How did Frank Herbert put it in Dune? “A beginning is a very delicate time.” A prescient phrase for that science-fiction epic’s struggle to find itself at the cinema, but it couldn’t be more true for Superman either. This isn’t just Warner Bros’ hope for a new beginning for its slate of DC properties, but another high-profile start for Big Blue on the big screen, following Superman: The Movie (1978) and Man of Steel (2013).

Retold origins, reboots, and updates are part and parcel of the endless serial storylines of comic books. While Superman won’t go down as a classic in the same way as the 1978 or even 2013 movies, it knows its primary task is to set out the stall for an ambitious new franchise. The result is a film that is a deliberately measured success; imperfect, but one that Warner Bros. should be pretty pleased with.

Three years into his career, Superman (David Corenswet) suffers his first defeat at the hands of the Hammer of Boravia, a direct consequence of his interference in a foreign conflict. In a world that has lived with metahumans for 300 years, Superman provides a new challenge that’s inspiring and worrying in equal measure. While Metropolis uber-billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) builds on his government contracts and lobbies US officials to deal with this threat with the help of his PlanetWatch initiative, Superman struggles with his blossoming relationship with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) and foiling threats to his adopted city alongside corporate superheroes, the Justice Gang.

Things heat up when Planetwatch, including nano-infused Engineer (María Gabriela de Faría Chacón), mysteriously masked Ultraman, and an elite army of Raptors, break into Superman’s Fortress of Solitude, capture Krypto the Superdog, and unlock some damning information straight from Superman’s biological parents. Could Luthor’s ruthless campaign to rid the world of this alien threat that makes a mockery of humanity be about to pay off? 

There’s a lot going on in Superman, but in shunning the heroes’ ubiquitous origins in a way previous ‘first films’ couldn’t, it shows the steep challenge facing writer, director and co-chair of DC Studios James Gunn. Superman has to simultaneously react to and rely on what audiences know about comics’ most famous superhero. 

The heavy use of John Williams’ brilliant fanfare in the grunge soundtrack is emblematic of that. So much of Superman feels like either a jolt or a follow-on to what’s gone before, which can’t help make a lot of the runtime feel like a shopping list. The early Lois and Clark interviews or the Fortress invasion take on famous scenes from previous films – a smart way of showing there’s a new way of doing things, but with mixed success.

This Superman lives in a universe where metahumans and dimensional anomalies are part of day-to-day life. It’s refreshing to see Lois and the Daily Planet reporters working away while another part of Metropolis is dealing with a giant kaiju. Similarly, when Superman takes some time out with Lois, knowing that the Justice Gang can handle a dimensional imp, it’s as close to the soap opera of comic books that any big-budget blockbuster has been.

But between these moments, the threat is irritatingly woolly. Despite a major revelation that goes right to the heart of Superman’s existence as both a powerful alien and the best of humanity. Superman just feels like a day in the life. Establishing this vast world of metahumans requires bigger hits, but Superman doesn’t want to serve up the easy-to-define superhero vs supervillain fights audiences know well. Superman’s main fight here isn’t against a Nuclear Man, Zod, or Darkseid, but with understanding and showing who he is. 

The main antagonist of the film, Lex Luthor, is just one of the characters who are brilliantly realised in their (current) comic book form. Nicholas Hoult is a sneering, ruthless, dangerous Lex, so plus points there, even if he’s not allowed too many moments of calm contemplation. The thing is, we’re watching the manifestation of his motivation – his deep and irreconcilable hatred of Superman – not a compelling, definable plot that puts Superman to the test. It relies on us knowing this Superman before we feel comfortable with him (which is no disrespect to Corenswet’s superb performance). Pulling what it wants from the hero’s cultural footprint doesn’t quite cover it. A result is that when one of Lex’s ‘weapons’ proves to have particular relevance to Big Blue, it doesn’t have the narrative or personal consequence it should have. It just goes a little Superman IV, and it’s hard not to agree with Mr Terrific’s irritation in the scene.

Worryingly, Superman feels like a film without a logline, which isn’t great. However, viewed as a continuum, where we aim to learn more about the DC universe and, most importantly, invest time in exploring Clark and Lois, it works far better. 

Gunn wheels out his experience, vision and evident love of the property to overcome the issues and push it into success. The film is bright and colourful, zany and action-packed. For comic book fans, there’s a string of emotional wallops as it brings DC to life on screen. Some characters, who could have stepped straight off the page like Hoult’s Luthor, include Nathan Fillion’s Guy Gardner and Skyler Gisondo’s Jimmy Olsen.

Only once taking the chance to choreograph a fight to a song (and it’s a good one for the revelatory deadpan Mr Terrific of the Justice Gang, played by Edi Gathegi), this is Gunn in thoughtful mode. Inspired by some high-powered comic book takes on the character, he buries some of the excesses that made films like Guardians of the Galaxy and The Suicide Squad to do what he feels serves the character best. In a nutshell, that’s selling love and hope as the new punk rock.

In a world where meta-humans and dimensional rifts compete with megalomaniac tech billionaires and the exploitation of foreign conflict, Superman goes straight for the heart, and thanks mainly to Corenswet and Rachel Brosnahan sealing the love, hope and domestic drama in the lead roles, it manages it. So, as the first film in a continuum, where we have to hope the threats and consequences will quickly deepen, it’s a strong foundation even if it’s not stunning in isolation.

Yes, there’s a lot of hope flying around this review, but there are clear signs where improvements can be made quickly. One worry is how much of the humour doesn’t land. It’s a mainly good-natured film, with slight attempts to draw comedy from robots, crazed superdogs and Superman’s gosh darnness. But it isn’t overly jokey as much as a bit too schmaltzy (between baby Metamorpho and a lot of Krypto). While characters like the Justice Gang should raise a smile, the worry is that a minuscule cameo from a more R-rated DC character had the best reception at my screening.

The Man of Steel should be tested, as a concept, a man and a movie. As a transparent universe builder with work to do, viewers are likely to leave Superman with the distinctly sweet and sour feeling that the best is yet to come.