Superman (2025) - 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray

The first Superman film I saw in theaters was Superman IV: The Quest for Peace. That was 1987, and I was almost five years old at that time. It’d be two decades before another live-action film reached the screens in the form of Superman Returns. In the nearly two decades since that film, we have had the solid Man of Steel, the clunky chunky Batman v. Superman (granted, the R-rated cut was much better, but it’s still a chonker), the woeful Joss Whedon cut of Justice League, and the far better but still very flawed Zach Snyder’s Justice League. I’m not going to count that crappy cameo in Black Adam as a proper Superman appearance. Now we’re back on the big screen for James Gunn’s studio relaunch for the latest live-action cinematic telling of the Last Son of Krypton, Superman. How is it? Pretty damned good, I’d say. Perfect? No. That honor still belongs to Superman: The Movie and Superman II. But this is the first comic film in a while where it feels like we're being pulled into the pages of our favorite Superhero story rather than yanking them into our gritty "grounded" real world. 

Distinguishing itself from the past cinematic Men of Tomorrow, 2025’s Superman treats the story as if we’re opening a comic book off the rack mid-story. We find Superman/Kal-El (David Corenswet) on his back, facing his first loss in battle in the three years he’s been saving the world. Back home in Metropolis as Clark Kent, he’s trying to navigate something of an everyday life with his career as a reporter for The Daily Planet and managing his tense romance with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan). Meanwhile, Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is orchestrating the final stages of his master plan to destroy Superman once and for all. Luckily, Superman has some help thanks to Justice Gang members Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion), Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi), and Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), along with every Kryptonian’s best buddy, Krypto the Superdog. 

So, as the film’s initial jolt into the plot can feel quite chaotic, it also has the distinctive rhythm of a story already in motion. If you’re a longtime comic reader, regardless of superhero or studio, no doubt you picked up a random issue one Wednesday morning and felt completely lost (god help you if you jumped into the Spider-Man Clone Saga midway through). But somehow, between the colorful, action-packed panels, some slick writing, and that classic sense of adventure, you kept reading and found your pace with the story - and picked up the next issue. That’s what sitting down for James Gunn’s Superman for my first (of three) IMAX 3D screening felt like.

Pulling inspiration from various comic runs, films, and cartoons, 2025’s Superman is an amalgam of everything that made Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster’s creation an icon for nearly 90 years. It’s serious but light-hearted, thrilling but also funny. Truthfully, the moment Corenswet won me over as Superman was with that first exuberant “Golly!” after being blasted by a course of intensely magnified yellow sun. All I had to do was absorb what was coming at me and decide if I felt it was working or not. Most of it worked. Shining stars in this run are the supporting cast. Rachel Brosnahan steps into her role as Lois with ease. Nicholas Holt is in perfect form as the megalomaniac Lex Luthor. Nathan Fillion fills out the snarky, douchy Guy Gardner to perfection. Isabela Merced doesn't get a whole lot to distinguish herself as Hawkgirl, but she has a few key moments. However, the breakout performance is Edi Gathegi's scene-stealing Mr. Terrific. Here's hoping he has a longer franchise future here than he did in X-Men: First Class. 

My lone gripe boils down to the sort of herky-jerky structure. As I understand it, the film was originally intended to be set up episodically, much like each day was its own issue of the comic. The sun rises, and the next issue starts. But we don’t get that clean segue into the next issue of the story. Instead, we sort of stumble into the next event, complete with splashpage-worthy imagery of exciting super heroics. But that and a few other nitpicks are mere quibbles. By my second viewing, I didn't really mind those nitpicks and was more excited about everything else I was discovering with this new cinematic universe. By my third viewing, I was just having a great time at the movies. Bottom line, it’s not a flawless piece of art, but Gunn and Corenswet’s Superman proved to be a strong foundation for the future slate of DC Studios projects. Here's hoping for the future. 

Vital Disc Stats: The 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray 
Superman takes flight to 2160p with a single-disc 4K UHD + Digital release from Warner Bros. Pressed on a BD100 disc, the disc is housed in a standard black case complete with a lenticular slipcover switching between Superman and Clark Kent. The disc loads to a static image main menu with standard navigation options along the bottom of the screen.

