Let’s be honest—most DC films operate on the 3-3-4 principle: three things they absolutely nail, three they mess up royally, and four that just coast in the middle. Zack Snyder’s Superman followed the same formula; mythic, glowering, and constantly caught in some slow-mo moral crisis. But with James Gunn behind the wheel, I was hoping we’d finally get a version of the Man of Steel who actually likes being here. Spoiler alert: we did.

As a die-hard DCAU kid with a soft spot for journalist heroes and the occasional philosophical rabbit hole, I’ve always felt that Superman is a character best understood through the panels of a comic—or a beautifully written animation. On screen? He’s harder to crack. But David Corenswet gets close—really close.

I was at the premiere with a theatre full of hardcore fans, where the vibe oscillated between euphoric applause and whispered critique. The film may not stick the landing, but it definitely sticks its cape out with confidence. Here’s my stream-of-consciousness reaction to Superman (2025)—unfiltered, occasionally feral, and very much written while trying not to open Twitter mid-movie.

32 Unfiltered Thoughts I Had While Watching Superman (2025):

1.

It’s the 1940s Max Fleisher Superman on the DC Studios logo! Cute. Maybe some foreshadowing?

2.

The first shot we have of Superman is him in the famous ‘Yamcha’ pose from DBZ—he’s a crumpled, wheezing mess on the ground. As far as I recall, this is totally different from every other Supe film— he’s usually all triumphant and glowing in them.

3.

Does James Gunn have a dog? I feel like Krypto is going to be a thinly-veiled rant about the frustrations surrounding dog parenting.

4.

So they’re going VERY retro with the tone, if not the setting. I can hear the mixed reactions already; some people are excitedly clapping, some are grumbling. I MUST go on Twitter the moment I’m outta here.

5.

Superman is so misunderstood—I think the Snyderverse did irreprable damage to him. He’s not a god, he’s a sweet chill guy! And I think Gunn gets it.

6.

I’ve always liked Nick Hoult, but man. He’s really funny as Lex—and it’s been a while since I’ve been able to laugh at a cartoonish villain.

7.

Ofcourse…. a brown guy who loves the hero. Can’t it just be some pasty accountant or something?…

8.

This movie really loves big-ass establishing shots. George Lucas much?

9.

I love that there is some real journalist lingo in this movie. it’s not much but I love it—newsroom banter at the Daily planetis much appreciated.

10.

I also like that the government seems to trust superman. It frees up Gunn to open a whole new set of the DC comics archives—and drop the edgy Snyder stuff even more.

11.

So Lois and Clark have been dating for just three months. They have some nice chemistry; its a better than Snyder’s pairing. Lois is a lot more likeable for sure.

12.

I am going to spend the entire movie comparing this to Man of Steel….

13.

Okay, they were NOT kidding when they said that this movie has israel-palestine coding. Let’s dive into that later…

14.

It seems like this Superman is in love with Earth, but also very emotionally tied to Krypton. He also seems to get the crap kicked out of him fairly regularly—I like that he isn’t too overpowered. He was written this way in the 40s!

15.

Of course. Dating in the office causes problems, Lois & Clark. Glad to see y’all fighting over normal human things—kinda.

16.

I love that Superman’s robots have eyelids. Makes them a lot funnier for some reason.

17.

I’m so tired of the regular folks in superhero movies just screaming and running mindlessly. A lot of the normal people are just staring at the superheroes doing their thing—I guess its another Tuesday for them.

18.

Superman really is idealistic af in this movie. He just took the trouble to save a random squirrel in a fight scene?…

19.

Okay… so Clark’s bio-parents actually wanted him to conquer Earth. That kind of… adds up. Almost makes me wish that this was canon.

20.

Why is superman’s robot stabbing himself to death!? Yikes.

21.

The PlanetWatch montage is STRAIGHT outta The Boys. In a good way—but their costumes are so damn weird.

22.

OH MY GOD they included Element Man! If you watched the DCAU, you’re probably going to be happy. He had a great storyline!

23.

Wow. This film’s Israel allegory just violated a ceasefire… okay. Not bad!

24.

Wow. They just point-blank executed Superman’s brown friend—while Superman weeps helplessly while Kryptonite is cooking him alive. That’s brutal.

25.

Jimmy Olsen and Lex Luthor have a shared dating history. What. The. Fuck. I cannot even.

26.

One of my favourite designs in this movie is Mr. Terrific and his terrific drip. I want more superheroes in sick jackets.

27.

I like that this film has a very wide range of decades to draw on for inspiration. Supes and Lois are from the 30s, Guy is from the 60s, Terrific is from the 90s…. and they somehow fit together. Nice.

28.

I saw a lot of tweets before this movie complaining about how ‘quippy’ Superman is. Read a comic, bro. Superman is CONSTANTLY making fun of shit. he’s a funny guy; and they catch his self-aware dropping of the boy scout mask in this movie quite well.

29.

FINALLY he uses heat vision! Two hours into the movie!!!!

30.

I don’t think he’ll use xray vision before the movie ends. Should I place a bet with the guy sitting next to me?

31.

Holy shit, Lex cries at the end after Superman beats him. He cries!

32.

David Corenswet is a really, really good Superman. Shame the plot goes off the rails.

After two and a half hours, Superman leaves me thinking the same thing I always do about this character: he’ll never be cool in the way that Batman is—but he’ll always be the hero I wish more people liked.

This isn’t a film I’m desperate to rewatch, but I will say this—David Corenswet is the closest we’ve come in decades to a Superman who genuinely feels like all the best ones rolled into one. If only the script had given him a little more room to breathe. There was a moment early in the film—Supes getting grilled by Lois in a morally grey interview—that could have been the emotional and ethical centre of the story. Instead, we get a messy third act, a war allegory that I'm glad exists but doesn't really have a message, and a Lex Luthor who cries. (No, really.)

But hey—Gunn gets the tone right, and for Superman, that’s half the battle.