For those of us of a certain age, Batman will always be Christian Bale from the Dark Knight Series and Superman will always be Christopher Reeve. The former managed to be in that rare thing—a popular trilogy—and the latter is still loved by audiences despite the studio turning the later series into dumb comedy.
I found the Justice League films in the DC Extended Universe, which were trying to compete with Marvel, reasonably entertaining because of the gathering of heroes and their friendly or otherwise byplay. I thought Henry Cavill as Superman and Ben Afleck as Batman were tolerable largely because of Jason Momoa as Aquaman and Gal Gadot as Wonder Woman. Some of the camaraderie of the Avengers seemed to have rubbed off on them, but the later films did not live up to the promise.
Now the DC Universe is bringing Superman back again for another try. It remains to be seen if they will screw this up, but the public seems to accept David Corenswet as Superman, though the critics are not sure. It is the public, of course, who decide, as always, by talking their friends into seeing the movie. Mainly what sinks Superman movies is the backstory baggage it carries. We know entirely too much about the man after reading the comics, watching him on TV, and seeing him on film literally all our lives. The 2025 version of Superman wisely covers his life story as quickly as possible and drops in on him in mid-story.
Superman (David Corenswet) in his secret identity Clark Kent has been around for three years. Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnathan), Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo), and Perry White (Wendell Pierce) are there. Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) and his moll Eve Teschmacher (Sara Sampaio) are the main villains. This Lex Luthor is more believable as the villain than many of his predecessors, and Eve Teschmacher is actually fun and not too stupid. There are several henchmen.
What is new is a set of superpowered allies for Superman—Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi), Hawkgirl (Isabella Merced), Metamorpho (Anthony Carigan), and Green Lantern (the fan-favorite Nathan Fillion). They have likable personalities, and Hawkgirl is pretty terrifying. But the main sidekick is Krypto the Wonder Dog (Jolene). When I was a kid, I would skip the Superman comic if I saw Krypto on the cover because I saw the mutt as an example of what I considered the lack of seriousness in the comics. (I was and remain a Marvel snob.) I thought Superman spent entirely too much time hiding his Clark Kent identity from Lois Lane instead of defending Earth from powerful enemies. Many of the movies, I notice, have skipped over the identity problem by letting Lois in on the secret, as does this one.
But somehow, Krypto is not dumb, he is too smart for his own good, actually, and a major pain in Superman’s butt. Audiences are taking to him in a big way. And what is important, they are liking David Corenswet—not as deeply as they loved Christopher Reeve as. Superman, of course. Even now, you can see clips of Reeve as Superman on TV, flying through the clouds, looking into your eyes and smiling warmly, and your heart goes out to him. I think Krypto, who was modelled after James Gunn’s dog, goes a long way toward making Superman likable. Who hasn’t had a pet who was a pain in the ass, but you loved anyway?
There is a plot, of course. Superman has stopped an invasion by the nation Moravia into Jarhanpur. Lex Luthor is using this to kill Superman, who is nearly killed by Ultraman in disguise, Krypto rescues Superman and takes him back to the Fortress of Solitude to be healed. Luthor invades the fortress and finds something to blackmail Superman. He also kidnaps his dog. Now you really hate him.
Thanks to Luthor, the public turns against Superman, who is imprisoned in a pocket dimension. He comes up against kryptonite and battles a Kaiju escaped from some Japanese movie. Luthor creates a black hole that threatens to eat Metropolis. Yada, yada. Luthor gets his comeuppance and Superman retires to his Fortress of Solitude, where Supergirl (Millie Alcock) pops up in time to advertise her own upcoming movie.. But what really matters to the studio heads is whether the public will enjoy spending a couple hours with David Corenswet and go home smiling. The critics probably don’t have much to say about it.. There is plenty of candy for the fans—huge spectacles, long vicious fights, and though I hate to admit it, I thought the dog pretty much stole the picture.