Superman Takes Flight but Leaves the Plot Behind

Superman

★ ★ ½

James Gunn has a lot riding on Superman. Hired by Warner Bros. to reinvent the DC Comics Cinematic Universe (DCU), he needs this film to accomplish two things—ideally both. First, it has to be a box office success. Second—and less important, at least by Hollywood math—it needs to be a good movie.

2008’s Iron Man is an example of a fantastic superhero film that became a box office smash and ignited several Marvel Comics films, creating the Marvel Cinematic Universe, or MCU. It’s the perfect case of a well-written story with a great cast rewarded by box office numbers. Robert Downey Jr.’s Tony Stark (aka Iron Man) became the heartbeat of the MCU.

Lois Lane and Superman
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

Superman falls into a familiar-yet-frustrating category: a box office winner that struggles to justify its own ambition. Its pre-weekend box office numbers are already impressive, thanks to early Amazon Prime member screenings on Tuesday and the usual Thursday-night previews.

But it’s a film with a story that never gels. Superman (David Corenswet) is reactive to the antics of arch-nemesis Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) rather than actively working to stop him. The romance between Superman, his alter ego Clark Kent and Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is never very convincing, though the acting is surprisingly good. The film seems to take advantage of the audience’s predetermined understanding that they’re a couple, skipping a lot of the things that make them memorable.

There’s a scene that could have been great—a father and son moment between Clark and Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince). Superman learned something disturbing about his Kryptonian parents and their expectations of him. It’s a moment where he questions what he stands for. He and Pa have a talk on the porch steps of the Smallville farmhouse.

Rachel Brosnahan as Lois Lane
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

Pa gives Clark some wonderful advice, a scene that should have anchored Superman’s resolve through the rest of the film. Scenes like this get to us at our core. But it plays out flat, despite the actor’s best efforts. That moment should have anchored the film—and its failure to land reflects the movie as a whole: compelling ideas, frustratingly undercooked.

Thankfully, this reboot doesn’t drag us through Superman’s origin story again. It explains where Superman came from efficiently, gets to the point and moves on. The onscreen text concludes by telling us that three minutes ago Superman lost his first battle. Then we see him crashing to the icy arctic ground, gravely injured.

David Corenswet as Superman
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

It’s to the film’s credit that it opens this way, putting us right into the action. We’re immediately introduced to Superman’s ice lair and the automaton robots that take care of him. They’re there to tend to his injuries and keep the place clean while he’s doing superhero stuff and reporting for The Daily Planet. Superman has been active in Metropolis, and the world, for three years and has already stirred up some global controversy. He stops a war that some argue he had no business interfering with. People of Metropolis aren’t sure if the damage to the city is worth his protection. Lois has already discovered Clark Kent is Superman and they’ve been seeing each other for three months.

This feels like the right way to start a new Superman film, especially after a couple of reboot attempts. But the promising story threads never tie together, nor do they form a cohesive plot. There’s visual flair and a pulpy, comic-book energy throughout, but the film lacks the searing heat-vision a well-told story could have burned into the hearts of audiences.

Instead, it feels like a film trying too hard to launch an expanded DC Comics cinematic universe of movies that tie together and eventually lead to a reboot of Justice League films. The weight of a financially successful cinematic universe is simply too much for this film to bear.

Nathan Fillian as Green Lantern, Isabella Merced as Hawkgril and Edi Gathegi as Mr Terrific
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

An example is the introduction of other superheroes—Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Green Lantern insists on calling them the “Justice Gang,” an obvious wink at the Justice League films to come. Since this is a Superman film, and a reboot no less, it would have been better to have kept the focus on The Man of Steel. Their addition is much more than a cameo appearance and confuses the film’s narrative. It causes the script to lose the focus on the heart—Superman trying to find his place in a world that’s not sure it can trust him.

Fillion often brings comic relief but Green Lantern adds little to the story’s depth. Hawkgirl’s role remains unclear, aside from snide remarks and sarcasm. Gathegi almost steals the show as Mr. Terrific. He’s fun to watch—his character is the most richly developed. At its core, a Superman film should be about Superman—and Lois Lane.

Nicolas Hoult as Lex Luthor
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

For all its shortcomings, this film manages to put Superman through his paces, something previous films rarely did effectively. For a nearly indestructible hero, victories don’t come easily, and solving one problem leads to another, and yet another. We can see how taxing life can be as a superhero.

Corenswet makes an excellent Superman and Clark Kent. He’s believable as the superhero “boy scout” who always tries to do the right thing. We can easily believe him as the “Man of Steel.” Rachel Brosnahan plays her own version of Lois Lane, though there are gentle nods to Margot Kidder’s turn as the trouble-ridden reporter.

Superman and Krypto
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

There’s chemistry that’s woefully unexplored among Superman, Lois and Lex. Given the right script, and a simpler story, the trio would electrify the screen. It’s the kind of dynamic that should trump action and special effects. That kind of dynamic gives the action more impact—and turns the effects into a final layer of polish rather than the main attraction.

It’s an overly ambitious film, obviously plagued by a studio and director desperate for a DC Comics renaissance. That aside, it’s still a fun film, and I’d certainly like to see what Corenswet can do with a better script.

David Corenswet as Superman
© 2025 Warner Bros Pictures

Superman plays out like a Rubik’s Cube where each side has a breathtaking picture, and when all sides are revealed, tells an incredible, unforgettable tale. We’re just a few turns away from a complete picture—one that could have defined a new era for the Man of Steel—if only the story, emotion and vision clicked into place.