Still, Gunn’s fingerprints are all over the best moments: dry wit, heartwarming exchanges, and a sense of familial warmth that echoes his work on Guardians of the Galaxy.
The Action: Big, Bright, and Theatrical
Visually, Superman is a treat. Metropolis is vibrant, the action sequences are well-staged, and Superman feels truly super in flight, in combat, and when rescuing civilians, most often times at the last moment, even a squirrel. There’s a return to heroism here. He’s not just punching things, he’s saving people, which is exactly what fans have missed.
The third-act battle is massive and crowd-pleasing, though it leans into CGI-heavy destruction we’ve seen before. Fortunately, Gunn adds a few clever twists to keep things engaging.
Music & Tone: Nostalgia with a New Beat
The score nods to classic Superman themes while forging its own path. Tonally, the film is light on its feet without becoming frivolous. It’s idealistic and maybe too idealistic for some audiences (maybe you’ve seen the articles in the socials), but that’s also the point. It’s Superman being Superman, not Batman with a cape.
CocktailsandMovies.com Bottom Line
James Gunn’s Superman doesn’t reinvent the cape, but it doesn’t have to. This is a fun, heartfelt reboot that gives fans a likable Clark Kent, a terrific Lois Lane, and a Metropolis that feels like it matters. The film’s idealism might feel out of step with recent DC entries, but its sincerity is exactly what makes it work.
It’s not perfect; the dialogue sometimes thuds, and the setup-for-future-films strategy slightly overshadows the standalone story. But it’s still a super step in the right direction.
