From the moment I saw the first preview for the new Superman movie, I wasn’t impressed. While I’ve enjoyed some of James Gunn’s previous work, I wasn’t sure this would be for me. The early teasers simply fell flat. But as the release drew closer, I started hearing whispers about the quality of the underlying story. While there were still aspects that worried me, those whispers were enough to make me want to see it. Fortunately, with my Alamo Drafthouse movie pass, checking out a film is easy. I bought my ticket and waited for its release. Once it came, I settled in and waited to see if the buzz was deserved.
Before diving into the review, let’s address the single most talked about image from those early trailers. A beaten and bleeding Superman who needs his super-dog to save him. For many, that visual felt fundamentally at odds with one of the character’s core tenets. Under a yellow sun, Superman is invincible, or at least he’s supposed to be. So how could he have been injured? The obvious answer seemed to be kryptonite, based on my understanding of the canon. And that’s exactly what I expected from the trailers. But that’s not what happened. Instead, we start the movie just after Superman’s first real failure three years after donning the cape, and the story asks us to sit with the weight of that.
As the opening scene unfolds, we’re given information that isn’t just important for the moment, but essential to the movie as a whole. It is clever groundwork, the sort of layered storytelling that quietly hooks you and helps you understand the deeper layers it has to tell. As a result, I immediately found myself swept up despite my earlier doubts.
With that beat laid out, let me pause to address a complaint I’ve seen from critics I deeply respect. The notion that this Lex Luthor is simply “too evil,” and therefore not nuanced enough to be an interesting villain. I’m not going to argue that more nuance wouldn’t have been welcome. It almost always enriches a villain, but to dismiss this Lex as flat ignores what the film is actually doing.
This story is built on contrasts. Superman is a god made man, constantly striving for humanity. While Lex Luthor is a man who desperately wants to be a god. And he’s willing to abandon everything in that pursuit. The movie isn’t shy about making this clear, and in doing so it frames the film’s central theme. It’s about how power corrupts, and how that very hunger can hollow someone out.
After my first viewing, I wondered if this story might have worked better as a second installment, giving Lex more of a buildup before plunging into his obsession. While there’s some virtue to that argument, and yes, an extra film might have given him more shades of gray, after seeing it a second time, I ultimately think this was the right moment to start Superman’s journey.
Lex’s bluntness in this film serves a purpose. His obsession is central to his character. His brilliance is evident (even Mr. Terrific, one of DC’s brightest minds, is impressed by Luthor’s innovations in addition to being terrified of them). But those achievements are the very things that blind Lex to his own humanity.
In sharp contrast, this Superman knows exactly how much power he has, and how careful he must be to keep it in check. Gunn leans fully into the “Boy Scout” aspect of the character, and the movie never wavers. This is a Superman who tries to save everyone, from absolute strangers, to children, to pets… even a stray squirrel. This relentless compassion isn’t just a gimmick. It’s the defining pillar of the film, and what the story uses to build toward its genuinely powerful conclusion.
And that brings us back to the beaten, bleeding Superman from the trailer. Yes, we see him physically hurt, but it’s not the bruises or blood that matter. What really wounds him in this movie are the mental assaults. This is a Superman undone not by a rock from his homeworld, but by the erosion of his certainty. That is Lex’s endgame, not to crush Superman’s body, but to undermine his soul.
Traditionally, in nearly every Superman film, there’s a moment where words from his Kryptonian father lift him back up, fueling his resolve. However, for this version of the character, that strength comes from Earth, from his adoptive parents. The trailers hinted at this moment. But seeing it in its full context hits hard. Those words become the emotional heart of the movie. They ground the story and, in many ways, Superman himself. After they’re heard, the ending seems inevitable.
Some might wish the ending offered a more decisive reckoning for Lex. But adding a cathartic beat meant to punish Lex’s evil actions would have been a mistake. In fact, it would have undercut the emotional truth of the story. This movie is about Superman embracing humanity. Specifically, it’s about his resilience, compassion, and how he holds on to that humanity even when it would feel justified to ignore it for a moment.
Ultimately, Superman delivers a nuanced plot wrapped in Gunn’s unmistakable touch. Yes, there are larger threads woven throughout the film, but at its heart this is an intimate story about how Superman heals, not just the world around him, but himself. And instead of that strength coming from parents he’s never known, it comes from the ones who raised him, shaping not just the man, but the hero he has become.