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James Gunn’s Superman opens mid-flight. There’s no origin story, no slow build-up. The world already knows who Superman is, and superheroes and metahumans are part of everyday life. It’s a confident starting point, skipping the familiar beats in favour of immediate momentum. But that choice comes with a cost. Without a firmer foundation, the film can feel rushed — even a little emotionally detached.

There’s a real sense of enthusiasm in how Gunn approaches the material. This is a comic book movie through and through — colourful, fast-moving, and loaded with humour. That energy keeps the film afloat. Still, it doesn’t always know when to ease off. Just when a scene starts to build emotional weight, it’s undercut by a visual gag, a quip, or a sudden pivot into action. It’s not that humour doesn’t belong here, but the pacing rarely allows the film’s more serious ideas to land with the necessary impact.

David Corenswet makes a nice impression. He brings warmth and sincerity to Superman, and the performance reflects a hero guided by compassion and, perhaps to his own detriment, naivety. There’s even a gentle sense of vulnerability. Still, Clark Kent is kept too far in the background. We don’t see enough of the quieter, grounded side of the character — leaving us with more of the concept, rather than a multifaceted character.

Rachel Brosnahan is strong as Lois Lane. She gives the role intelligence and drive, and her version of Lois feels like a journalist through and through — someone for whom reporting isn’t just a job, but a core part of who she is. A standout scene early on has Lois interviewing Superman face-to-face — one of the few moments the film slows down for restraint and character-driven focus. Their romantic relationship, though, doesn’t quite connect. It’s there in the script, but the chemistry feels tentative. Sweet in places; not entirely convincing.

Nicholas Hoult plays Lex Luthor with a simmering, self-satisfied intensity. He’s at his most entertaining when things start slipping out of his control. But the film keeps his motivations vague for too long. When we finally get them, an exposition dump reveals a surprisingly thin approach to the villainy. While Hoult’s performance carries weight, the character, when all is said and done, doesn’t.

The supporting cast is where the film begins to lose definition. Edi Gathegi brings presence and dry wit to Mr. Terrific, while Nathan Fillion is reliably amusing as the brash, scene-stealing Guy Gardner. Others, however, feel more like background dressing. Isabela Merced’s Hawkgirl, for example, serves little narrative purpose beyond filling out the so-called “Justice Gang” — a name the film is determined to undercut with jabs. Jimmy Olsen (Skyler Gisondo) doesn’t fare much better, saddled with a subplot about girl troubles that lands with a thud, offering neither laughs nor momentum. It’s not that the performances are lacking; the issue lies in the sheer number of characters crammed in. With so many introductions and so little time, few of them register beyond the surface.

Krypto, as many will no doubt have surmised from the marketing, is a delight. The super-dog barrels through scenes with chaotic energy, managing to be both destructive and endearing. Gunn uses him sparingly, which keeps the character from becoming a gimmick. He adds just the right amount of charm.

The action is mostly well crafted, with sequences that are slickly choreographed and clear to follow. Gunn gives them a good jolt of energy, even if some of those camera moves get a little too hyperactive for their own good. Visually, the film embraces an ultra-vibrant palette, leaning into bold colour and heightened style. The CG follows suit — bright, stylised, and often quite fun to look at. But there’s also a cartoon-like quality to it all that, while in keeping with the tone Gunn’s aiming for, tends to take the edge off. It’s engaging on the surface, but rarely leaves a dent emotionally.

The film does reach for bigger ideas — politics, morality, accountability, the loneliness of being the one expected to do the right thing. It even touches on how quickly public opinion can be manipulated, and how online narratives can turn heroes into villains overnight. There are real things presented here. The problem is, the film doesn’t sit with these ideas long enough to explore them. They’re introduced, nodded at, then pushed aside as the plot barrels forward.

As a reset for the DC Universe, Superman does enough to get things moving. It introduces a refreshingly sincere version of the character, sketches out a world with clear potential, and mostly holds together as a piece of energetic pop spectacle. Unfortunately, it’s also a bit too cluttered and tonally inconsistent. Still, Gunn has delivered an often likeable film — a promising, if uneven, starting point for what comes next.