This may be the most responsibility that has ever been placed on a superhero film. Going into Superman it has felt like the entire future - of the subgenre, of the brand the hero comes from, of the studio releasing this, all rest on this being a good film. Coming twelve years after the last reboot (Man of Steel) and two and a half years after the wrapping up of the last iteration of a shared DC cinematic universe (Aquaman and the Lost Kingdom), Superman arrives at a time when superhero films have lost their way. For every Deadpool & Wolverine, there’s been a Joker: Folie à Deux; for every The Batman, an Ant-Man and the Wasp: Quantumania. So much rides on director James Gunn to pull off a cinematic miracle, you worry it will drag down Clark Kent’s rebirth, leaving it a film struggling for an identity.

This is not the case! Welcome back, Superman, you’re a hero who knows exactly who you are.

The narrative picks up three years into Clark Kent taking on the mantle of Superman, in a world many centuries into the existence of heroes and metahumans. He’s just lost his first fight and is badly injured. For the briefest of moments, maybe this film could go down a darker path. But Krypto (Superman’s dog) bounds into shot and the film finds its identity and spiritual being. Gone are the greys, gone are the hours of agonizing self-doubt (even if this is a very human Superman), gone is the insincerity, the quips, the sarcasm. Gunn’s genius here is to make a truly sincere superhero movie - a blinding white puppy. The plot is complicated (to a fault) but boils down to Lex Luthor dastardly trying to destroy Superman because he hates him, and Superman always (ALWAYS) striving to do the right thing. Go in with this throughline and let the rest wash over you.

If so much weight is placed on Gunn to make this work, then an equal amount is on David Corenswet’s broad shoulders as Superman. Corenswet is not fully unknown (he appeared in last year’s Twisters and had a prominent role in Pearl) but nor does he come with a wealth of experience. This works for this iteration – his lack of star persona allowing him to embrace the hero duties with ease. He’s a beacon of calm - relaxed and with the right look, able to handle the good times and the bad. He sets the tone for the rest of the cast who do grand work. Rachel Brosnahan has terrific chemistry with Corenswet as Lois Lane, offering a spikier presence to his boy scout nature. Nicholas Hoult is perfect as Lex Luthor, you’ll truly believe a billionaire could be a villain. Other supporting parts are taken by the likes of Edi Gathegi, Anthony Carrigan, Isabela Merced, Skyler Gisondo and Sara Sampaio, who all imbue their characters with charm and humour. And special mention must go to seasoned performers Nathan Fillion and Alan Tudyk, who both steal every scene they’re in.

Gunn moves his pieces around this sandbox with ease, often refusing to hold our hands. There’s a cracking scene where Lois and Clark have an intimate conversation in the foreground, whilst heroes fight an intergalactic being in the background. Unlike some films this is not a world where the wonder of super beings has been lost. But it is one where we’ve become used to them. It’s a fascinating way to present this and I’m curious how this all fits together down the line. Whilst not really setting up future films, Gunn leaves himself room to revisit this hero and world (which I’m sure will come pretty soon).

Your mileage with this Superman will come down to whether you can accept another round of superhero antics that it’ll unleash. This is a fully formed world, with countless heroes popping into frame. Superman is the birth of a whole new cinematic universe - there’s already a Supergirl film in the bag, due for a 2026 release. I left the cinema pleased but a little bit exhausted: the film runs at a terrific pace for much of its runtime. But my partner loved it, her hero had finally been given the treatment she felt he’s deserved for a while.

Superman is the Kyrpto of superhero films - full of boundless energy and likely to charm you into submission. It’s a bright, colourful burst of summer joy, a world away from where DC has gone before.