Review: ‘Superman’ (2025) Is A Satisfying Tale That Evokes The Post-Crisis Comics

For those who relished heading to the comic shop every week in 1990 or ’91 — the original “Post-Crisis” times of the DC Universe — to pick up the new issue of Adventures of Superman or Action Comics, the 2025 Superman film is for you.

Director James Gunn has successfully recreated the feeling of a triangle-number era Superman comic book. Superman (David Corenswet) has a sense of humor. Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) is take-charge. And Ron Troupe (Christopher McDonald) is in The Daily Planet newsroom, not to far from Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), Cat Grant (Mikaela Hoover) and Steve Lombard (Beck Bennett)! Outside of the Planet building, Lex Luthor (Nichouls Hoult) is a criminal genius with an unlimited bank account and the so-called “Justice Gang” feels like the early ’90s Justice League International — even if its members or underwriter Maxwell Lord (Sean Gunn) have yet to coin the name.

Starting fresh, the film introduces many ideas in its first few minutes. Metahumans, for example, have been a known element in the world for 300 years. Superman has been operating for the last three years and, as the story begins, he has just suffered his first defeat. The choice to start there is a bold one as you may still expect more of an origin story, but it rewards the audience for their basic Superman knowledge. You know he’s from Krypton. You know Luthor is his archrival. You know Clark and Lois are in some sort of relationship. Instead, Superman gets straight into its tale: the Man of Tomorrow facing a tumult of forces gathering against him, personally, and the things he has chosen to represent.

Those values are also something you should know.

Stepping away from the origin story also means the film has the time to build the world. Costumed crimefighters are fairly common here. The Luthorcorp building dominates the Metropolis skyline. And if Lois’s car is anything to go by, the city is definitely in Delaware this time — a nice hat-tip to the geography presented in the old Mayfair DC Heroes role-playing game. Those details build into a fairly grounded world even with all the fantastical elements surrounding it. This Metropolis feels lived in while avoiding anything that makes it feel too much like New York. And like a random issue of Man of Steel from the mid-’90s, the setting hints at larger parts of this new world.

But it is also a stage for the characters and Superman is filled to the brim with them. The main trio of Clark, Lois, and Luthor are admirably performed by Corenswet, Brosnahan, and Hoult. The new Superman is, in many ways, a goofball and Corenswet does a great job with that texture while also highlighting Clark’s compassion, empathy, and strength while in costume as the Man of Tomorrow and behind the glasses. Brosnahan also brings a lot of energy to Lois — although, thanks to starting the movie already in a relationship with Clark, the puppy-love aspect of Margot Kidder‘s performance in the original film takes a backseat to the confident reporter who can speak truth to power even when that power is the superhero she happens to be dating. Hoult, meanwhile, might be the definitive comic-book-accurate Luthor. He looks the part, sounds the part, and does some truly unexpected things within it.

In fact, that’s true of all the leads.

The supporting players are also memorable, with Edi Gathegi‘s Mr. Terrific stealing just about every scene he’s in. He might not be exactly the Michael of the comics, but his intelligence and forthrightness makes for an interesting contrast to the other character in general and his compatriots in the so-called “Justice Gang” in particular. Nathan Fillion also shines as Guy Gardner while also making him a little less of a cartoon than one might expect. It’s really a magic trick and highlights that, in the end, Guy does mean well. Most of the time, anyway. Isabela Merced, unfortunately, is the least of the three as her Hawkgirl (I’m not even sure if she is meant to be Kendra or Shayera) mostly screams and hits things with her mace. If she is meant to be Shayera, it’s probably closer to the mark. If she’s meant to be Kendra … well, at least she never complains that she was a barista last week. Anthony Carrigan, meanwhile, shines as Metamorpho. He might not have a lot of screentime, but he does a lot with what he gets.

Other notable support player include the entire Planet newsroom, Wendell Pierce as Perry White, Pruitt Taylor Vince and Neva Howell as Jonathan and Martha Kent, and Sara Sampaio as a truly unexpected Eve Teschmacher. Oh, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention Krypto the Superdog, the movie’s true scene-stealer. He is the one element not from the Post-Crisis days, but he fits right in.

Visually, the film is a colorful, solid spectacle. Since at least the first Guardians of the Galaxy, Gunn has demonstrated a great confidence with the camera and the sorts of things artists can do within its frame. In Superman‘s case, that means genuinely innovative ways to present the character’s ability to fly. But it also means the design of Metropolis, the Fortress of Solitude, and other locales look absolutely great and consistent with the Post-Crisis, Triangle Number Era vibe. Additionally, the special effects are nearly flawless. Some errors may present themselves in subsequent screenings, but I don’t recall noticing even one obvious moment where actors stood in front a green screen or within a Volume. A true rarity in films of this scale.

Another rare aspect of Superman: it ends. The story of Clark’s first real physical and philosophical opposition comes to a full conclusion instead of promising an ending in a subsequent film. Yes, there are a few hooks for some of the characters to take the lead in their own project, but all the developed story points come together for a climax and resolution that definitively concludes this particular Superman story. The result is something truly satisfying.

That’s the key thing about the film. It genuinely satisfies the viewer as it lays out its cards and uses all of them instead of holding back for a future that might not come. The difference is palpable from previous DC films and even some of the crosstown rival’s film and TV output. And that sense of satisfaction may lead you to watch 2025’s Superman again and again.

Superman is in theaters now.