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Review: ‘Superman’ is a Fun, Feel-Good Superhero Adventure that Follows Fittingly in the Footsteps of the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ Trilogy
July 8, 2025Ben MK
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Quite possibly the most beloved superhero of all time, Superman is a character that has seen many changes over the years. Whether it's pivotal storylines and redesigns in the comics or the multiple actors who have portrayed him on the big and small screen, the Man of Steel has been constantly evolving ever since Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster created him in 1933. No matter how many different iterations Superman has gone through, however, one thing has remained constant — his dedication to truth and justice, and his desire to make the world a better place for humanity. It's a core trait that has helped make the character such an endearing and long-lasting part of pop culture. And with Superman, Guardians of the Galaxy director James Gunn is proving that he hasn't forgotten what makes Superman so iconic, in this inaugural film of the newly revamped DC Universe. Set 300 years after the first metahumans arrived on Earth, 30 years after the last son of Krypton's escape pod crash-landed in a lonely Kansas farm field, and three years after Kal-El (David Corenswet) revealed himself to the citizens of Metropolis as Superman, the story follows Superman and his alter ego, Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent, as he not only battles fantastical enemies taking aim at the city, but negative online sentiment targeting him as well. It's been three weeks since Supes paid an impromptu visit to the country of Boravia, where he stopped its power-mad president (Zlatko Buric) from invading the neighboring nation of Jarhanpur. However, despite averting an international conflict and preventing thousands of innocent lives from being lost, that hasn't stopped the growing backlash surrounding his seemingly reckless actions, especially on the part of billionaire tech mogul Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult), one of Superman's most outspoken critics and the one human on planet Earth with the brainpower and the resources to actually be a threat to the Man of Steel. The brash and bald CEO of LuthorCorp and the man behind the military defense force known as Planet Watch, Lex has made it his personal mission to destroy Superman, even creating his own super-powered metahumans, the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) and Ultraman, to do so. What Lex never expected, though, was for Superman's biological parents (Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan) to supply the nail that he could use to put Superman in his coffin. For when Lex manages to infiltrate the Fortress of Solitude and decrypt the long-lost portion of a holographic message left by Kal-El's Kryptonian ancestors, it provides just the evidence he needs to turn the tide of public opinion against his archenemy. Capturing Superman and imprisoning him in a pocket universe created by ripping a hole in the fabric of spacetime itself, Lex is finally able to realize his plan for world domination. Little does he realize that his own technology is about to cause a calamity of planetary magnitude. And with Superman incarcerated, it falls on Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi) to save the world from certain destruction. Written by Gunn, the result is a far cry from the doom and gloom of Superman's most recent theatrical outings. And while Superman does delve into some slightly darker thematic territory, for the most part it remains a fun and feel-good superhero adventure that fittingly follows in the footsteps of Gunn's previous genre blockbusters. From the needle-drop action set pieces peppered throughout the movie to the emotionally heartfelt connective tissue that underscores the relationship between Superman and his adoptive parents (Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell), this is as big-hearted and as action-packed as comic book spectacles get. For longtime Superman fans, however, it's easy to see why some viewers might remain skeptical about this latest take on the iconic superhero, especially given the way things ended for Henry Cavill and his portrayal of the Man of Steel. Needless to say, if you loved Guardians of the Galaxy and its sequels, then you'll certainly love Superman. And even if Gunn's filmmaking style isn't your particular cup of tea, there's still ample reason to give Corenswet's interpretation of the character a chance. Either way, this is easily one of the most crowd-pleasing comic book films in recent memory. And while only time will tell if this Superman gets his due, one thing's for sure — it'll be hard to top the soaring success that is the Man of Steel's triumphant return to the big screen. Superman releases July 11th, 2025 from Warner Bros. Pictures. The film has an MPAA rating of PG-13 for violence, action and language. Its runtime is 2 hrs. 9 min. |
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