Superman movies have faced a decade long struggle to capture both positive response and box office success. While the character remains an iconic figure in pop culture, recent films have encountered significant financial challenges. The 2006 "Superman Returns" lost money despite a massive $270 million budget, and even the more successful 2013 "Man of Steel" fell short of studio expectations. James Gunn's 2025 "Superman" continues this pattern - though it became the highest-grossing solo Superman film domestically and earned praise from fans, it's projected to fall short of its estimated $600-750 million break-even point (based on its $225 million production budget plus substantial marketing costs). The franchise's persistent underperformance, particularly in international markets, has made Superman one of Hollywood's most challenging superhero properties to monetize successfully.
The Story
The story starts with Superman already being a hero, but he's still pretty young - only about 25 years old. The movie doesn't waste time showing us how he became Superman, which I really liked. Instead, it jumps right into the action with Superman stopping a war between two countries called Boravia and Jarhanpur. Superman tells the president of Boravia, a mean guy named Vasil Ghurkos, to stop attacking his neighbor country. But then something shocking happens - Superman gets beaten up for the first time by this really strong fighter called the "Hammer of Boravia." Superman has to run away to his secret hideout in Antarctica called the Fortress of Solitude, and his super-powered dog Krypto helps him escape.
At the Fortress, Superman's robot helpers use special sunlight to heal him, and they show him a message from his real parents from the planet Krypton. His parents, Jor-El and Lara, had sent him to Earth when he was a baby because their planet was going to explode. But here's the problem - the message got damaged during the long trip through space, so Superman can only hear the first half of it. His parents tell him they sent him to Earth to save him and that he should use his powers to help people.
Superman goes back to the city of Metropolis and fights the Hammer again, but he loses again! Meanwhile, his girlfriend Lois Lane, who works with him at a newspaper called the Daily Planet, wants to interview him about what happened in the war. When they talk, Lois asks some really tough questions about whether Superman should be getting involved in wars between countries. This makes Superman uncomfortable because he's trying to do the right thing, but maybe he's making things more complicated.
Then the real villain shows up - Lex Luthor, a super rich and smart businessman who secretly hates Superman. While Superman is busy fighting a giant monster that's attacking the city, Luthor sneaks into the Fortress of Solitude with his helpers, including the Engineer (a woman with tiny robots in her body) and the Hammer (who turns out to be a fake Superman that Luthor created called Ultraman). They capture Krypto and fix the broken message from Superman's parents.
Superman gets help fighting the monster from a group of heroes called the Justice Gang. There's Green Lantern, who has a magic ring that can make anything he imagines, Mister Terrific, who's super smart and has cool gadgets, and Hawkgirl, who has wings and fights with ancient weapons. They defeat the monster, but then Luthor does something terrible - he broadcasts the second half of Superman's parents' message to everyone in the world. In this part, Superman's parents tell him he should conquer Earth and have lots of wives to bring back their alien race.
Everyone gets really scared and angry at Superman after hearing this. They think he's been lying to them and that he really wants to take over the world. Superman is heartbroken because he never wanted to hurt anyone. Lois still believes in him and tells him she loves him, but Superman decides to turn himself in to the government to prove he's not a threat.
But it's a trap! The government gives Superman to Luthor, who puts him in a special prison dimension along with a hero named Metamorpho. Metamorpho can change his body into different materials, but Luthor is forcing him to help by threatening his baby son Joey. Luthor makes Metamorpho turn his hand into Kryptonite, which is the one thing that can hurt Superman and make him weak. Luthor wants to question Superman and prove that all aliens are dangerous.
While Superman is trapped, Luthor kills an innocent man who supported Superman, which horrifies Metamorpho. Metamorpho realizes Luthor is evil and helps Superman escape. Lois convinces Mister Terrific to help rescue them, and they all escape from Luthor's prison dimension. Superman goes to stay with his adoptive parents, Jonathan and Martha Kent, in Kansas to recover. His dad Jonathan gives him great advice, telling him that what matters isn't what his birth parents said, but the choices Superman makes himself.
Meanwhile, Luthor's assistant Eve Teschmacher (who secretly likes Jimmy Olsen, the photographer at the Daily Planet) finds evidence that Luthor was actually helping Boravia in the war so he could get half of Jarhanpur's land. When Luthor finds out she betrayed him, he locks her up and creates a dangerous portal that starts tearing the city in half.
