Superman must reconcile his alien Kryptonian heritage with his human upbringing as reporter Clark Kent. As the embodiment of truth, justice and the human way he soon finds himself in a world that views these as old-fashioned.

It’s been a summer of sequels and reboots with the next cab off the rank the latest attempt at rebooting ‘Superman’. Directed by James Gunn, who has pedigree from his work with Marvel on the ‘Guardians of the Galaxy’ movies, this is DC Comic’s latest attempt to reboot their stuttering comic book universe that thus far, has had as many false dawns as England at the World Cup. Henry Cavill is out, David Corenswet is in, and perhaps more importantly, the attempted tone is on the lighter side after various darker iterations of these characters.

Unlike previous ‘Superman’ movies, it begins on Earth and begins in a world where Superman is already known and metahumans are part of the global landscape. He’s already with Lois Lane, who knows his secret, but the Clark Kent/Superman switcheroo remains a mystery to the majority of the population. The main villain is familiar foe Lex Luthor, played on this occasion by Nicholas Hoult (who wouldn’t have been my first thought), and the plot centres on his attempts to destroy Superman, who he believes to be the main barrier to his nefarious plot to collaborate with a dictator and take over another country. It’ll likely come as no surprise that the plot is convoluted and there’s a lot of silliness in how the story unfolds, but it is undeniable that Gunn has infused this ‘Superman’ with light hearted humour and most importantly, made it good fun, which almost feels refreshing (just almost!).

In terms of the casting, Corenswet is fine, but one of the biggest issues anyone making a ‘Superman’ movie will have is that it is impossible to better Christopher Reeve, and he isn’t in the same league. Rachel Brosnahan makes for a good Lois Lane, albeit with little to do, and I wasn’t totally sold on Hoult’s take on Lex Luthor, although it is undoubtedly an upgrade on the low bar that was Jesse Eisenberg’s attempt in the risible ‘Batman v Superman: Dawn of Justice’. Much of the fun comes from the supporting characters, namely the Justice Gang comprising Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi) and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced). They’re silly, but on the right level of silly, and Edi Gathegi in particular steals most of the scenes he’s in with his deadpan delivery of the witty dialogue written for him.

Overall, 2025’s ‘Superman’ is a bit of a mixed bag with a messy plot and despite its fresher take, it still can’t resist the standard (and frankly boring) CGI laden city destroying action. That said, its heart is undoubtedly in the right place, it made me laugh and I came out of it having had a good time. If a better plot can be conjured up for the inevitable sequel, DC may have just found a path forward for this classic superhero.

Rating: 3/5

Directed By: James Gunn

Starring: David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Edi Gathegi, Nathan Fillion, Anthony Carrigan, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo, Sara Sampaio, Wendell Pierce, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Neva Howell, Frank Grillo and Zlatko Burić

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5950044/