‘Superman’: A Surprisingly Successful Superhero Do-Over

There’s a moment early on in James Gunn’s Superman that I found surprisingly moving. After stopping a kaiju from crushing a small dog, the iconic caped hero is crushed underground. A little girl watches the scene with anxiety… is he okay? We get our answer moments later when the Man of Steel pushes his way through the pavement and bursts out of the ground, causing the girl to throw her arms up in excitement and delight. 

It might seem inconsequential in the grand scheme of Superman, a wildly ambitious movie rebooting one of the most iconic characters of the last century and serving as the launching pad for a franchise. Yet this early scene proves that Gunn has a deep understanding of the character’s appeal: a symbol of goodness that everyone can both literally and figuratively look up to.

Unlike the tired, irony-poisoned MCU (barring exceptions like Thunderbolts*) and Zack Snyder’s oppressively dour version of the character, James Gunn’s Superman feels genuine throughout as it embraces comic book silliness and sentimentality. Though not without its flaws, I found this to be a genuinely great standalone film that’s got me curious to see where this new DC Universe goes next. 

Again, but this time with feeling

Since revealing himself to the public three years ago as Superman, Clark Kent ( David Corenswet) has become a symbol of hope for the people of Metropolis and the world while striking up a relationship with gun reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). But when he interferes in a war overseas, he draws the ire of billionaire and professional hater Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), who vows to destroy him by any means necessary. 

A huge part of Superman’s success lies with lead actor David Corenswet. All renditions of this character obviously live in the shadow of Christopher Reeves’ seminal work, but Corenswet plays Clark Kent with exactly the right amount of boy scout naivety, good-heartedness and humour that the character deserves. He looks and acts the part perfectly, like he really wants to do good and save people’s lives. It’s not hard to imagine him becoming the live-action Superman in time.

Assisting with Corenswet’s performance is a filmmaking style employed by Gunn that’s colourful and kinetic. Unlike other movies starring the Man of Steel, Gunn utilises a surprising number of close-ups that allow us to feel like we can glimpse Superman for a moment before he jets off, the camera barely able to comprehend his speed. The trailers had me sceptical, but I honestly ended up loving this stylistic choice when paired with Corenswet’s performance.

It’s important the character of Clark Kent is an anchor, given how busy the rest of the film is. The plot of Superman has a lot of moving elements, and even more side characters to keep track of. Lois Lane unsurprisingly has a lot of screentime, and Rachel Brosnahan really brings the goods for her. A passionate journalist with a commanding presence, Brosnahan imbues Lois with a tough demeanour but real heart that makes her and Clark’s relationship really endearing.

However, the MVP of Superman undoubtedly has to be Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. Hoult makes this character absolutely seethe with hatred for Superman, and you really believe that this is a guy who’d dedicate his endless funds to create pocket dimensions and evil monsters in service of eradicating the ultimate do-gooder.

Superman is chaotic like a comic book, and that’s a good thing

Importantly for a version of this film in 2025, Lex is especially furious that Superman is an illegal immigrant who intervened in a vaguely Middle Eastern war, giving this movie’s release into the current political moment a certain weight. Though I’d hesitate to call the movie ultra-progressive, it does have some interesting commentary about what Superman means both in-universe and real-life that I won’t spoil the details of.

Not every subplot in the film is given ample room to breathe, especially considering it has such a huge roster of characters to introduce. There’s the Daily Planet staff, the ‘Justice Gang’, Luthor’s suite of cronies and both sets of Clark’s parents… it can make the film feel chaotic, and Gunn does struggle to fit everybody in, even though there are real standouts like the show-stealing Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific.

Nonetheless, Superman manages to soar above feeling overstuffed thanks to its utter sincerity and reverence for comic book silliness. It’s set to make a star out of David Corenswet and herald in a new age of the Last Son of Krypton on the big screen; one that sheds the lazy cynicism of recent cinematic incarnations and embraces exactly what makes these heroes so super to us in the first place. 

★★★★

Superman is in cinemas now.