Superman is an astoundingly fun, optimistic, and profoundly personal superhero story and DC Universe reboot. After decades of uncertainty and a little over a decade of failed attempts by Zack Snyder and others in the original DCEU, Superman had much to live up to in adapting the titular hero to the big screen. Director and now DC Studios co-CEO James Gunn proves he knows exactly what’s necessary to revitalize everyone’s favorite red-cowled hero; he throws into the mix PG humor, organically optimistic writing, a delightfully cheery setting and set of characters whose courage is inextinguishable, superb CGI flourishes and action sequences (except at the very beginning), and, perhaps most notably, political allegories for a personal and subtly geopolitically aware popcorn flick—even the U.S. military’s shady.

Three years after this universe’s Clark Kent (David Coronswet) reveals his hopeful, noble nature to the world as Superman, he finds himself beaten for the first time. While attempting to resolve an invasion by American ally Boravia into the country of Jarhanpur, Superman-obsessed businessman Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) sends in a human-looking weapon he invented to mirror and predict Clark’s every move. After being saved by the adorably stupid superdog Krypto, Superman returns home and reevaluates his plans before the other part of his life kicks back in. As Clark Kent, under totally deceivable glasses, the man of steel works alongside his level-headed but slightly emotionally unavailable girlfriend, Lois Lane (Rachel Brosnahan), at Metropolis’ Daily Planet newspaper. As his most recent global involvement finds the pair in disagreement over what’s best for the world, Lex digs up dirt on Clark that he wasn’t even aware of, using it to turn the world against Superman and allow Boravia’s invasion to continue. With nothing but his resolve, help from a local superhero team called the Justice Gang, a dog, a rocky relationship, and pure-hearted parents, Clark must stop Lex before his jealousy voids the entire world.

A month or two ago, I had the fortune to sit in on the podcast Boston SciFi Presents with the Boston Hassle‘s very own editor-in-chief, Oscar Goff, Boston SciFi’s Garen Daly, and others. There, we discussed all things summer movies, including Superman. I explained how worried I was about this movie; while my word choice for James Gunn’s filmmaking style as being “vulgar” was not exactly what I meant, I was worried that Gunn would replicate his typically R-rated, violence-intensive, and hilarious toilet humor to no avail. The hopeful and bold Superman should not have that. Fortunately, I was wrong—very wrong.

There is a great deal to appreciate about Superman. Whether you opt for simple superhero fanfare or expect something more profoundly thematic and socially aware, Superman has it all. While Gunn’s humor can often impede narratives, here he hones in on the innocence of the original golden age Superman comics and Metropolis’s Superman-projected optimism in penning such quips. Tossing a blanket of lightheartedness over the entire film, Gunn shows Clark Kent living as every other human would: raised by loving, simple parents in the Kent couple on a farmhouse in Kansas, he feels, he makes mistakes, and does what he can.

The opening scene immediately solidifies this, as Superman heals in his Arctic crystal hideout and watches the parting message his parents left for him. They tell their “beautiful Kal-El” that he’s been sent to Earth because “humans are simple” and the atmosphere is livable, making it an excellent place for baby Clark to grow into his Kryptonian greatness. As the rest of the message is damaged, Clark presumes the rest of it to be about serving humanity and their capacity for good: “I was sent here to help people,” he pleads to Lois Lane in their heated, semi-interview early on. “People were going to die [in Jarhanpur]…. I couldn’t stand by and let them.” Even as Lois gets into the politics of the invasion—repeating that Boravia is a U.S. ally, iterating that Superman represents the U.S. whether he wants to or not, and mentioning how Superman’s interference could lead to simply “replacing one tyrannical regime with another”—Clark presses on. Such immeasurable selflessness and understanding of geopolitics’ simple answers—stopping people from dying, seeing through the political veils the greedy prop up to distract, and removing the greedy from power, regardless of who holds each role—is reinforced by Corenswet and the cast’s spot-on performances.

