In 1978, the tagline was “You’ll believe a man can fly?” for Superman. In 2025, the tagline is “Look up” for James Gunn’s Superman. The tagline perfectly captures the hopeful and joyous feeling of the film. Superman is undeniably a comic book movie and embraces that.

Superman is penned and directed by James Gunn. The same magic he created with the Guardians of the Galaxy is what Superman needed. Much like Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn casted perfectly too. David Corenswet as Superman and Rachel Brosonhan as Lois Lane will be beloved choices. Each actor brings something new to the well established characters yet feels familiar. The same can be said for Nicholas Hoult’s portrayal of Lex Luthor. These three performances instantly puts them among the best of each character.

Trying to not spoil anything about the film, so won’t dive into the story too much. Metahumans have existed for 300 years and Superman has been present for only 3 of them. Despite the already established knowledge of metahumans, Superman is the strongest. This is why Lex Luthor wants Superman dead. Lex doesn’t believe a god should be among humans. His envy and evil tendencies send Superman and a few other metahumans through events to save metropolis. There is more to the story with some twists, cameos that hint at future plans and action pieces that showcase Superman’s power.

For a film with so many characters and an average runtime of just slightly over 2 hours. Pacing and character development does seem to be impacted by shifting the whole focus on Superman. He is the central figure of everything that goes on in the film. However this film is about Superman, so despite that flaw it still one hell of a ride.

The action is fun and bright, a fun use of special effects and if there is one thing that Gunn is good at, it’s special effects action scenes. The humor is lighthearted, so much so that it’s like an animated show come to life. Everything about this feels like it was inspired by the Bruce Timm animated universe or the plethora of amazing Superman comics. Side note: if you love this movie, highly recommended reading All-Star Superman and Superman For All Seasons. Those two stories were inspiration for this film with characters actions and story elements.

So what about the supporting cast? Well they all shine but some are underdeveloped. Let’s start with the positive, Edi Gathegi is an absolute star as Mr. Terrific. Whenever Gathegi is on screen, I was glued to his character and by the time the credits rolled, I was looking forward to seeing him again. Nathan Fillion as Guy Gardner is pitch perfect casting for the character. He is a dick and Fillion plays the character well. Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen is another great example of perfect casting. The addition of Krypto is fun and he is a scene stealer. Wouldn’t be surprised if we see more of him in the future. However despite the slew of great casting, Gunn did struggle with a few characters.

The following characters were either underdeveloped or underused. Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, needed more time and it’s difficult to judge if she will be a defying character. Mikaela Hoover as Cat Grant, Beck Bennett as Steve Lombard and Wendell Pierce as Perry White were all great. However they would severely benefit from more screen time in the future of the DC universe. Two of the weaker characters come from Maria Gabriela de Faria as the Engineer and Sara Sampiro as Eve Teschmacher. They play pivot parts to the story but both characterizations seemed one note. The Engineer will be a main player in the upcoming adaptation of The Authority. Hopefully we get something similar to Rick Flag in The Suicide Squad, where James Gunn gave him a redemption arc and improved the character.

Overall this film soars! Easily the best adaptation of Superman since 1978. Henry Cavill was great for Zack Snyder’s vision, however David Corenswet is Superman. Everything about his Clark Kent and Superman is ripped from the pages and his performance is near perfect. Besides some underdeveloped characters, this film brought hope and happiness. The last time I had this much fun was Deadpool and Wolverine, this is a much better film.