Inside Clark Kent’s (David Corenswet) childhood home in Smallville, Kansas, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) observes the poster of a band that our hero has spoken of. The moment is meant to be a humorous visual callback to a conversation that the pair had earlier in James Gunn’s superhero reboot, Superman. In Kent’s eyes, the group is the antithesis of punk rock, but an image of them on his wall only proves Lane’s point that they are a pop act at best. In many ways, the gag perfectly encapsulates the director’s latest work.

Superman is an entertaining pop spectacle that rages safely within the confines of the machine.

Much like his titular character, Gunn’s film believes the most punk rock thing a person can do is show empathy to humankind. The fact that he uses an immigrant, albeit an interstellar one, to deliver this message is not lost on the audience. It is hard not to think of the various conflicts occurring globally, and the role social media plays in throwing kindling on the fire that divides us, when observing the escalating conflict between fictional nations Boravia and Jarhanpuria.

Although Superman believes that his parents sent him to Earth to ultimately stop such conflicts, he quickly finds that standing up for the Jarhanpurian people and temporarily stopping their Boravian neighbours from invading, with American weapons courtesy of Lex Luther’s (Nicholas Hoult) LexCorp company, sets off political tensions at home. Despite displaying nothing but compassion for all of Earth’s creatures, the fact of the matter is, he is an outsider who refuses to be controlled.

Unwilling to dance to the beat of others drum, Superman’s unilateral decision to jump into international conflict is viewed with more concern than praise for the lives his actions saved.

The transactional nature of the immigrant experience in America, where they are appreciated when serving others but feared when they show agency and go against the status quo, is a prevalent theme throughout the film. As Kent learns more about his Kryptonian parents, and is forced to question his own purpose, Gunn shows how quickly public opinion towards outsiders can shift due to the false narratives that is fed through the media society consumes. As if puppets being pulled by Luther’s manipulative strings, the people of Metropolis quick devolve into spewing the type of fear-mongering rhetoric at Superman that is often assigned to immigrants.

Superman may use its X-ray vision to see into the pool of our fractured times, one where click-bait cruelty is a badge of honour online, but Gunn’s commentary never swims into the deep end.

Similar to those who post slogans online without doing the hard work needed to truly evoke change, the film simply assumes platitudes are enough. For all of its statements about caring for those whose humanity is being stripped away by corrupt government leaders, and not so subtle remarks about tech billionaires destroying society just so they can be worshipped by the masses online, Superman avoids exploring these ideas in-depth.

Gunn’s film makes it clear that it is a comic book movie first and foremost, and its responsibilities are tied to entertainment and profit over saving souls.

Feeling like a comic book that one randomly picks up from the turnstile rack, Gunn forgoes the typical origin story slog and drops viewers right into the thick of things. Set in a time where metahumans openly exist, the audience’s first sight of Superman is not one of a God-like hero, but rather a battered and bloodied being who has just lost his very first fight. As Kent and his superhero alter ego attempt to navigate a world he thought he had figured out, but is changing politically by the day, Gunn introduces viewers to a colourful vision of the DC universe that feels fully formed.

One doesn’t need to be a comic book savant to be entertained by the corporation backed metahuman team called The Justice Gang, featuring Guy Gardner (Nathan Fillion) of the Green Lantern Corp, Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi). Gunn trusts that, much like he did with Guardians of the Galaxy, audiences will know them and their characteristics by the end of the film. Which they do.

Avoiding the temptation of turning his film into a commercial for other solo films, Gunn’s allows an individual like Mr. Terrific, the standouts of the group who gets to be the centre of one of Gunn’s trademark soundtrack-infused action sequences, to shine brightly and display plenty of personality.

Of course, even Mr. Terrific is no match for the scene-stealer of the film, the rambunctious superdog known as Krypto. Always bringing a smile to the viewer’s face, the loveable pup with obedience issues never becomes overbearing or annoying.

Considering the various characters, even Jimmy Olson (Skyler Gisondo) gets several comedic moments, and themes Gunn juggles in the air, it is a testament to the film that the trio of Kent, Lane, and Luther remain engaging throughout. While there have been many incarnations of the Kent and Lane dynamic, Corenswet and Brosnahan are wonderful as the iconic lovebirds. Corenswet brings a boyish charm and idealistic sense of hope to the role, which plays well against Brosnahan’s more skeptical and pluckier take on the inquisitive reporter.

One of the biggest revelations though is Hoult as the villainous Luther. Easily the best interpretation brought to the big screen, Luther truly feels like an evil genius who is blinded by his own desire to prove that brains are more valuable than brawn.

Effectively jumpstarting the DC cinematic universe once again, Superman shows that superhero films have not loss their sense of fun. An undeniable summer crowd-pleaser, Gunn’s film may play it safe when it comes to its social commentary, but its sense of hope in humanity still soars high.

Superman flies into theatres on Friday, July 11.