Superman officially hits theaters this Friday, but the reviews are already pouring in.
The film, directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, kicks off the new DC Universe with the superhero. Superman sees David Corenswet (Twisters, Pearl) as the title character and as Clark Kent, a reporter for The Daily Planet. The role has previously been played by Christopher Reeve, Henry Cavill, Brandon Routh and Tyler Hoechlin, among others.
Rachel Brosnahan (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, House of Cards) plays his love interest and journalist, Lois Lane; and Nicholas Hoult (Nosferatu, Juror #2) portrays the villain, Lex Luthor.
At the film’s L.A. premiere on Monday, Gunn mentioned what he hoped to show differently in this superhero.
“I wanted to believe Superman, so I wanted to show him in this gigantic DC universe, this magical world that’s like from the comic books, where we’re entering how I entered as a child — with Superman, with superhuman friends, with giant robots, with Kaiju, with all of that,” Gunn said. “I wanted to have that but at the same time, really get to know him — get to know his personality, who he is, what his relationship with Lois is like, what his beliefs are, what his strengths are, what his flaws are.”
Superman has an 85 percent rating on Rotten Tomatoes as of Wednesday. Below, see what critics are saying about the film.
The Hollywood Reporter‘s chief film critic David Rooney praised Corenswet and Brosnahan’s performances in his review, “David Corenswet makes an outstanding Superman/Clark Kent, his performance loaded with self-irony, charm and poignant vulnerability as he wrestles with doubts as to whether his mission to do good and protect humankind was based on a lie. Corenswet’s funny, scrappy rapport with Rachel Brosnahan’s whip-smart Lois Lane — possibly the sharpest and most captivating interpretation of the ace Daily Planet reporter since Margot Kidder — makes their every scene together a delight.” For the film as a whole he said, “Gunn’s Superman is overloaded, even muddled at times, but relentlessly entertaining. Perhaps its biggest strength is that it sidesteps all the revisionist murk of superheroes onscreen in the last decade or two and reverts almost to an enchanting state of child-like wonder.”
The New York Times‘ movie critic, Alissa Wilkinson, wrote in her review, “By all of these measures, Gunn’s charming take on the Superman myth succeeds — it even won over a particular superhero-weary critic. It’s a sincere but also goofy movie, with a few well-timed twists on the mythology and a couple of added characters who keep things light at just the right moments.” She later in her review added, “And most of all there’s Rachel Brosnahan’s Lois Lane, a woman who doesn’t really need saving, who is preternaturally calm in the face of breaking news and knows, contra most female reporters in the movies, how to actually grill a source regardless of her personal feelings about the story. So maybe this Superman is set in the real world after all.”
Collider‘s senior editor, movies Ross Bonaime, wrote, “Superman is a magnificent feat, a film that makes the Man of Steel fascinating in a way we’ve rarely seen on film, with a take on the hero that is trenchant, clever and delightful. Gunn is paying tribute to the past while also making a very clear mark on this world’s future, crafting an introduction to the DCU that inherently makes the viewer want to know where this world goes from here. At this point, it’s rare for superhero films to give a sense of wonder and a reminder of how beautiful these films can be when executed well. But Gunn has brought optimism, hope and care back to Superman. It ends up becoming one of the best DC films in years and one of the best movies of the summer. This universe could be great, and Gunn has the light to show the way for where the DCU could go.”
USA Today‘s movie critic Brian Truitt, wrote, “Gunn fills his Superman with plenty of action, from the title character’s flying jaunts — filmed as searing, windswept experiences — to Superman throwing down with a giant kaiju. But what makes the movie, and Supes himself, endearing is how the dude tackles any and all problems with empathy and sincerity.” Also in his review, he continued, “That said, there are no false notes or wasted energy in making this revamped DC universe stand out from the previous, overly dour DCU or the quippy, slick Marvel movies. Superman is more conventional than Gunn’s Guardians flicks, or even his DC outings The Suicide Squad and Peacemaker, yet he’s carried over the unhinged, off-kilter fun of those films. And while Gunn doesn’t overdo it with political stakes, themes and personalities, he certainly drives home the point that kindness is the superpower we all should be using on the regular.”
Empire‘s Sophie Butcher was more critical of the script in her review, writing, “Hoult is having fun as Luthor, dishing out witty comebacks and maniacal screams, as well as genuine flashes of emotion. But there are problems in the writing. Luthor lacks depth, portrayed simply as an abusive sociopath who’s targeting Superman out of spite, and indulging in ‘reckless science’ at the cost of destroying the world entirely. Supes himself, meanwhile, is almost the pure-of-heart hero you want him to be, the one that Richard Donner and Christopher Reeve so masterfully achieved in their iteration — but some clunky dialogue and a cocky edge means the character never quite meets the mark.”
The Associated Press‘ film critic and writer Jake Coyle wrote in his review, “Mileage will inevitably vary when it comes to Gunn’s idiosyncratic touch. He can be outlandish and sweet, often at once. In a conversation between metahumans, he will insert a donut into the scene for no real reason, and cut from a body falling through the air to an Alka-Seltzer tablet dropping into a glass. Some might call such moments glib, a not-unfair label for Gunn. But I’d say they make this pleasantly imperfect ‘Superman’ something quite rare in the assembly line-style of superhero moviemaking today: human.”
IGN‘s Tom Jorgensen gave his verdict in his review, saying, “Superman is a wonderfully entertaining, heartfelt cinematic reset for the Man of Steel, and a great new start for the DC universe on the big screen. David Corenswet is a natural, benevolent Superman, Nicholas Hoult’s egomaniacal Lex Luthor gives him the perfect foil, and by minute two, you’ll be willing to burn a thousand Kryptons if it means saving Supes’ chaotic, good-boy companion Krypto the Superdog. Director and DCU maestro James Gunn throws a lot at us here and trusts that decades of practice watching superhero movies will carry us through any storytelling corners he’s cutting in favor of keeping the pace brisk and the fun abundant. It’s a dense and at times overwhelming adventure, but it feels like the right one for the moment.”