If the cape fits, wear it.
The biggest (and best) takeaway from Superman is that David Corenswet is just right for the dual role of The Man of Steel/Clark Kent as the new DC Universe takes flight under the stewardship of writer-director James Gunn.
Watch: Behind the scenes on Superman
Eternal teenager Gunn hit franchise paydirt and then some with his Guardians of the Galaxy trilogy for the competition, Marvel, and has now been hired to give DC Comics' IP a new lease of big-screen life as co-CEO of DC Studios.
Gunn has said his film is "really about presenting the Superman to the world that I love and have loved since I was a kid", and the kind of fans that would break any director's heart get enough here to take to theirs.
Those weary of superhero movies may also find the energy to stay invested in a hit-and-miss story, thanks to Corenswet's all-the-feels performance and his chemistry with co-star Rachel Brosnahan as the new Lois Lane.
The highly politicised plot takes in megalomania, big business, and cancel culture as the tide turns against Superman just when Metropolis and the wider world need him most.
Pushing the buttons and pulling the strings is his arch nemesis Lex Luthor, now convinced he's come up with a foolproof plan to do away with Superman once and for all.
Stage set, Gunn goes like the clappers to cram as much as possible into two hours, from characters to combat.
Content-wise, he can't bring the snarky, anarchic spirit of Guardians to Superman - he's just too much of a stand-up alien - and the film lacks the flow of Gunn's best work.
Indeed, by stuffing so much into the script, Gunn reminds you of the fella who goes on holiday for four days with 15 t-shirts.
Even at the end of the movie, he's still trying to find room for more!
The set-pieces are the collapsing buildings, black holes, and lads larruped into the ground that the genre ships by the tonne.
Hampering Gunn's efforts to sell the spectacle is a miscast Holt, who is devoid of, say, the late Gene Hackman's love-to-hate chutzpah as Lex Luthor and makes for a run-of-the-mill villain.
Yet again, it's in the smaller moments where there's room to breathe that Superman works best.
The message of love is, well, lovely, and Corenswet pitches it bang-on, so much so that even Superman's dog Krypto does a blink-of-an-eye, phonebooth-worthy transformation from FFS to BFF.
Overall, this is a solid but unspectacular start as DC seeks reel renewal.
Next up is Supergirl in June 2026, directed by Cruella's Craig Gillespie and with House of the Dragon's Milly Alcock in the lead role.
A Corenswet cameo is in order, and then DC should move mountains to get him back for a streamlined, superior Superman sequel.
With more Clark Kent.
