“Superman” review: David Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan soar, but the script is kryptonite

The James Gunn era at DC Comics begins, but "Superman" is less super-powered than we'd hoped.

The latest version of the caped hero from Krypton has finally arrived, marking the start of the James Gunn era at DC Studios. It's got a superb bunch of actors — anchored by its exquisitely cast trio of David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, and Nicholas Hoult. But no amount of super-strength can lift the gifted actors from the muddled mess of Gunn's script.

Gunn chooses to forgo another Superman origin story, which seems wise taken at face value. Instead, we're plunged into a story where Superman (Corenswet) has just lost his first fight after three years defending Earth. Superman has fallen to a figure dubbed the Boravian Hammer, who is really more a billion-dollar LARP suit controlled by Lex Luthor (Hoult).

This Superman, out July 11, isn't about a hero discovering who he is; it's about a hero discovering why his humanity, the core of who he is, is his best asset. If only that narrative weren't mired in paper-thin geopolitics, a carousel of characters whose names we barely have time to register, and an assumption that superhero shorthand will do the work of good story development.

Superman feels like the second or third entry in a franchise where new characters and increasingly wild twists are thrown at the hero for lack of inspiration. Hardly what one might expect from what's been touted as the calling card of a new era of the DC-Warner Bros. partnership.

Superman is backed up by a cadre of other metahumans, known as the Justice Gang (*maybe) —Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), but we learn little about them beyond their powers (which include snarky one-liners).

Lois Lane (Brosnahan) and Clark Kent are already dating (and she is familiar with the secret of his identity, eliminating any stakes in that respect). But half of the fun of that relationship is watching it blossom. As we saw on The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Brosnahan has the makings of an ideal girl Friday, a zippy, fast-talking, wisecracking reporter. Very little of that gets to shine through here, with "not really being good at relationships" being her defining character trait. (Why? There's no time to explain it beyond being a quick way to establish conflict between the lovers.)

Indeed, there is dismayingly little of the Daily Planet here, particularly of Clark Kent's role within it (which is a shame since Corenswet is the first Superman since Christopher Reeve to nail the adorable nerdiness and effortless charm of Superman's alter ego). Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo in yet another stroke of genius casting) gets a fun side-plot investigating Lex Luthor, but the verdant possibilities of the role of journalism and media in the story are side-stepped for TV reporter montages and winky cameos (perhaps that in and of itself is a commentary on the modern state of journalism).

Corenswet is a marvel as Superman/Clark Kent, seemingly born for the role (remarks upon his resemblance to Reeve far predate his casting). He layers a patina of boyish charm with a quiet intensity and intelligence, making Superman's All-American, cornfed upbringing a symbol of his genuine decency. He believably plays Superman's earnestness and kindness, leaning into the traits that could make the character feel old-fashioned in a cynical world. We don't deserve his Superman, but we sure as hell need him.

There are clear parallels to contemporary politics here, with Lex Luthor mounting a smear campaign against Superman's identity as an "alien," someone who doesn't belong. What has made Superman endure culturally since 1938 is his humanity — his fallibility and compassion — a fact which Corenswet gets to elucidate in a moving, climactic speech.

Superman's foil comes in Hoult's Lex Luthor, a man proudly consumed by envy, who, as Lois deduces, wants to be king (who said comic book allegory needed to be subtle?). Hoult joins Brosnahan and Corenswet in ceding character beats and development to a chaotic, teeming plot.

On The Great, Hoult played narcissistic villainy with a deranged glee — there are shades of that here, but he never gets the chance to fully unleash it. And forget about any explanations of LexCorp's rise, or purpose, as well as any sense of why Luthor hates Superman. Gunn relies on the fact that the audience knows who these characters are and what they stand for, forsaking interpersonal storytelling for a shorthand that diminishes the gifts of his stellar cast.

While the action scenes are fun, well-staged, and thrillingly photographed set pieces, they are also erratic, cutting between a fight and Luthor's crew of IT staff pulling the strings. Why do these people and his own metahuman, The Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría), subsume their humanity for him? Unclear.

It's the quieter scenes that shimmer with the greatness of what this could've been — an argument between Clark and Lois in the guise of an interview, a heart-to-heart between Clark and his Earth father, Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince). In these (sadly few) moments, we see Superman's singular humanity and universal foibles, his charisma and virtue glimmering with all the facets of the gem that he is.

In these moments, we also bear witness to the genuine, crackling chemistry between Brosnahan and Corenswet. Their kissing scenes are more electric and sensual than many more intimate scenes in recent cinema. The swoon-worthy element of the Lois and Clark relationship is potent once more, if only there were more scenes that let it soar.

Want more movie news? Sign up for Entertainment Weekly's free newsletter to get the latest trailers, celebrity interviews, film reviews, and more.

For all of Superman's messiness, one has to praise Gunn for restoring light, humor, and romance to the DC universe. His signature quippy wit injects welcome levity to this world that, at its core, is, and should always be, fun. That's particularly evident in Gunn's knack for creating unforgettable animal sidekicks, which comes here in the form of superdog, Krypto.

Superman's scruffy mutt is instantly relatable for any dog owner who has pleaded with their pup to "leave it" in vain (thankfully, we don't have to coax our pets to drop super-powered technology). Gunn gives Krypto all the cute, frustrating traits of the best of man's best friends, furthering Superman's compassion and the film's playfulness.

Buried under heavy-handed shots of children awaiting Superman's salvation, scientifically opaque explanations of a pocket universe, and an ensemble of characters large enough to populate a Kansas small town, there are flickers of a good, maybe even great, movie.

Whether Gunn fell victim to the kryptonite of excessive studio notes, his desire to populate the film with his stalwart company of actors, or the hubris of not needing to offer reasons to be invested in these characters beyond the mere fact of their existence is unclear. Because there is an unquestionable love for the material and a passion for the goofier, larger-than-life scenarios of comic book lore.

With a cast this excellent, there's a capacity for something truly super in a future film — if only Gunn chooses to put the characters' humanity first. Grade: B-