Well, Warner Bros. and DC Comics studios were not kidding when they signed on James Gunn to deliver something different to restart their comic book movie franchise. His ‘Superman’ is not really like any other rendition of the character while simultaneously capturing what’s essentially so appealing about him as a hero for all times. The film has extremely heavy pressure as it’s meant to lay the groundwork for Gunn’s vision of the DC universe. Despite these expectations, a few quibbles aside, its bright, colorful, pop-art take keeps the movie from ever becoming a slog and executes the rebrand effortlessly.

‘Superman’ is absolutely packed with supporting characters and an assortment of additional heroes and villains, which work in ways both positive and negative. It opens with a clever text scroll using a “3” theme (3 centuries ago . . . 3 decades ago . . . Etc.) that efficiently sets up that powered beings have existed on this planet for a long time, Superman has been here, revealed himself, and very recently has lost his first battle. Cue the opening of the teaser trailer featuring a bruised and battered Kal-El (David Corenswet) dragged to the safety of his hidden arctic fortress. It’s immediately apparent that the tone has shifted from previous incarnations when despite the dire situation, there are comic renditions of characters from the funny books that have never been featured due to perceived silliness, like Krypto the Super Dog and the numbered robot caretakers. They really are silly, but they’re also great and welcome additions as a balm to the self-seriousness of something like 2013’s ‘Man of Steel.’

Once he’s all healed up by concentrated sunshine, he immediately gets back in the fray, flying at the speed of sound with a huge smile on his face. The audience smiles right with him. In Gunn’s hands though, the audience will also be taut and fraught for the rest of the movie’s runtime. In his indubitable way, the fun and humor are perfectly balanced with the violence and emotional heft. During this extended slugfest sequence, Lex Luthor is introduced as a tech billionaire with tons of staff minions, orchestrating the battle like a video game from a control room in LexCorp tower. He’s played by Nicholas Hoult with a petulant scowl and bugged out eyes, insanely driven to destroying this outsider by any means necessary, physically, mentally, and emotionally. They use every modern tool, real and imagined, from social media troll blitzes to pocket dimension prisons. Lex also employs a few meta humans himself, The Engineer and Ultraman, characters that definitely aid in defining him as a serious threat, but suffer from weak characterization. This is especially the case with The Engineer, her presentation a complete 180 from the comic source, “The Authority” where she’s a hero.

‘Superman’ would not be Superman without alter ego Clark Kent and his reporter role at The Daily Planet. Here is where introductions to the supporting cast start to get a bit too sprawling, but the setups for stalwarts Lois Lane (a pitch-perfect modern rendition by Rachel Brosnahan) and Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo, fresh off ‘The Righteous Gemstones’) are pretty interesting. Post Planet introductory scene, there’s a great extended “interview” sequence between Lois and Clark that evokes and upends the classic “My Night With Superman” from the ‘78 film. Gunn chooses to frame this referencing the fact that the two are already dating for a short period of time and Lois is aware of his secret identity. Superman has gotten some heat recently regarding his interference in global affairs, and the back and forth challenge by Lois is really fun and provocative. It’s her journalistic duty to challenge Clark’s assertion of righteousness, but it’s also a conflict as Lois is starting to get to know his true heart and character. The two actors handle this scene so deftly, selling the newness of this relationship, bantering effectively, yet never deifying either party, in stark contrast to previous presentations of the relationship. It’s refreshing and sets the groundwork for the challenges and victories these two face later in the film.

The movie starts to get overstuffed during its second act, introducing even more heroes and conflicts. Gunn and Co. are still able to juggle all these various balls while sidelining Supes a bit. While these scenes help to flesh out more of the cast and there are some really bravura portions (looking at you, Edi Gathegi as the calm and cool Mr.Terrific, a lesser known DC hero), the absence of the charismatic title character is really felt. It’s a testament to the work pulled off by Corenswet, a relative unknown before he was cast. To say he nails it is an understatement, as this is most certainly the best take and performance since Christopher Reeve. Not only is he able to work well with the rest of the cast, he’s adept at reacting against a multitude of CGI, an absolute must in today’s superhero moviescape. The tagline for 1978’s ‘Superman: The Movie’ was “you will believe a man can fly” – the tagline to 2025’s version could’ve been “you will believe a man can love a computer generated, misbehaving, super-powered dog” . . .

Written & Directed By: James Gunn

Rated: PG-13

Running Time: 129 min.

Ashlee’s * * * 1/2 (out of 4 stars) -OR- B+