“Superman” Doesn't Know What It Wants to Be — And That's Weirdly Okay
There's a moment early in Superman — James Gunn's first official swing at rebooting the DC Universe — where Clark Kent (David Corenswet, charming but oddly weightless) floats above a crumbling bridge, a Krypto-leashed rescue dog spinning around him, and the crowd just… shrugs. No applause. No fear. Just another day in Metropolis.
That reaction might sum up the movie itself.
It's here. It's fine. What's next?
Let's get the stats out of the way. Superman premiered July 11, 2025, and currently holds a 70 on Metacritic and an 84% on Rotten Tomatoes. Respectable numbers. Maybe even a little generous. This isn't a mess, despite earlier rumors swirling like vultures around The Daily Beast's pre-embargo gossip. But it's also not a triumph. It's a shrug — albeit a mostly enjoyable one.
Gunn's Superman is breezy, weirdly overstuffed, and directionless in a way that feels both intentional and not. It moves quickly — skips the origin story, drops us straight into a world where Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan, doing everything) already knows Clark's secret, LexCorp is laundering supervillains through proxies, and public opinion on Superman has already soured like week-old milk. No hand-holding. No “you'll believe a man can fly” grandeur. Just vibes.
And Krypto. So much Krypto.
This Is Not Your Dad's Superman (Unless Your Dad Watched Cartoon Network at 3am)
Tonally, this is the most comic book–ass Superman ever put on screen — unapologetically colorful, crammed with metahuman cameos, multiversal chaos, and yes, a superdog who gets more screen time than half the Justice League combined. If you thought Gunn might ground this in gritty realism, you haven't been paying attention.
What he delivers instead is a thematic pit stop — a transitional film meant to kick off the new DCU rather than define it. That's not necessarily a bad thing, but it does make Superman feel slight. Disposable, even.
Scenes breeze by. Conflicts spark and fizzle. The story hops from one plotline to another — Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult, deliciously unhinged) one moment, a black hole from another dimension the next — without much connective tissue. It's structured like a Saturday morning cartoon stitched together with HBO money.
It almost works. Almost.
Where's the Heart?
There's sincerity here, you can feel it. Gunn clearly loves these characters — not in a reverent, Snyderian way, but in that scrappy, misfit ensemble way that powered The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy. He gives Clark earnestness without self-seriousness. He lets Lois be sharp, funny, and frustrated. And he lets Krypto… well, be Krypto.
But sincerity alone doesn't make a film coherent. For all the charm, Superman doesn't build much momentum. It's a film in search of stakes. Threats appear but vanish. Relationships evolve offscreen. It's like flipping through a graphic novel with half the pages missing — enough to follow, not enough to care.
Which is a shame. Because buried beneath the tonal whiplash and plot spaghetti is a version of Superman that could have mattered. One where Gunn's quirky instincts and the mythic weight of Kal-El actually fused into something bold. Instead, we get glimmers — a lovely Lois/Clark domestic beat here, a Lex monologue dripping with capitalist nihilism there — surrounded by noise.
The Superhero Problem (Still a Problem)
Let's be honest: superhero fatigue is real, and it's eating movies like this alive.
We've hit a point where competent feels like a win. And Superman is certainly that. The visual effects? Not hideous. The action? Slick, if unmemorable. The dialogue? Snappy, occasionally touching. The score? Swells when it should.
But “fine” is a dangerous place to linger. Especially when launching a cinematic universe that's already limping into the arena. Gunn's charm offensive — the sincerity, the humor, the hope — is refreshing after years of gray sludge. But if DC wants a renaissance, it's going to need more than “watchable.”
So… Is It Worth Seeing?
Honestly? Yeah. Probably. Especially if you go in with the right expectations.
Superman isn't here to redefine the genre or even reintroduce its titular hero. It's here to say: “Hey, the DCU's not dead. Let's hang out.” It's a clean-ish slate. A warm-up act. And while that might feel underwhelming for something called Superman, it also feels… honest.
Is it a great movie? No.
Is it a disaster? Also no.
Is it fun? Sometimes, sure.
Is it enough? For now — maybe.
But the next one better have something to say. Because even a superdog can't carry this franchise forever.