Corenswet brings a goofy take on Superman without sacrificing the man’s integrity, ensuring Clark is as much a lovable guy as he is an impenetrable servant of humanity. At times, he cracks jokes with a warm smile to ease tension or make himself feel less endangered: “Hey buddy. Eyes up here,” he says to his newest skyscraper-towering monster before shooting into the air to land a near-finishing blow. At other times, he adopts a stern hero’s voice to ensure that innocents at least feel protected. And yet at different times, he also screws up on the small things as we all do: “You like breakfast for dinner, I like breakfast for breakfast,” Lois reminds an upbeat Clark, who hovers over a frying pan of eggs that he made for their three-month anniversary as he insists she’s the one who likes breakfast for dinner. Seeing him experience all these components of living—he laughs, cries, gets angry, and stresses like everyone else—is refreshingly personal, and Corenswet more than convincingly delivers thanks to his sturdily righteous acting.

Brosnahan is a solidly supportive, independent, yet emotionally hesitant Lois Lane, providing Clark not only a sharp mind to bounce off of but also a catalyst for self-doubt as he and Lois face hardship due to her relationship fears. She grows more charmingly capable by the minute, especially as she allows feelings to swell with Clark (though, of course, that’s only a part of who she is). The Justice Gang—Guy Gardner’s Green Lantern (Nathan Fillion), Hawkgirl (Isabela Merced), and Mr. Terrific (Edi Gathegi)—are respectively funnily cocky, scarily bloodthirsty, and delightfully quick-witted, helping Gunn in forming the DC Universe’s first super team of intriguingly dynamic and funny good guys. Hyper-intelligent but insecure business billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult) is a conniving, scarred villain. With every head turn, eyebrow furrow, and facial muscle spasm Hoult delivers between insecurity-driven trembles and yelps of dialogue, he nails Luthor’s evil, inhumane drive for power and to kill Superman: “Super… man… he’s not a man. He’s an it, that’s somehow become the focal point of the entire world’s conversation. I will not… accept that,” an angrily high-pitched Lex spits. He’s nasty, and viewers want him to die by the end, even knowing their new wholehearted Superman would never do that. His involvement in the movie’s political backdrop adds an extra layer of complexity.

It should be clear to most globally aware viewers that the Boravia-Jarhanpur invasion is a direct reflection of Earth’s current Israel-Palestine conflict. Lois, in her emphasis on the fight being a “politically delicate situation” during that early Superman semi-interview, reflects how most Americans view it: a tricky one better not to get involved with, especially considering the U.S.’s alliance with Boravia (as it is allied with Israel) and the other political implications involved. Clark, therefore, acts against his own country in recognizing Boravia’s malicious intent and is even arrested for it. In doing so, when contrasted with brutal imagery of soldiers and tanks squaring off against dirty, impoverished souls wielding nothing but rocks, it becomes very clear that the U.S. and Boravia have no legitimate reason to kill and mutilate an entire country and are doing it purely for power gains. Lex Luthor thus becomes the evil tech billionaire who “wants to become a king” over Jarhanpur, as Lois herself says late into the movie.

Superman fights for justice for all. Not for the powerful, not for his country, and not for anyone or anything in particular. He fights for anyone and everyone who needs help. As frightened children raise a makeshift flag of Superman’s logo, chanting “Superman! Superman! Superman!” with tanks staring them down, one can’t not think of similar imagery of Palestinian disabled, children, and elders getting fenced in and shot at by the now American-Israeli backed food distribution centers’ security around Gaza. Gunn virtually mirrors the real world and the U.S.’s darker dealings (especially now) through Boravia and Jarhanpur, elevating Superman to globally provocative heights not seen in superhero films for quite some time. Clark would be disgusted with the real-world conflict, the U.S.’s involvement, and with Fox News headlines about his all-giving justice being “superwoke,” partially because he’s an otherworldly immigrant.

Thus, while shoddy CGI at the very beginning taints an otherwise equally rumblesome opening sequence, and some jokes deflate tension once or twice, Superman is the man of steel fans wanted. Zack Snyder tried his best—and Gunn pays homage to him with intensely choreographed and lightning-fast in-air fight scenes reminiscent of those in Snyder’s Man of Steel—but Superman is meant to be bold, hopeful, and optimistic, which Snyder missed, and Gunn proves he understands. “Your choices… your actions… that’s what makes you who you are,” a tear-jerked Pa Kent (Pruitt Taylor Vince) tells his super son, reminding Clark and the audience of the simplicity in being good. For DC fans, Superman fans, fans of the cast, James Gunn fans, and superhero enthusiasts, Superman packs a thematic, action-packed, and hopeful punch that the likes of Marvel have never achieved.

Opens in theaters Thursday, 7/10—get tickets at Landmark Kendall Square Cinema!