Superman 2025 review: James Gunn brings optimism and light to DC reboot

What the previous version of Superman never seemed to understand is that the character is kind of Pollyanna. He is sunshine and roses, peaches and cream.

James Gunn got the memo. His reboot originally had the subtitle “Legacy” and it leans into this ideal of Superman since 1938 - that he’s the all-American hero. It may be a myth, but what that represents is optimism and decency. That it’s embodied in a character who was born not the USA, not even Earth, is surely not lost on anyone, especially now.

What to make of Superman, a hero at this intersection of American ideals and aliens, terrestrial and extra – depending on the person and the perspective, this is either in conflict or in symphony.

For Gunn, it’s the latter, an outsider shaped by the very best of American generosity, accepted with love by his adoptive parents. It’s not subtle but it’s necessary.

This Superman meets the moment, precisely because it’s a dark and uncertain time. Every day the headlines scream about military conflict, technological threats, hubristic billionaire oligarchs, and disinformation.

Superman can’t fix all that, but he’s not going to be cynical about it. If you want grim, that’s the whole point of Batman.

This is not an origin story. When we meet Superman (David Corenswet), he’s already an established hero, having gone public three years earlier. He intervened to stop the invasion of fictional country Jarhanpur, coded as a disadvantaged desert nation, by the autocratic leader of Boravia, a more militarily advanced country.

Now there are questions as to whether he should’ve become involved in someone else’s conflict, and how do you counter someone so powerful who unilaterally decides to get involved.

The specifics of the plot involves a raft of story beats, mostly expected, but the broad strokes are that his traditional rival Lex Luther (Nicholas Hoult) is mixed up in all of it, having hatched a plot to take Superman down.

The well-resourced Luther exploits these questions about Superman to turn public opinion against him, and you just know that when he points out that the hero is increasingly less beloved “online”, the film is going to touch on internet trolls and bots, and the manipulation of sentiment and discourse.

That’s not the only thing that feels dialled into 2025. It’s hard to look at Luther and not see Elon Musk, and without the film providing a proper backstory to the character, it’s almost inviting you to picture whichever tech bro for whom you have the most contempt.

Same with the Boravian invasion of Jarhanpur, it can stand in for whatever current conflict that riles you.

Whether by design or not, by not shading in the specifics, Superman is asking the audience to fill in the blanks. Will this movie still work in 10, 15 or 20 years’ time, when we’re, hopefully, further removed from the issues that plague us today, will be interesting to revisit.

But it is why this Superman, in 2025, is the right hero for now. In the second episode of 30 Rock, Tracy Jordan corrects Toofer’s grammar by pointing out, “Superman does good, you’re doing well”.

Corenswet captures that inherent optimism and belief in doing good. The actor is actually older than many of his predecessors were when they first donned the red cape, but he has a sweet, youthful energy that aligns with the character. It’s not naivety but it’s also not not-naivety. A quibble would be that you don’t get enough Clark Kent.

In order for Gunn’s vision to come together, we had to be able to buy into Corenswet’s Superman as someone who can be challenged, who can be vulnerable, who can be formidable and who can be beaten, but still emerge from it as someone whose essential belief is not shaken.

The casting in general is excellent. Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane have crackling chemistry, able to match each other in wit and strength, while Hoult’s intensity as Luther brings out his manically menacing side.

The supporting ensemble includes Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, a smart-as-hell and slightly imperious metahuman, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, Isabella Merced as Hawkgirl, Wendell Pierce as Perry White and Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen.

There is also Krypto the Superdog, the powered pupper who is a crucial character across several set-pieces. The dog is CGI, modelled on Gunn’s own foster pup Ozu, but that computer work is top-notch. He is an insanely cute troublemaker, and catnip for any dog lover.

Superman is through-and-through a Gunn project. He wrote and directed it, and along with Peter Safran now oversees all DC screen output.

So the tone is a definite departure from the decade of the dour, Zack Snyder-driven DC Extended Universe. It’s light and breezy, unafraid of sentimentality, kind of weird and goofy, and loves a perfect needle drop (in this case, it’s Noah and the Whale’s boppy 5 Years’ Time which is, aptly, an ode to the hopefulness of love).

If Gunn’s Superman is today’s pop culture representation of American optimism and good, it’s something you want to believe in, no matter how naïve that might be.

Rating: 3.5/5

Superman is in cinemas on July 10