Shot digitally and finished on a 4K digital intermediate, Superman makes a colorful splash on 2160p Dolby Vision, maintaining the 1.90:1 IMAX aspect ratio throughout. No shifting aspect ratios this time around. Henry Braham’s cinematography lovingly pulls out the big, bold four-color palette, giving the film the look and feel of classic Silverage comics or the iconic Fleischer animated shorts. Primaries are bright and bold, skin tones are healthy and strong, black levels and contrast are spot on, and the image offers some strikingly clear details.

For some of the busier, wilder shots, some of the CGI doesn’t quite stand true-to-life, but there are some fabulous big action setpieces. The giant daylight monster battle, where we get our first real view of the Justice Gang, is a highlight moment. Night sequences and scenes within Lex’s Pocket Universe offer deep inky blacks with dynamic lighting to offer some excellent shadows. It’s a shame there likely won’t be a 3D disc release; the film was obviously shot with that in mind, as even presented in 2D, there’s a magnificent sense of depth and dimension to the imagery.

On the Atmos side, we have a very strong presentation here. I suppose the best way to describe this experience is that it's a mix that knows where it is. When we have a big, action-packed sequence (which there are many), the mix is nice and open, letting those surround, rear, and height channels fly high. From the first fight with Ultraman to Mr. Terrific’s fight scene to the escape from the Pocket Universe to the big finale, there’s some tremendous activity delivering a fully immersive experience. However, when the film quiets down for more serious conversations or one-on-one material, the mix becomes quite a bit more Front/Center focused.

These moments have some nice movement in the channels, but the mix is firmly focused on the dialogue. Namely, this happens whenever Clark and Lois have a heart-to-heart chat or the brief interlude on the Kent farm. In those moments, there’s nothing sonically necessary to go wall-to-wall with the mix. For the big action, LFE has plenty of weight and impact to rumble those subs. The score from John Murphy and David Flemming fills in the spaces nicely, offering its own riff on the classic theme from John Williams while also incorporating its own motifs. 

On the bonus features front, we have an impressive range of content to dive into. At nearly two hours of content, the quality makes up for the lack of an audio commentary on the disc (more on that in a moment). The most meaty piece is the excellent Adventures in the Making of Superman; at about an hour, it’s a fascinating and very entertaining dive into the film's production. Likewise, some of the shorter featurettes are all solid extensions - truthfully, they could have been all edited into one big, long feature-length documentary given how well everything comes together. But, this set wouldn’t be complete without a Kryto short.

But this isn’t quite everything. Apparently, there will be more content coming to digital retailers in the coming weeks. Gunn has recorded a commentary, and there will also be deleted scenes and a gag reel added to the mix. When those are live (they weren’t on any of my accounts as of the time of this writing), we’ll report back and offer some thoughts on those.  

4K UHD

• Adventures in the Making of Superman (HD 58:58)
• Breaking News: The Daily Planet Returns (HD 5:26)
• Lex Luthor: The Mind of a Master Villain (HD 5:22)
• The Justice Gang (HD 10:32)
• Pawns to Pixels: Krypto Is Born (HD 5:48)
• The Ultimate Villain (HD 5:08)
• Icons Forever: Superman’s Enduring Legacy (HD 6:07)
• A New Era: DC Takes Off (HD 4:43)
• Kryptunes: The Music of Superman (HD 6:34)
• Krypto Short: School Bus Scuffle (HD 5:32)

Digital-exclusive Extras (Apparently Coming Soon)

• Audio Commentary featuring James Gunn
• Deleted Scenes
• Gag Reel

After the woefully mismanaged, short-sighted, and just plain incompetent run of the DCEU (not talking about the films, but those making the decisions that damned that cinematic universe into oblivion), James Gunn steps forward as DC Studios boss and director with their relaunch of Superman. Pulling inspiration from the long history of comics, cartoons, and films, the film is a wild ride of a comic book brought to life. This film isn’t trying to bring these larger-than-life heroes into our reality; instead, we’re being pulled into theirs. I’m all for it. It’s nice to have a comic book film without an obnoxiously cynical edge to it. And it makes for one hell of a 4K disc!

In 2160p Dolby Vision with Dolby Atmos, Superman delivers incredible visuals backed by a thunderingly effective audio mix. On-disc bonus features are terrific, and if that's all there was, that’d be more than satisfactory. However, according to the original press release, more extras should be on the way for digital streaming retailers. Hopefully, we’ll get a look at those sooner rather than later. I had a blast with the film, and this is a great disc. Highly Recommended