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If you listen to the internet, Superman is due to be one of the hottest tickets at the box office this summer, releasing this Friday, July 11, led by David Corenswet, and helmed by Guardians of the Galaxy, The Suicide Squad, and Peacemakerdirector James Gunn.
Social media has been abuzz for months, perhaps even years, about what Gunn will do with this next chapter in the DC Universe, rebooting the franchise for the big screen with Marvel-sized dreams for the beloved superheroes.
His first entry into that universe has arrived: Superman.
It opens in the action. Gunn has no time for backstory or context; he expects his audience to understand the nuance through a few pieces of text that pepper the film’s opening.
Which works if you are a fan and familiar with Superman’s story, but it’s a critical missing element that launches the film on rocky footing for newcomers. When characters get little context, it’s hard to want to cling to them and root for their journey, and that’s the first trip in the Gunn universe that is a fatal error for Superman.
We do get a little glimpse, through holograms of his parents. They’ve sent him alongside a message of – what he believes to be – “hope”, inspiring him to care for the world he came to.
But another issue with the film’s opening is that Gunn almost wants to subvert our idea of who Superman is. We don’t see him fighting bad guys or saving the day. We see him in a state of vulnerability, smashed to the ground, bloody, and defeated.
Perhaps this defenselessness is what Gunn wants us to relate to: Superman’s humanity. The film is centred around this idea, and it’s a beautiful message for a world growing ever more divided by the second, but the stuff around it is so weak that it could easily fly under the radar without Gunn’s less-than-subtle screenplay to really hammer home the message.
After we get our introduction to the not-so “Super” man, we meet his Earthly persona: Clark Kent. He’s actually way more interesting and sporadically funny, too. We also meet Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane for the first time, along with Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen. We begin to build the world around Clark Kent, previewing what life looks like for him when he’s not zooming through the air at impossible speeds.
It’s momentarily compelling, and then we miss a whole other chapter as he comes home to Lois Lane and the two of them reveal they’ve been in a secret relationship for months.
Much of Gunn’s film feels like a sequel, like we needed something before this one to complete the whole picture.
If you’re a DC fan, you probably have this portrait, but if you’re not, you’re left at sea, floating aimlessly while simultaneously being expected to catch up.
Sometimes, a great performance can make up for the lack of depth, but Brosnahan and Corenswet are left awkwardly fumbling around Gunn’s screenplay, and it makes for a lack of chemistry between the two of them that doesn’t feel real in any context.
That is perhaps the film’s main fault. It doesn’t feel real, which feels like a silly thing to ask of a story so fantastical, but it is so on-the-nose and extravagant that nothing feels grounded.
Enter, the wonderful Edi Gathegi, who saves the whole thing as Mr. Terrific.
It’s not great that one of the ensemble characters is more interesting than the film’s lead, but every time Gathegi’s on screen, it feels like it might redeem itself.
He has the tone down perfectly, approaching his role with a sincere seriousness that makes his line deliveries flawless, and actually funny, instead of playing for the laugh like most of his co-stars.
The best scene in Superman is a fantastic action sequence that belongs solely to him, and from there, we have a solid 45 minutes that are impressive and interesting.
It’s a shame it doesn’t last, as there are scenes that feel as though Gunn’s onto something that fizzle out as fast as they arrive. It also has an interesting message, but almost in a way that makes fun of it and never really feels authentic or truthful. It’s like it doesn’t want to pick a side.
All this, along with half-baked characters – particularly the women – makes for a not-so-enjoyable watch if you are out of the DC loop.
It would appear this one is landing with DC fans, but what it delivers for the newcomers is less than super, and is even (mostly) a little dull.
When Does Superman Release in Theaters?
Superman swoops into theaters on July 11, 2025.
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