Director: James Gunn
Writer: James Gunn
Stars: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult
Synopsis: Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.
For such a beloved character, Superman has had a relatively unimpressive filmography in terms of quality. Sure, Richard Donner’s original film introduced Christopher Reeve, who was born to play the indestructible alien from a galaxy far, far away. But the post-Reeve era, marred by Bryan Singer’s controversial direction and Kevin Spacey’s portrayal of Lex Luthor, couldn’t get out of its own way. Then, of course, came the DCEU Snyderverse—big, bold, and beautiful on the surface, but ultimately hollow.
Why is Superman such a complex character to capture on film? For one, we’re living in the age of the dark antihero, whereas the Man of Steel represents eternal optimism. The boy scout in a cape and tights can feel outdated in a world run by tyrants abroad and, of course, at home. Donner’s films leaned too heavily into reverence and arrived before special effects could fully bring the character to life. Snyder’s films, on the other hand, were too serious and forgot the fun. Honestly, I’m starting to think George Reeves’s take in Superman and the Mole Men struck a better balance.
However, James Gunn’s Superman excels in two areas that previous films failed to achieve. First, the world-building around Clark Kent’s alter ego is a walk on the wild side.
It’s weird, funky, and offbeat—fueled by candy-coated chaos and populated by oddballs and misfits unlike anything we’ve ever seen in a Superman film. Second—and I’ll make this as plain as possible about Gunn’s DCEU rebirth: Gunn brought the fun.
Gunn, working from his own script, drops the audience right into the action, refusing to rehash the origins of heroes and villains, giving the film the feel of a sequel or second chapter. Superman (Twisters’ David Corenswet) is already battling Lex Luthor (The Order’s Nicholas Hoult), reimagined as an Elon Musk-type tech billionaire who runs LuthorCorp: a propaganda expert who profits by exploiting people’s fears.
Luthor portrays Superman as an alien immigrant corrupting the American way of life, even though the Metropolis Marvel is old-fashioned, embodying empathy and human kindness; qualities that today can feel almost passé. Of course, when he puts on those black-rimmed classics, he is a reporter at The Daily Planet; he is Clark Kent, and he has made a name for himself with numerous Superman exclusives, essentially interviewing himself.
His girlfriend, Lois Lane (Emmy-award winner Rachel Brosnahan), is also a reporter at the paper. Here, we learn that Lane already knows Clark’s secret identity. In a well-acted scene, she interviews him with a barrage of questions designed to highlight the power her boyfriend possesses—power she has yet to comprehend fully. Together, they work to expose Luthor for who he truly is. Instead, the Bald Baddie flips the script, unveiling a transmission from Clark’s biological parents (played by Bradley Cooper and Angela Sarafyan) that spreads fear and hatred across the world.
As mentioned, Gunn’s Superman brings the fun—but it also explores, albeit sometimes heavy-handedly, themes rooted in the immigrant experience, which, despite what some may think, has been a foundational part of the character since his creation in the 1930s. The film is rich with references to cultural assimilation versus identity preservation, tyranny versus truth, and the power of connection through compassion rather than exploitation and greed.
Naturally, the film is packed with Gunn regulars in cameo roles and features his signature feverishly funny sense of humor. Nathan Fillion steals every scene he’s in as the leader of the Justice Gang, playing a version of Green Lantern whose arrogance—despite having no apparent reason for it—borders on hilarious narcissism.
Much of the comic relief, however, comes from Krypto the Superdog. Far from being a cheap invention to sell plush toys on Black Friday, Krypto made his first appearance in 1955’s Adventure Comics #210. The digitally rendered pup is cute, funny, and full of fluffy fun. Additionally, the inclusion of Metamorpho (Barry’s Anthony Carrigan, fantastic here) is a welcome one, giving the film’s storyline some much-needed depth and gravitas within the Superman lore.
Gunn’s script rarely struggles with tone—the film plays like a goofy, stylized, nerdy comic strip come to life (despite what the infamous Daily Beast review claims in an apparent attempt at clickbait). What does suffer slightly is the relationship between Lane and Kent, which loses its way but regains footing by the third act—a familiar trope, but executed well enough that it’s hard to hold it against the film. The storyline involving Clark’s adoptive parents also feels underdeveloped, but that’s often the tradeoff when starting a franchise with a character whose secrets the characters already know.
Some of those storyline issues detract from the movie’s perceived heart. I would have preferred more of that over additional Lex Luthor scenes that seemed like filler in the third act. However, while the film is stuffed to the brim with Gunn goodness, it is a soaring blast by placing Superman in a world that embraces comic-book sensibilities instead of running away from them. Gunn has begun to flesh out world-building that the DCEU suffered from in the past,
Gunn has begun filling the streets of Metropolis with his vision of Superman with a battleground of tyrants, freaks, geeks, disgraced heroes, and alien weirdos (and one deeply insecure Green Lantern) that’s pure comic book bliss.
You can watch Superman only in theaters June 11th!
