‘Superman’ (2025) – Sincerity is cool again

There’s no doubt that Superman has had a worldwide impact. The character’s story has been told and retold countless times in different forms of media, spawning imitators, deviants, and all manner of offshoots that have muddled the message. The last son of Krypton is in cinemas once again, in a movie that aims to reference the old while introducing the new DC Universe, and showing the world who Superman really is.

It’s a herculean task fit for Superman himself, and donning the red boots and cape is actor David Corenswet, who many are about to meet for the first time. Corenswet’s Superman is unlike any we’ve seen before. He initially presents as optimistic and good-natured, with even an aversion to dirty words. The supporting cast of Superman will spout as many curse words as a PG-13 rating will allow, but Kal-El always opts for a midwestern substitute such as “What the Hay?” when expressing his ire.

His goodness is downright adorable, but it’s his conviction that makes him dangerous. A strong sense of purpose inherited from a final message from his late Kryptonian parents guides the Man of Steel into doing what he thinks is right, regardless of the consequences. When faced with those consequences, his short fuse blows and you see the arrogance that accompanies determination.

Superman introduces these qualities of Clark’s in his interactions with others. Whether its a heated interview with Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, or through disagreements with the corporately run superhero team The Justice Gang, or trading monologues with Nicholas Hoult’s egomaniacal Lex Luthor, there are several opportunities for the characters to trade ideologies as they confront the issues before them.

When it comes to those issues, Superman doesn’t pull punches. A sub-plot of the movie is more bold of an anti-zionist message than anyone could expect from a film about a character that’s meant to be on children’s lunchboxes. Superman’s intervention in the matters of fictional nations Boravia and Jarhanpur is called into question, but the film is not subtle about which nation holds the aggressors. Then again, subtlety is not the name of the game for Superman. The movie doesn’t hide behind a shroud of irony, and says what it means outright.

At the same time, Superman is a film that features multiple superheroes, a battle with a giant monster, the concept of a pocket dimension, and a rambunctious and destructive Superdog named Krypto. These are just a few elements that would in lesser movies be the entire focus of the film. Some will call it overstuffed and full of too many things happening at once, to which I’d say, after years of watching Superman be relegated to pretty simple plots, I welcome a bit of complexity in the city of Metropolis.

Superman is the movie that’s been promised since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man, a bright and flashy adventure that finds a way to showcase the fantastic world of Superman with the use of modern digital effects, bringing to life the most outlandish images his comic is known for. The worry was that, after 20 years of waiting, the superhero would be too little too late. With the world in turmoil and reasons to hope in short supply, I’m happy to report, it’s right on time.

Rating: Big Screen Watch

Damian Levy is a film critic and podcaster for Damian Michael Movies.entertainment@gleanerjm.com