"Best Superman movie to date": Early reviews say DC Universe is in good hands

People have finally set their eyes on James Gunn’s much-anticipated Superman movie, and the reviews are overwhelmingly positive. After the Los Angeles premiere on Monday night, movie critics, influencers, and other members of the media made their feelings on the movie known on social media.

Superman is out on July 11 worldwide, this Thursday. It features David Corenswet as the man in blue and red. Rachel Brosnahan plays Lois Lane, Nicholas Hoult is Lex Luthor, Skyler Gisondo is Jimmy Olsen, Isabela Merced is Hawkgirl, Beck Bennett is Steve Lombard, Anthony Carrigan is Metamorpho, Edi Gathegi is Mr. Terrific, and Nathan Fillion is Guy Gardner.

The early reactions praise the story, the cast, and the direction, but most importantly, the way the movie wears its heart on its sleeve.

Fandango’s Erik Davis called Superman a “perfect superhero movie” and a “terrific start for the new DC Studios.” He added that Gunn has gone out of his way to shake up the fans’ expectations while remaining true to a classic Superman story. Gathegi’s Mr. Terrific earned mentions in several reviews, including Davis’:

Brosnahan's Lois Lane also seems to be an immediate fan favorite:

Collider’s Perri Nemiroff said, “David Corenswet brings such an infectious determination and warmth to the role that it makes that pursuit all-consuming and impossibly heartening.”

Grace Randolph, who has been critical of Gunn in the past, labeled the movie “not perfect, but darn close,” and the best Superman movie to date:

Erik Voss of “New Rockstars” called Superman the most “boldly served” superhero flick since Sam Raimi’s Spider-Man 2. “The DC Universe is in good hands,” Voss assures fans:

He added that the movie defies the aversion to earnestness that infected comic book movies after 2008, the year Iron Man and The Dark Knight came out:

Matt “Supes” Ramos said, “It’s the movie the world needs right now.”

Here are some more early reviews of the movie.

Superman scores big on Rotten Tomatoes

Reviews are also being aggregated by sites like Rotten Tomatoes, where Superman currently has a score of 85% fresh, with 181 reviews counted. That's very solid. Here's a sampling of some of the good to mixed reviews:

• Inverse: "Visually bombastic and narratively indulgent to the point of near-overstimulation. From the first frame of the wildly colorful and tooth-achingly earnest comic book epic, it’s clear Gunn’s love for Superman is so abundant that it threatens to overflow."
• The Jam Report: "Hopeful without being corny, modern without feeling desperate, and expansive without being incoherent, it's a genuinely rousing return to form and one that starts this new era of DC Studios in style."
• The A.V. Club: "Superman delivers a simple, potent message: You don’t need X-ray vision to see people as people."
• Associated Press: "Something quite rare in the assembly line-style of superhero moviemaking today: human."
• The New York Post: "What’s best about Gunn’s movie is its laser-focused on relatable characters. This is no puzzle piece in a universe or a loud series of action set pieces."

So the press is very good, but there are some negative reviews out there. In the interest of providing a rounded perspective, here are a few to check out:

• San Francisco Chronicle: "Superman” is a mess, but it’s a colorful one. It’s either a terrible superhero movie or an OK parody, take your pick."
• The Times: "Gunn approaches the nerdosphere’s most celebrated property like a giddy amnesiac who has missed the precipitous rise and fall of multi-character Marvel superhero movies and is instead stuck somewhere in the early 2010s."
• The Daily Beast: "A would-be franchise re-starter that resembles a Saturday morning cartoon come to overstuffed, helter-skelter life."

Superman inspires backlash amidst glowing reviews

Superman marks Gunn’s first DC film since he took over creative control of the studio alongside Peter Safran in October 2022. He directed 2021's Suicide Squad and its John Cena-led spinoff, Peacemaker. That show’s second season is due out in August. He will also direct a Supergirl movie starring Milly Alcock, set to release in 2026.

The positive reviews flood in amid backlash regarding some of Gunn’s latest comments. In an interview with The Sunday Times of London, Gunn called Superman “an immigrant that came from other places,” sparking outrage among some fans. This came in the wake of the hateful comments that Gunn and Co. have faced for allegedly replacing Zack Snyder, the previous steward of the DC Cinematic Universe and Henry Cavill, the last guy to play Superman.

Canonically, Clark Kent is an alien, his real name is Kal-El, and he hails from Krypton. When his planet was obliterated, he was sent away by his biological parents and landed on Earth as a baby. A loving couple in Smallville, Kansas, adopts him.

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