SUPERMAN
(director/writer: James Gunn; screenwriters: Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster; cinematographer: Henry Braham; editors: Craig Alpert, William Hoy; music: Davis Fleming, John Murphy; cast: David Corenswet (Superman), Bradley Cooper (Jor-El, Superman’s real dad), Angela Sarafyan (Lara Lor-Van, Superman’s real mom), Wendell Pierce (Perry White), Rachel Brosnahan (Lois Lane), Nicholas Hoult (Lex Luther), Maria Gabriela (The Engineer), Skyler Gisondo (Jimmy Olsen), Neva Howell (Ma Kent, adopted mother), Pruitt Taylor Vince (Pa Kent, adopted father), Will Reeve (reporter), Frank Grillo (Rick Flag Sr.), Zlatko Buric (Vasil Gurlos, leader of Boravia), Sara Sampaio (Eve), Nathan Fillion (Guy Gardner), Edi Gathegi (Mr. Terrific), Isabela Merced (Hawkgirl), Anthony Carrigan (Metamorpho), Beck Bennett (Steve Lombard), Mikaela Hoover (Cat Grant), Alan Tudyk (Gary); Runtime: 129; MPAA Rating: PG-!3; producers: James Gunn, Peter Safran; Warner Bros.; 2025)
“This Superman is likeable, on message, and entertaining.”
Reviewed by Dennis Schwartz
Director James Gunn (“Guardians of the Galaxy”/”The Suicide Squad”) rescues this Superman sequel (based on the D.C. comics) from the many previous misfires for over 45 years after the Christopher Reeve franchise success with the 1978 original and the even better follow-up Superman II version. Though overworked with subplots, cluttered with too many characters and offering less than a magical story, this Superman is likeable, on message, and entertaining.
Gunn co-writes it with Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster, who created the Superman legend in 1938.
The derivative superhero flick gets things off to a slow start by its continuous expositions. It doesn’t rock until it finally gets rolling when the action sequences kick in.
David Corenswet plays Superman as a square-jawed good guy, a dullard (even if he listens to punk rock) who is back in Metropolis leading a double-life as a reporter named Clark Kent for the local paper the Daily Planet after his latest adventure might have prevented a war but he got kicked around physically (he heals from those wounds in the Fortress of Solitude).
Clark’s secretly the superhero Superman character who is revered by an admiring and grateful public for his good deeds. Clark’s an alien who came here from the planet Krypton as an orphan child named Kal-El and was adopted by the Smallville, Kansas residing morally sound Kents (Neva Howell & Pruitt Taylor).
In this version, Superman gets involved in a war between two fictional nations. When Boravia without cause invades Jarhanpur, Superman comes to the aid of the good guys from Jarhanpur. He’s opposed by the Boravian Putin-like ruler (Zlatko Buric), known as “The Hammer of Boravia,” while the bald-headed ego-maniac Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is the so-called Musk techie figure, a fascist pretending to be concerned with improving life conditions but in reality is an evildoer who aids the Boravian war effort. The weasel tries to turn public opinion against his long-time foe Superman by chipping away at his weaknesses through the evil work of his lab techies, and he gets Superman’s ass kicked when he turns his valued ally a “metahuman” called The Engineer (Maria Gabriela) on him.
We follow the reporter Clark Kent doing his thing on the Daily Planet, hanging around with the smart, perky, and always questioning things reporter Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan); the naive cub reporter Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo); and the shrewd cigar-chomping editor Perry White (Wendell Pierce). Meanwhile Krypto, the Superdog, Clark’s loyal pet, injects some fun into the story by playfully disobeying Clark.
It’s a CGI-filled comic book film about a superhero I liked as an adolescent but no longer admire in the same loving way. Will Reeve, son of Christopher Reeve, has a nice cameo playing an on-the-ground-reporter.
If you’re a Superman fan and not too young for some of the more violent scenes, you will probably find it a decent film that rolls pleasantly along with a strong performance by a soulful David Corenswet and has its heart in the right place when it comes to politics (it smartly points its finger at its bad guys to be like the current MAGA president).
It should do well with the critics, the politically engaged and at the box office, and get the new D.C. studio off to a good start.
REVIEWED ON 7/12/2025 GRADE: B
dennisschwartzreviews.com