ASHEVILLE, N.C. (828newsNOW) — “SUPERMAN” (2025, 130 min., directed by James Gunn)

Superman saves a squirrel in his new movie. It’s a small moment during a battle with a colossal lizard monster, and on paper, the rescue should have been outshined by later, greater acts of heroism, selflessness and bravery. And yet, witnessing that tiny moment where Superman takes heed of that tiny life, especially in a big-budget, CGI-loaded, major tentpole blockbuster, was special. This is a Superman who sees the value in every living creature and seeks justice for every imperiled person. This is a superhero movie with actual superheroics in mind.

David Corenswet, the new man in the cape, was the perfect pick for the job.

(Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures) David Corenswet is a picture-perfect Man of Steel in “Superman.”

Unlike the ultra-serious, steel-jawed Henry Cavill or Christopher Reeve’s infallible paragon, Corenswet’s Superman is defined not by his strength, but by his vulnerability. Corenswet looks the part soaring through the sky, but he exudes the character most when he cries. It is a remarkable thing to see the most powerful person on the planet display genuine hurt, frustration and shame. Even more incredible is that rather than take it out on the world around him – à la 2013’s misbegotten “Man of Steel” – this pseudo-god turns toward other people to find his strength again. Though Corenswet’s Clark Kent may fly above the people of Earth, he finds himself most comfortable when he stands among them.

There is a lot of “them” to reckon with in this film. Corenswet’s Superman is supported by a massive cast of supporting characters, including Krypto the Superdog, Nathan Fillion as a belligerent Green Lantern, Edi Gathegi as a scene-stealing Mr. Terrific, Isabela Merced as Hawkgirl, Anthony Carrigan as Metamorpho, Skyler Gisondo as Jimmy Olsen, Neva Howell and Pruitt Taylor Vince in tear-jerking sweetness as Ma and Pa Kent, and a perfectly cast Rachel Brosnahan as “The Daily Planet” investigative reporter – and Superman’s partner – Lois Lane.

(Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures) The ensemble cast of The Daily Bugle.
(Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures) Krypto, a superpowered dog, plays a pivotal role in “Superman.”
(Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures) Members of the tentatively named “Justice Gang” in “Superman.”

What is so special about “Superman” as a superhero film is that each of these characters has their own organic moment of heroism. Rather than operating as foils for the titular character, these allies are often coming to the rescue of Superman himself. What could be hackneyed instead bolsters writer-director James Gunn’s central theme of this Man of Tomorrow: Superman is super because of the community which surrounds him. Even if they aren’t members of the “Justice Gang,” each character on the side of the light is a hero in their own right. With that tenet baked into the film’s core text, even the expanded cast of Gunn’s newly-indoctrinated comic book universe feels naturalistic. Under his careful direction, every member of this cast feels essential to the story and to Superman himself.

It makes sense. After all, “Superman” is an immigrant story. Renamed Clark Kent by his adopted Kansan parents but born Kal-El on the distant planet of Krypton, Superman came to Earth seeking refuge in a foreign place. Like many who cross borders in search of a new home from the ashes of an old one, Superman is met with as much hostility and fear as he is acceptance. In Gunn’s film, true to the character in the comics, Superman can only manage this by leaning on and, in turn, propping up, the community around him.

(Courtesy: Warner Bros. Pictures) Nicholas Hoult’s Lex Luthor squares off against David Corenswet’s Superman in “Superman.”

The Big Blue Boy Scout is met with no greater opposition than that of egomaniacal tech billionaire and industrialist Lex Luthor, played in a superbly campy villain turn by Nicholas Hoult. Luthor, Superman’s classical comic book nemesis since 1940, feels no more dated in this film than the object of his affliction. The decadent debauchery of Hoult’s Luthor feels ripped straight from today’s headlines, and his conflict from Superman, largely waged over a Luthor-engineered invasion of a sovereign nation by a corrupt, militarized dictator state, is much the same.

For all the comic book silliness of Gunn’s film, which features a flying dog, a “pocket dimension,” the aforementioned giant monster and a whole league of superpowered “metahumans,” “Superman” makes an earnest attempt to grapple with issues of the real world with a fantastical character made to feel like a real man. While “Superman” can’t provide answers to reality’s greater evils – believe it or not, real-life geopolitical conflicts are frustratingly resistant to strategies like, say, closing an interdimensional black hole rift from the comfort of a flying control station – it does strongly suggest a philosophy for combatting the lesser: choose kindness. Attempt compassion. Remember to save the squirrels.

Rating: 5/5