For the third time in 20 years, the Superman franchise gets a big-screen reboot. This leads us to 2025’s Superman, the first self-titled entry since the 1978 classic.

Three years into his stint as a public hero, Superman (David Corenswet) suffers a brutal defeat at the hands of a powerful being called the Hammer of Boravia. Ostensibly an arm of the repressive government of Boravia, instead it turns out mega-tycoon Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) controls the Hammer – really named “Ultraman”- and uses him to topple Superman for his own purposes.

This leads Superman on a quest to stop Luthor and also to create peace in Boravia. Scandal haunts Superman when Luthor manages to uncover evidence his Kryptonian parents sent him to Earth to rule its inhabitants instead of to serve them and this undercuts his ability to do his job.

As noted at the start, this 2025 Superman marks our third franchise reboot since the Christopher Reeve franchise ended in 1987. Actually, 2006’s Superman Returns went an unusual route and became a weird form of sequel to 1981’s Superman II that pretended 1983’s Superman III and 1987’s Superman IV never existed.

That approach didn’t click so the series went back to the drawing board via 2013’s Man of Steel. That one did well at the box office but never brought a true sequel, as subsequent “DC Extended Universe” Superman adventures came with other members of the Justice League.

Which felt like a lack of confidence in Superman as the primary lead. Though we saw Supes in other DCEU flicks, this 2025 tale becomes the first solely about him.

Well, sort of. Apparently no superhero movies can come with only one protagonist and one villain, and the 2025 Superman sticks to that pattern.

In an objective sense, I don’t much like this approach. If I see a Superman film, I’d prefer it to focus on that role and have him battle one foe without other distractions.

Granted, even the Reeve flicks deviated from the “one hero/one baddie” pattern as early as Superman II. While the 1978 flick pitted Superman only against Lex Luthor, the sequel expanded to include a trio of renegade Kryptonians and the other two Reeve flicks also expanded the “villain-verse”.

That said, they only included Superman as the hero. Though not mentioned in my synopsis, the 2025 film actively involves the “Justice Gang”, a group that features Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced) and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi).

Also, the villain base expands even beyond Luthor and Ultraman. In addition to Luthor’s personal army, the Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría) uses nanotechnology for Lex’s evil purposes.

As much as I theoretically prefer Superman vs. one villain, the different elements of the 2025 film work well enough to make it a winner. It probably helps that the Justice Gang members add consistent value to the proceedings.

Especially Mr. Terrific, as thanks to a… terrific performance from Gathegi, he turns into the film’s breakout character. Gathegi gives Mr. Terrific a Blaxploitation swagger that means he delights every time we see him.

Other cast members fare well too. Hoult turns the megalomanical Luthor into a very 2020s “tech bro” and that makes sense for this era, while Rachel Brosnahan gives Lois Lane the right bite and intelligence without the whiny brattiness of Returns’ Kate Bosworth.

Amy Adams played Man of Steel’s Lois and just seemed far too nice and kind-hearted to portray the ruthless and cynical reporter. Brosnahan gives us the best Lois since the Reeve series’ Margot Kidder.

Given the shadow Reeve casts over the franchise, each new Superman must fill big shoes. Because it acted as a continuation of the Reeve flicks, Returns’ Brandon Routh essentially impersonated Reeve.

And he did a pretty good job. However, Routh still wasn’t Reeve so he came across like a tribute band Superman.

In the aftermath of the Dark Knight trilogy’s success, Man of Steel made Superman much more of a somber and grim character. Some fans liked this but I didn’t. Henry Cavill did what he was asked to do but he never “felt like Superman”, as he just lacked the necessary warmth and “gee whiz” charm.

Corenswet finds a sweet spot. He doesn’t impersonate Reeve but he displays the same kind of gentle good-spirited vibe we want from such an earnest hero.

Not that Corenswet makes Superman an innocent and naïve farmboy. He brings some mild anger and irritation to the role that we didn’t really see in the Reeve version.

This doesn’t mean the Corenswet Superman delivers some kind of snarky ironic bad boy, though. Indeed, the character’s willingness to show a little temper and moodiness reminds us that he grew up among humans and isn’t always going to be totally above the fray and without “regular emotions”.

And the Corenswet Superman remains a total do-gooder who genuinely believes in truth and justice. This extends to a scene that apparently prompted eye-rolling among some fans.

During a major battle, Superman briefly stops to remove a squirrel from harm’s way. In the eyes of some, this was beneath him and a distraction from the fight at hand.

I loved this brief moment, though, as it demonstrated Superman’s desire to protect all living creatures, and not just humans. It also acts as a stark contrast to the rampant destruction the role caused in Man of Steel.

That film’s climax involved so much mayhem that it seems clear many humans died as Superman battled similarly powered Kryptonian foe Zod. Sure, one could argue that these ancillary casualties were unavoidable in Superman’s fight to prevent even greater calamity.

Nonetheless, this part of Steel goes so far that the follow-up – 2016’s Batman v. Superman: Dawn of Justice used it as a plot point to set up Batman’s antagonism toward Superman. Like the Reeve version, the Superman of 2025 goes out of his way to protect life, even squirrels, and I find that absolutely delightful.

As I feel about Superman 2025 as a whole. It becomes a lively mix of action, drama, comedy and emotion to reboot the franchise on a highly winning note.

