Superman Movie Review (2025)
A fantastic new superhero film, Superman shows the goodness of the man just as clearly as the epic action sequences and exciting characters. There is a lot of heart here!
When I first saw the trailer for the new Superman movie, I was not impressed. My son and I exchanged “yikes” looks and I recall wondering how this was going to play out. The scene opened with a badly beaten Superman landing in a huge plane of ice and a cute dog with a cape running around him, jumping on him, and wanting to play. This was followed by him being taken to his ice castle and tended to by robots. I was extremely unsure at the time, as the tone was unexpected and odd, but now I get it.
Superman is a new story of Superman, taking advantage of the history of his life that you already know. At this time, he is living in Metropolis as a reporter, dating Lois Lane, keeps in touch with his adoptive parents on the farm by phone, and is one of various Metahumans (good guys or bad guys with powers) who is respected in society. Three years ago, he chose to stop one country from invading another and that has brought into question whether he represented himself or the United States with the action. Lex Luthor, a tech billionaire with fingers in various political and space-related pies, is out to get Superman with an army of his own Metahumans, some of whom he’s created himself.
From the beginning, the one thing that stood out to me about this film is the heart of Superman. As both Clark Kent and Kal-El, his intention is always to protect people and do good. If something is going to hurt someone, he feels that it is his job to stand in the way. Whether this is always the right choice may be debatable, but his goodness, his humanness, his great care for humanity – that is truly who he is, whether his body is originally from Earth or not. He loves and protects. It’s really beautiful to see the intention.
As far as the mechanics of the film, the action, cinematography, music, costumes, and special effects are excellent. There are some gorgeous shots of people running and collecting in a Middle Eastern country and others of an actual rip widening in the ground over time – beautiful and flawless.
David Corenswet is fantastic as Superman (dashing, honest, strong) and Nicholas Hoult makes a great baddie as Lex Luthor (unbothered, fierce, charismatic), but there are a few scene stealers in the other Metahumans (and Krypto the Superdog!), including Edi Gathegi as Mister Terrific, Nathan Fillion as Green Lantern, and Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl. I didn’t know that I wanted more superheroes to be in a Superman movie until I had them. They’re super fun and they add a whole other dimension in humor that Superman just can’t create by himself.
In my opinion, the original trailer wasn’t what they should have gone with. I think they were trying to share the tone of the new film (and possibly franchise) in James Gunn’s hands (funny, smart, and gorgeous), but I would have loved something more fleshed out. Perhaps that was just me.
Either way, this was a great movie. Past the amazing visuals and performances, there is a reminder that this fictional superhero is one of the greats for a reason. Whether you like him or not, he has a higher purpose. He is here to be an example of goodness and take care of those who need it in their most desperate moments. I’m excited to see where Gunn goes with this in the future.
Runtime: 130 minutes
Motion Picture Rating: PG-13
Languages Spoken In The Film: English
Should You Watch It? Yes
Did I Cry? I got a little choked up
My Rating: 4/5 Stars
Available: Currently in theaters
