Various actors have portrayed DC Comic’s Superman character across the big and small screens my entire life – not including voice actors in animated segments!
That being said I’ve gotten tired of the reboots every decade or so that start over from the very beginning of Superman’s life.
And, honestly, I feel that way about a lot of other popular superhero characters – I was even worried that this year’s portrayal of Superman would start in the same lame point of reference.
Well, I can tell you that I was pleasantly surprised by 2025’s “Superman” flick in almost every aspect, so, maybe there’s still hope for a DC franchise not suffocating under its own weight.
I don’t want to spoil too much, but this is by far one of my top three peeks into Superman’s life and is well deserving of the silver screen.
Superman is a 2025 American superhero film based on the eponymous character from DC Comics.
Written and directed by James Gunn, it is the first film in Gunn’s DC Universe (DCU), produced by DC Studios, and the second reboot of the Superman film series.
The film stars David Corenswet as Clark Kent / Superman, alongside Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Nathan Fillion, Zlatko Buric, María Gabriela de Faría, Bradley Cooper, Angela Sarafyan, and Isabela Merced.
Coming in at 129 minutes long, the movie is rated PG-13 for violence, action and language.
Clark Kent / Superman (Corenswet) stops the nation of Boravia from invading the neighboring country of Jarhanpur, and warns Boravian president Vasil Ghurkos (Buric) to leave Jarhanpur alone.
In Metropolis, Superman is defeated for the first time by a metahuman called the “Hammer of Boravia”, and flees to his Fortress of Solitude in Antarctica with the help of the superpowered dog Krypto.
They are followed by Angela Spica / The Engineer (Faría) an ally of billionaire Lex Luthor (Hoult).
Superman’s robots use concentrated solar radiation to heal him and comfort Superman with a message from his alien parents, Jor-El (Cooper) and Lara Lor-Van (Sarafyan), who sent him to Earth to save him from the destruction of their planet Krypton.
The message was damaged during the journey, so only the first half can be played.
Superman returns to Metropolis and is again beaten by the Hammer, who is secretly Luthor’s metahuman Ultraman (Corenswet).
Superman agrees to be interviewed by his girlfriend and fellow Dauly Planet reporter Lois Lane (Brosnahan) leading to an argument when Lois presses him on the legal and ethical implications of his actions in Boravia.
Luthor unleashes a kaiju on Metropolis as a distraction while he infiltrates the Fortress with Ultraman and the Engineer.
They overpower the robots, capture Krypto, and discover the Kryptonian message; the Engineer restores the damaged portion.
Superman rescues civilians while fighting the kaiju with the “Justice Gang”, a team composed of heroes Green Lantern (Fillion), Mister Terrific (Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Merced).
Despite Superman wanting to take the creature alive, Mister Terrific kills it.
Luthor broadcasts the Kryptonian message and Superman is shocked to hear the second half, in which his parents urge him to conquer Earth and take many wives to restore the Kryptonian race.
Public opinion turns against Superman, especially when he angrily confronts Luthor looking for Krypto.
Of course, Superman has more challenges to overcome because Luthor is an utter egomaniac villain without remorse.
So, I think it’s more than worth it to see superhero justice served on the big screen – but you should see for yourself.
Also, it’s worth noting that there is a post credits scene, too.
