This is absolutely a great way to start the DCU. After Superman spent the better part of a decade on the back pedal — a disgrace, frankly — this movie plants him front and center: a more classic Superman that’s still very much its own thing. It’s a Superman film and a worldbuilder, and yes, that’s a lot. For some people it’ll be overwhelming. If you love Superman, love DC, or just love damn good movies, it’s the one for you.
The cast is perfect — all of it
The Justice Gang works. Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl isn’t in it much but does a lot of smashing. Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner is exactly what you’d hope: confident, funny, cocky, effortlessly powerful.
And then there’s Mr. Terrific.
“Mr. Terrific almost stole the show from Superman.”
Edi Gathegi turns him into one of the coolest superheroes ever put on screen — dry wit, effortless aura, and a fight scene that is very James Gunnian in the best way. María Gabriela de Faría’s Engineer is great too, clearly a product of Lex’s evil studies, and I need her backstory yesterday.
Lois and Lex run away with it
Rachel Brosnahan, come on.
“She brings Lois to life like nobody has before.”
Tough, funny without knowing she’s funny, striking — and her chemistry with David Corenswet is weird because of how natural it is, like they’ve been together their whole lives. I can’t wait to watch that relationship grow.
Nicholas Hoult, meanwhile, might be the best on-screen Lex Luthor ever. The people calling it overacting missed the point — the panic and hatred in his eyes is the character: a man drowning in envy, powerless against Superman and losing his mind about it. He gets the best monologues in the movie and earns every one.
Corenswet, Krypto, and the craft
Corenswet looks engineered to play Superman — a classical take in the Christopher Reeve lineage with his own passionate, vocal, genuinely innocent spin. (More Clark Kent next time, please — what’s there is good, there’s just not much of it.)
And Krypto? Krypto stole the show. Everyone doubted a flying dog could work in a live-action Superman movie — everyone except me. Only James Gunn pulls that off, and the movie’s better for it.
The action is fantastic, the visuals are colorful, and the CGI discourse is overblown — a rough spot here and there, fine overall. The John Murphy and David Fleming score won me over too: I was nervous about leaning on the John Williams theme, but they made it their own, modern and unique — and the “Lois and Clark” track is genuinely emotional.
The quibbles
Jimmy Olsen gets a lot of screen time — maybe a little more than needed, and some of it I’d have traded for more Lois. The scenes with Clark’s parents are sweet but don’t dig as deep emotionally as they should; next movie, go deeper. And there’s a big, bold lore change I won’t spoil here except to say: it can’t be ignored, it must be explored, and I respect the boldness. Gunn, like Snyder, gives you bold.
The verdict
“James Gunn has yet to fail me. And guess what? He still has yet to fail me.”
It’s not a perfect movie. It’s too big in places, maybe the most comic-booky film ever made, and sometimes that’s a little too much. It’s also funny, bold, wildly entertaining, and exactly the launchpad the DCU needed.
8.5 out of 10. The future of the DCU is bright. Watch it — and watch it in IMAX. You’ve got to see everything.