Growing up, I never thought much about Superman. To me, his plain Boy Scout image made him much less badass than the quip-throwing Spider-Man or the ring-wielding Green Lantern. Of course, decades since his rise as the world’s first archetypal superhero, Superman can now bounce between different themes, including being cast as a messianic figure or as an allegory for immigration.

James Gunn’s Superman doesn’t reinvent the wheel, but it does tap a different well. His version of the superhero goes beyond the stereotypical good boy or the over-philosophized coming of God. It’s a refreshing take but not without its imperfections.

Superman is not an origin story.

As was evident from the film’s world tour, Superman does not want to retell the same origin story. We won’t see baby Kal-El crash in Kansas or watch his troubled upbringing as a superpowered teenage boy.

Instead, Gunn wants a bolder approach where everything is already set up from the beginning. The film starts with Superman (David Corenswet) already being a fixture in Metropolis, with Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan) already dating Clark Kent, and with Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) already hating Superman. More specifically, the film starts with Superman already defeated.

Outsmarting Superman, Luthor infiltrates the Fortress of Solitude and acquires the corrupted message that Kal-El’s parents sent with him prior to the destruction of Krypton. Luthor restores the message’s entirety with his own technology and discovers that Superman’s mission is much less benevolent than anyone, including the hero himself, thought. And so begins Superman’s quest to discover who he truly is and what he can become.

Underneath all this is the question of what superheroes should do. The world questions Superman’s interventionist intentions after he prevents Boravia (a country that definitely, positively, surely isn’t an analog for Russia) from invading Jarhanpur, a militarily weaker nation.

Whereas the Marvel Cinematic Universe and DC’s previous iterations waited years to tackle the problem of superheroes in the world, the DCU is dropping audiences right in the thick of things.

Superman is an immigrant story.

With this premise, the film can easily rehash Zack Snyder’s old vision of turning Superman into a benevolent god figure destined to rule over mankind. But Gunn doesn’t.

Superman in this film is portrayed as an immigrant finding his place in an Americanized world. The hatred he faces is intense and unfortunately timely. Luthor often calls him as “the alien” and an “it”. Once the truth of his parents’ message comes out, the government turns on him and asks for his arrest.

The plot’s eerie similarities with what’s going on in the real world isn’t lost in translation. It’s a take that finally embraces Superman’s side as an immigrant in America.

Unfortunately, Superman’s qualities as an immigrant loses some of its appeal because of what the film takes as already given: the Kents, Lois’s love, Lex’s hate. Superman says that, despite what people think of him, he’s capable of love, of doing good. It’s a statement that’s a bit hard to swallow when we hardly see Clark and Lois dating or Clark spending quality time with his parents.

Gunn’s bold decision to start in media res might have compromised the film as a story on its own. It could have benefitted from another half hour to really establish Superman’s relationship with his friends and family. But, alas, that’s the cost of jumpstarting both DC’s iconic hero and the entire cinematic universe.

Superman is still an origin story.

Of course, that’s not to say that the film is bad by any means. The two-hour runtime flew by so quickly without a hint of boredom.

As Gunn promised, watching Superman feels like picking up a random comic book in the middle of a run. Sure, there are a bunch of characters you might not know or recognize, but that’s part of the fun. It’s guaranteed to get you hooked on the world and buy the next issue.

While there are a few imperfections with the film as its own story, Gunn’s ability to build a world from the ground up is still top notch. It’s not a rehash of what came before.

For example, Superman can be defeated with just plain brutality. Luthor doesn’t have to rely on the same old kryptonite. The superhero isn’t a cheat code; he’s vulnerable.

The Justice League, as know them, doesn’t exist in this universe (or, at least, not yet). Instead, we have a ragtag band composed of the braggadocious Guy Gardner as Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), the lackadaisical Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and the hyper-intelligent Mister Terrific (Edi Gathegi). These are not the usual characters a budding universe relies on to build a superteam, but Gunn, as always, loves his misfits.

Ultimately, it doesn’t matter. Gunn’s DC Universe is already off to a great start. Besides the intriguing starting lineup, the film also offers glimpses into everything else brewing for the sprawling universe. There are blink-and-you-miss-it references and surprise cameos aplenty. If you’ve been following the torrential news cycles for this film, then you’ll have an idea of what or who might show up. Even if it lacks MCU-level surprises, these should be enough to get you interested in what’s coming next.

It’s not an origin story for Superman himself, but it’s an origin story of what might be the most promising iteration of the DC Universe so far.

Should you watch Superman?

Superman definitely lacks the polish that James Gunn often adds to his more complete successes like The Suicide Squad and Guardians of the Galaxy. It still kept me engaged for all of two hours, though. It’s an amazing superhero film.

And, in the end, Superman does spectacularly what it was set out to do: reboot the DC Universe according to James Gunn. I’m more than excited to see his next chapter.

Superman is out now in cinemas nationwide.