Movie Review: Superman

Settling in to watch James Gunn’s Superman, I braced myself for the weight of expectation. This is a character whose cinematic history is crowded with origin stories, reboots, and reinventions, and the risk of retreading familiar ground loomed large. To my relief, Gunn sidesteps that trap entirely; there’s no Krypton prologue, no Smallville montage. Instead, we’re dropped straight into Metropolis, into the thick of Clark Kent’s life as both reporter and hero. That choice gives the film a refreshing immediacy, letting the story breathe without the burden of repetition.

Yet if the film avoids one kind of excess, it embraces another. Superman is ambitious to a fault, juggling cosmic threats, newsroom drama, political intrigue, and personal dilemmas all at once. It’s never dull, but it can feel overwhelming, as if the film is determined to prove it can do everything in a single outing. Still, amid the spectacle, the supporting cast shines, grounding the story in relationships that remind us why Superman matters as a symbol, but also as a man surrounded by people who believe in him.

One of the film’s greatest strengths is its decision to skip the origin story. By trusting audiences to know the basics, James Gunn frees the narrative from repetition and gives us a Superman already in motion. He is confident, established, and surrounded by a world that already knows him. That choice lends the film a refreshing immediacy, allowing space for character dynamics rather than exposition dumps.

The supporting cast is another highlight. Lois Lane is sharp and resourceful, Jimmy Olsen adds warmth and humour, and the Daily Planet crew feels integral to the story’s heartbeat. Handled poorly, they could have just felt like background noise. Their presence grounds Clark’s journey, reminding us that Superman’s strength isn’t just in his powers but in the relationships that tether him to humanity.

Another standout element is the Justice Gang ensemble. Gunn uses them as extensions of Superman’s world, giving each actor room to leave an impression. Their presence broadens the film’s scope without derailing Clark’s story too much, and the performances add texture to the larger DC universe. The camaraderie and friction within the group highlight Superman’s role as both leader and outsider, underscoring the film’s themes of belonging and responsibility. Far from feeling like cameos, the Justice Gang actors enrich the narrative, making the film’s world feel expansive and interconnected. Also, I do adore Nathan Fillion.

Visually, the film embraces scale without losing clarity. The action sequences are kinetic and imaginative, but they remain character-driven, never dissolving into empty spectacle. Gunn’s direction ensures that even the most cosmic threats feel tied to Clark’s personal stakes, which keeps the film emotionally resonant.

Finally, there’s a palpable sense of ambition. The film wants to be more than just another superhero outing; it aims to weave together politics, journalism, cosmic mythology, and personal drama. While that ambition can sometimes… well, often, tip into excess, it also gives the film a richness that makes it stand out in a crowded genre.

This ambition, although a strength in some ways, is also this movie’s most noticeable weakness. Superman tries to juggle too much at once, and the sheer density of material is overwhelming. Instead of a clean throughline, the story sometimes splinters into competing arcs, leaving viewers with the sense that they’re watching three movies compressed into one.

This approach also means that some characters and themes don’t get the space they deserve. While the supporting cast is strong, a few arcs feel truncated, sacrificed to the film’s larger vision. The result is a world that feels rich but occasionally cluttered, where emotional beats risk being drowned out by the sheer volume of plot. I’d certainly have liked to get more time with Hawkgirl, as we don’t really get as much of a sense of her as we get of the other Justice Gang characters.

The film sometimes struggles to balance its cosmic grandeur with its grounded drama. The shifts aren’t always seamless, and the contrast between mythic spectacle and everyday human stakes can feel dissonant. It’s not enough to derail the film, but it does highlight the challenge of trying to do too much in a single outing.

I know that musing on Superman’s upbringing with his human family, as opposed to his Kryptonian birth family, is hardly new or original, but I’m oging to indulge in it, so bear with me. This tension between his two families- the Kryptonian parents who gave him life and the human parents who gave him values- is one of the most enduring aspects of Superman’s mythology. This movie wisely leans into that duality without rehashing the origin story. Jor-El and Lara remain distant figures, symbols of a lost world and a legacy of power. Their presence is felt more as myth than memory, reminders that Clark carries the weight of an entire civilisation on his shoulders.

By contrast, Jonathan and Martha Kent are the ones who shaped his humanity. Their influence is woven into the film’s quieter moments, grounding Clark’s choices in compassion, humility, and a sense of responsibility. Where Krypton represents destiny and grandeur, Smallville represents empathy and restraint. The film doesn’t pit these influences against each other so much as it shows how they coexist. Superman is strongest when he embraces both sides of his heritage.

This dual parentage becomes a metaphor for the film’s larger themes. Superman is not just an alien saviour or a farm boy from Kansas; he is the product of two worlds, carrying the burden of Krypton’s legacy while embodying the values of Earth; or what were traditionally considered American values, some time ago. In a story that sometimes feels overloaded with plotlines, this balance remains clear: Superman’s true power lies not in choosing one lineage over the other, but in harmonising them.

So, yeah, James Gunn’s Superman is bold, ambitious, and sometimes a bit much. I don’t think the word “hubris” would be inappropriate to add to that description. That said, by skipping the origin story, it gives us a Superman already in motion, surrounded by a world that feels lived-in and populated by a strong supporting cast. The Justice Gang ensemble adds breadth, the Daily Planet crew adds warmth, and Clark’s dual heritage continues to resonate as the heart of his character.

At times, the film’s very broad scope threatens to overwhelm, juggling cosmic threats, political intrigue, and personal drama all at once. Yet even in its worst moments of excess, it never loses sight of what makes Superman compelling: the balance between Kryptonian destiny and human compassion.

On balance, I think this film is a good reminder of why the character endures. It’s not just about saving the world; it’s about the relationships, values, and contradictions that make him more than a symbol. However, it is also still about saving the world. For all its flaws, this is a Superman worth believing in.