Former Superman actor Brandon Routh has heaped praise on David Corenswet’s performance in the latest DC blockbuster about the storied superhero. Routh, 45, played the hero in 2006’s Superman Returns, which was branded a “super flop”.
The actor told Variety that he thinks the new Superman film, written and directed by DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn, is “a lot of fun”. He continued: “I really enjoyed it. I think David [Corenswet] is fantastic. I cried no less than three times.” Routh added that having played the role himself, he sees the film “in a different way”.
“I come at it from a different perspective,” he explained. “I really got into it as I’m watching him navigate those tricky Superman moments in the first conversation with Lois and Clark in the apartment. And then all of the family stuff for me really hit. It’s a big movie. There’s a lot in there. I have to go see it again.”
Routh, whose new horror comedy Ick opens this week, added that Superman left him excited to see what Gunn has planned for the rest of the rebooted DC Cinematic Universe. “I really am excited for the potential for the DC Universe,” he said. “A successful launch with this is just good for everybody who wants more of what DC has to offer. There are a lot of great properties that can be explored.”
Earlier this month, The Independent’s Tom Fordy argued that Routh’s Superman Returns “didn’t deserve the hate” it received from critics and audiences. Fordy noted that the film captured “a touch of magic” by paying reverence to the original Christopher Reeve films, in contrast to the “dour” Snyderverse version.
