Do We Have Take-Off?
Former MCU cog James Gunn becomes DC’s Kevin Feige and pushes Superman forward while looking back.
superman
Director: James Gunn • Writer: James Gunn, based on the DC comics
Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi
USA • 2hrs 10mins
Opens Hong Kong July 10 • IIA
Grade: B
Yikes, I thought the timing for Captain America: Brave New World was crap back in February, but now? Holy shit has the most recognisable of all-American heroes landed in theatres at the worst possible moment. In summer 2025 there are few people anywhere who put much stock in – or even want to hear about – “Truth, justice and the American way.” But here comes new DC Studios boss James Gunn’s spin on the Man of Steel in a US$225 million gamble/reboot purpose-built to be a phoenix for DC/Warner and earn back some respect. No shade to Marvel but its greatest characters don’t hold a candle vis à vis cultural impact that DC’s do. Sorry. Which is what makes the shiny new Superman such a big deal, so intensely anticipated post-Snyderverse, and so high stakes. Gunn has his work cut out.
Superman was in production long before the current clusterfuck unfolding in DC (the Washington variety) got underway, so to the trolls who’ll whine about it being woke or transy or whatever bullshit they whine about, its messages were always there. They were in Tromeo and Juliet. They were in Guardians of the Galaxy. They were in The Suicide Squad. Superman is an immigrant who beat up landlords for ripping off the poor – in the 1930s. Did you read the source material? Sit down and STFU. Also there? Gunn’s typical middle finger to normal. Superman has always been on the corny side, and now we can confidently call it corny and aggressively weird. Is it any good? Is it going to be a salve to DC’s wounded theatrical pride? Most crucially is it a billion-dollar tentpole? It’s impossible to say. Without even looking I can feel the butthurt fanboys pissing and moaning about something; I can feel the shrugs from casual fans. Gunn’s Superman is an enigma.
Well it’s not dark
An engima with quite a bit going for it. Gunn is clearly a fanboy (the right kind) himself, so in his reimagined homage he pulls the character back towards the (still) benchmark 1978 Christopher Reeve interpretation of the Kryptonian saviour – while updating the lore in the right spots and honouring its best. Superman starts with Superman (Henry Cavill ringer David Corenswet, Twisters) getting his ass handed to him by the so-called Hammer of Boravia, who’s actually the engineered super-soldier Ultraman and part of tech billionaire Lex Luthor’s (Nicholas Hoult) PlanetWatch army. Luthor has a real issue with Metahumans like Superman – on whom he may also have a man crush – Green Lantern Guy Gardner, Hawkgirl and Mister Terrific (Nathan Fillion, Isabela Merced and Edi Gathegi), practically frothing at the mouth at their mention. Supe incurred the wrath of the Hammer for intervening to stop the US ally’s invasion of Jarhanpur and royally pissing off the state department. This decision is debated between journalist Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and her boyfriend Clark Kent, Superman’s alter ego (duh) over dinner one evening. She knows who he is so the “Dumbest Genius Reporter Ever” tag doesn’t apply; they’re already a couple. Ditching the budding romance is one of Gunn’s smarter tweaks, as was a thread about the real reason for Supe’s arrival on Earth, something that turns public opinion against him. Much of the second act pivots on Lois, Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) and Mister Terrific trying to unwind the link between Luthor, Supe and the Boravian war.
Because nothing can exist in a socio-political vacuum anymore, Superman’s on-the-nose themes ring louder and more relevant than they were probably intended to: The proximity of corporate interests to political power and poilcy is bad. Immigrants are not the enemy. Our actions define us, and those actions have consequences. The Internet is made up entirely of trolls with the wisdom of monkeys – literally, in one of the film’s better sight gags. Plus it’s a James Gunn film, so there’s going to be all manner of squiggly, squishy creatures and loony sexual tension. Jimmy’s hilariously inappropriate relationship with a source, Luthor’s moll Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio), is a highlight. All of this is played straight and wrapped in bright, busy photography by Gunn regular Henry Braham (gulp, The Flash).
On the downside, there’s a lot of story in Superman, which at times feels simultaneously shambolic and rushed for having way, way too much on its plate. On one hand Gunn has made a film for Superman fans, one that speaks to them almost exclusively. If you don’t know much beyond the fact that Superman’s an alien in blue pantyhose with a part-time gig at a newspaper you won’t learn much more here. On the other hand, he’s making a film for DC Studios and HBO Max Max HBO Max, and laying the foundations for more “content” (god, I hate that word) down the road. The Justice Gang, particulary the Green Lantern character, feels like a spin-off in the making. My boy Frank Grillo shows up in a tiny role as ARGUS director Rick Flag because… reasons. Oh, I know! It’s an important DC player. John Cena cameos as Peacemaker, which is back for Season 2 in August, by the way. After Supe saves the world from a black hole in Metropolis (just go with it) his sloshed party-girl cousin Kara Zor-El drops into the Fortress of Solitude. Guess what? Supergirl is scheduled for next year.
All these little details ultimately detract from the story of Superman. Corenswet fills out the spandex and sells Supe’s earnestness and hopefulness. He isn’t the problem, but neither were Brandon Routh (Superman Returns) or Cavill. The problem is keeping an 87-year-old character feeling new. That tease about his arrival on Earth is never explored, which is a shame because it’s a truly interesting potential game-changer (then again, Rian Johnson tried game-changing in The Last Jedi and look how that went). Brosnahan is one of the least memorable actors currently working and she’s done no favours by this version of Lois. There are hints of a fun, brassy broad in there, but she’s marginalised for large swaths of the film. Gathegi leaves more of an impression thanks to his frequently comedic moments, but poor Hoult gets nothing to do beyond twirl his moutstache. We know he’s a petty, jealous, cruel and narcissistic Elon Musk-type, but we have no idea why. As written he just elicits a “Gurl, what is your problem?” At least he looks good bald – and he’s still better than Jesse Eisenberg. And the great Wendell Pierce as Daily Planet editor Perry White? Well. He got a cheque. Throw in the same rubble and shattered glass finale of – checks notes – every superhero film of the last two decades, rendered in blurry ADHD CGI and repeated echoes of John Williams’s original score and Superman comes off like a rehash of a lot that came before it.