'Superman' was SUPER GOOD!

Whether you're Team Marvel or Team DC, ever since Avengers: Endgame, superhero fans like myself have been clinging to any ounce of hope that the next release will give us that “we are so back” feeling.

Well, after seeing Superman, I can confidently say:  We are so back.

I felt a little flicker of that after Guardians of the Galaxy Vol. 3, and even more with Deadpool & Wolverine, but this movie hits like nothing else recently.

Growing up watching superhero movies, this film reminded me why I fell in love with the genre in the first place. It wasn’t the explosions or the wild plots. For me, it was always the feeling I got when I left the theater—that maybe I could be a superhero too. Not with powers, but with perseverance. And this movie really gave me that feeling again.

Now don’t get me wrong—I loved the Avengers movies, and Endgame was fantastic. And I am a HUGE 2016 Suicide Squad apologist (Harley Quinn supremacy forever). But this? This was just so nice.

This is how I imagine people must have felt when the original Superman movies came out. It was just such a good, wholesome film. It captured the way Superman was originally meant to be seen: as a genuinely good guy. No morally gray area, no complicated antihero arc—just someone trying to do the right thing.

And after two decades of dark, brooding, gritty superhero content… this felt refreshing. It felt hopeful.

I don’t know if there’s an official term for it, but I’ve been calling it “superhero realism.” That’s when superhero stories try to ground themselves in reality—dark, dramatic, often stripped of whimsy. (Side note: I’m currently writing a novel in this exact vein, so no shade.) But this film? It was just good, old-fashioned superhero storytelling. Fun, inspiring, sincere. And the message at its core? Just be a good person.

As for the technical stuff—cinematography, pacing, overall vibe? Immaculate. The film got silly at times, but never so much that it distracted from the story. It was, simply put, a great time at the movies. No exhausting 2.5-hour info-dump of worldbuilding just to connect it to eight other films. (I’m looking at you, Marvel.)

Side note: I’m horrified to realize I’m now the same age as the adult characters in superhero movies. I’m a teenager at heart. How did this happen?! (Okay, I just turned 24. I’m in denial.)

Also, Lex Luthor reminded me of my ex boyfriend. Mainly because he’s bald and arrogant.

In conclusion: this movie has officially made my top 10 of the year. I highly recommend it—and I’ll likely see it again.