David Corenswet’s Superman lacks spirit in James Gunn’s overstuffed franchise revival

🦸 A Franchise Reboot That Forgets Its Purpose

Superman: Legacy, the much-anticipated reboot directed by James Gunn, lands with a disheartening thud—more AI-generated pastiche than passionate revival. Rather than breathing life into DC’s flagship hero, the film suffers from a crisis of confidence, much like its lead character.

With David Corenswet in the cape—playing Superman with a square-jawed, robotic detachment—this reboot fails to deliver the charm, energy, or emotional weight that made Superman a timeless symbol of hope.

🎬 James Gunn’s Direction: Franchise Fatigue in Overdrive

After his acclaimed work on Guardians of the Galaxy, many hoped Gunn could inject humor, heart, and personality into DC’s faltering cinematic universe. Instead, Superman: Legacy feels weighed down by obligation, as if assembled by studio mandate rather than creative inspiration.

Gunn’s script is cluttered with too many characters, subplots, and callbacks, all trying desperately to reboot a brand while setting up future franchises. What’s missing? Purpose. Clarity. Joy.

🧍 Back to Basics? Not Even Close

This film had the opportunity to strip Superman back to his core: the alien infant from Krypton, raised with Kansas values, arriving like a space-age Moses to inspire a broken America. Instead, Legacy sidesteps that mythic, heartfelt simplicity in favor of busy world-building and bland existential musings.

It forgets why we loved Superman in the first place—not because he’s powerful, but because he’s good.

🧊 David Corenswet’s Superman: Charisma Vacuum

Corenswet may look the part, but his Superman is emotionally inert, lacking the awe, warmth, or vulnerability that Christopher Reeve and even Henry Cavill managed to channel at times.

Rather than making Superman feel iconic or aspirational, this portrayal renders him robotic and forgettable—a hero more fitting for an AI-generated ad than a big-screen revival.

🏁 Final Verdict: A Heartless Legacy

Superman: Legacy is a missed opportunity—a film caught between rebooting the past and laying groundwork for a cinematic future no one asked for. It offers little in the way of excitement, wonder, or soul.

This isn’t a fresh start. It’s a soulless echo of better stories, reminding us not why Superman matters, but why the DC Universe continues to struggle.