This leads to the big final battle. Superman sends Green Lantern, Hawkgirl, and Metamorpho to stop the war in Jarhanpur (Hawkgirl ends up killing the bad president Ghurkos), while Superman and Mister Terrific fight the Engineer and Ultraman in Metropolis. Superman learns that Ultraman is actually a clone of himself that Luthor made, which is really disturbing. With Krypto's help, Superman defeats Ultraman by throwing him into a black hole. Mister Terrific stops the dangerous portal, and Krypto tackles Luthor to stop him from escaping.
In the end, Lois and Jimmy expose all of Luthor's crimes to the public, so everyone knows Superman was innocent all along. Luthor gets arrested, and all the people he had trapped are freed. Lois tells Superman she loves Clark Kent too (his secret identity), and at the very end, Superman's cousin Kara Zor-El (Supergirl) shows up drunk to pick up Krypto, which was pretty funny.
My Thoughts
I absolutely loved it! David Corenswet was perfect as Superman. He really captured that feeling of someone who's incredibly powerful but also kind and a little unsure of himself. He made Superman feel like a real person dealing with complicated problems, not just a perfect hero. Rachel Brosnahan was amazing as Lois Lane too. She wasn't just Superman's girlfriend - she was a tough reporter who asked hard questions and challenged him to be better.
But the real star villain was Nicholas Hoult as Lex Luthor. He was so creepy and smart, and you could really understand why he hated Superman so much. He wasn't just jealous of Superman's powers - he was angry that people loved Superman for being good when Luthor thought being smart and rich should be more important. Hoult made Luthor feel like a real threat, not just a cartoon villain.
What I really liked about this movie was how it didn't treat the audience like kids. It asked serious questions about whether superheroes should get involved in wars and politics. When Superman stopped that war, he thought he was helping, but it actually made things more complicated. The movie showed that even when you're trying to do good, you might accidentally cause problems.
The other heroes In the Justice Gang were all really fun. Green Lantern was kind of rude and overconfident, which made him funny. Hawkgirl was small but fierce, and she had a really interesting backstory about being reincarnated from an alien. Mister Terrific was super smart and had the coolest gadgets. Metamorpho was probably the most interesting because he could change his body into different elements, and his story about protecting his son was really touching.
Krypto the super-dog was absolutely adorable! He wasn't just a cute pet - he actually helped save the day and had his own personality. The scenes with him and Superman were some of my favorites because they showed Superman's gentler side.
The action scenes were incredible, especially the final battle where the city was literally split in half. The special effects were colorful and exciting, but they never felt like they were more important than the story or characters. James Gunn did a great job balancing the fun superhero stuff with the serious emotional moments.
I also really appreciated that this movie brought back the classic Superman costume with the red briefs. It looked both modern and classic at the same time. The music was fantastic too - they used a new version of the famous Superman theme from the old movies, which gave me chills every time I heard it.
Some people complained that the movie had too many characters, but I actually liked getting to see all these different heroes. It made the world feel bigger and more alive. Sure, it was a lot to keep track of sometimes, but each character felt important to the story.
The only small complaint I have is that some parts of the movie moved really fast, especially during the action scenes. Sometimes I wished it would slow down just a little bit so I could appreciate everything that was happening. But honestly, that's a pretty minor issue.
What really impressed me was how the movie handled Superman's identity as an immigrant. The story is basically about someone who came from another place and is trying to fit in and help his new home, even when people are suspicious of him. That felt really meaningful and relevant to today's world, even though some people got upset about the director talking about it.
The movie also did something really smart with the message from Superman's parents. It showed that just because your family tells you to do something doesn't mean you have to do it. Superman chose to be good because that's who he wanted to be, not because of what anyone else expected from him. That's a really important lesson for kids and adults.
Final Verdict
Overall, this Superman movie was everything I wanted it to be. It was fun, exciting, emotional, and meaningful all at the same time. It made me believe in Superman again and got me excited for more movies in this new DC Universe. David Corenswet proved he can carry on the Superman legacy, and James Gunn showed he understands what makes these characters special. If you like superhero movies, definitely go see this one. It's the kind of movie that reminds you why we love these stories in the first place.