Footnote: a very brief tag early in the end credits and a longer – and funny - clip at the very finish of the reel.

Superman appears in an aspect ratio of 1.90:1 on this 4K UHD Disc. As expected, this became a terrific Dolby Vision presentation.

At all times, sharpness appeared positive. I thought the image seemed accurate and well-defined from start to finish, with virtually no signs of softness on display. I noticed no signs of shimmering or jaggies, and the movie lacked any print flaws.

Like most other modern action flicks, V3 favored stylized colors, and as usual, those colors tended toward teal with some amber/orange at times too. Given the visual choices, the tones looked positive and HDR added a little zing to the colors.

Blacks were always deep and tight. Shadows seemed clear and appropriately opaque.

HDR brought power to whites and contrast as well. The 4K UHD became a strong reproduction of the film.

Downconverted to Dolby TrueHD 7.1, the movie’s Dolby Atmos mix used all the channels in a lively, involving manner. Various violent elements popped up from all around the room and delivered a smooth, engrossing soundscape.

This meant nearly constant material from the surrounds. The back speakers delivered a high level of information and created a great sense of place in that domain. All of this melded together in a vivid, satisfying manner.

Audio quality was also strong. Music seemed full and bold, while speech was consistently natural and crisp.

Effects became the most prominent component, of course, and packed a solid punch, with positive clarity and range. The audio of Superman delivered the goods.

Nine video programs appear, and Adventures in the Making of Superman spans 58 minutes, 58 seconds. It offers notes from writer/director James Gunn, production designer Beth Mickle, costume designer Judianna Makovsky, director of photography Henry Braham, producer Peter Safran, Superman creator's grandsons James and Michael Larson, and actors David Corenswet, Rachel Brosnahan, Nicholas Hoult, Skyler Gisondo, Pruitt Taylor Vince, Wendell Pierce, Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk.

The show covers Gunn's history with Superman and what brought him to this project as well as costumes/hair, cast and performances, visual design, stunts and action, photography, sets and locations. It mixes traditional interviews with a production diary format to become an effective and engaging look at the production.

Breaking News lasts five minutes, 26 seconds. The reel involves Gunn, Brosnahan, Pierce, Gisondo, Safran, Mickle, Corenswet, James and Michael Larson, and executive producer Chantal Nong Vo.

We learn about the recreation of the Daily Planet location. The reel mixes facts and fluff.

With The Mind of a Master Villain, we locate a five-minute, 22-second piece. It comes with info from Gunn, Hoult, Safran, Corenswet, and actors María Gabriela de Faría and Anthony Carrigan.

The show covers a few villainous characters. It doesn't really tell us much.

The Justice Gang runs 10 minutes, 31 seconds. Here we discover remarks from Gunn, Fillion, Safran, Makovsky, Carrigan, Hoult, Vo, effects artists Shane Mahan and Darnell Isom, and actors Edi Gathegi and Isabela Merced.

Unsurprisingly, the featurette digs into aspects of the Justice Gang. Despite some of the usual happy talk, we get a nice array of insights as well.

Next comes Paws to Pixels. In this five-minute, 48-second featurette, we get statements from Gunn, Corenswet, Vo, VFX supervisor Stephane Ceretti, and actor Murphy Weed.

The design and creation of Krypto comes to the fore here. "Pixels" goes over these domains in an efficient manner.

The Ultimate Villain occupies five minutes, eight seconds. The show gives us material from Gunn, Hoult, Corenswet, Safran, Vo, Ceretti, Legacy Effects studio manager Damon Weathers, mould maker Cary Lee, supervising stunt coordinator Wayne Dalglish, and fight coordinator Micah Karns.

We hear about the Ultraman role. It gives us another combo of insights and puffy material, though it leans toward the former.

After this, we head to Icons Forever. During this six-minute, seven-second piece, we hear from Gunn, Corenswet, Brosnahan, Hoult, and Pierce.

"Icons" brings a general look at the Superman universe. It doesn't come with much substance.

A New Era fills four minutes, 43 seconds. We locate info from Gunn, Corenswet, Brosnahan, Safran, Hoult, Fillion, Merced, Gisondo, Carrigan, Mickle, Vo, Supergirl director Craig Gillespie, Supergirl writer Ana Nogueira, and executive producers Nikolas Korda and Lars P. Winther.

Gunn and Safran's reinvention of the DC cinematic universe becomes the subject here. We get a lot of praise and not much else.

For the last featurette, we go to Kryptunes. It lasts six minutes, 34 seconds and involves Gunn and composers David Fleming and John Murphy.

As implied by the title, we learn about the movie's music. "Kryptunes" turns into a worthwhile overview.

The set ends with an animated short called School Bus Scuffle that lasts five minutes, 33 seconds and focuses on Krypto. It offers a cute and comedic reel.

In an annoying move, the download version of the film includes a full-length audio commentary. I’ll update the review after I get a chance to screen it, though I think it stinks that folks who drop money for this disc can’t access it there.

Another update on the legendary hero, this 2025 Superman becomes the most satisfying rendition of the character in decades. The movie mixes action, comedy and heart in a manner that brings the Man of Steel into the 2020s but still feels true to his roots. The 4K UHD boasts excellent picture and audio as well as a positive roster of bonus features. I look forward to the movie's 2027 sequel.