‘Brain beats brawn,’ crows a smug Lex Luthor after yet another one of his dastardly plans comes together. Director James Gunn shows his own smarts by presenting his vision of Superman through a prism of Trump’s America. Despite his jock-like appearance, the hero also known as Clark Kent is, of course, a Kryptonian immigrant, whose otherness begins to attract animosity in a highly relevant, often hugely fun spin on the Man Of Steel saga.

Continuing the real-world parallels, Nicholas Hoult is Superman’s nemesis Lex, a batshit billionaire with more power than the government, who is meddling in international politics for his own gain, and uses social media as a weapon to take Superman down. When we first meet Superman/Clark (a charming David Corenswet), he’s three years into his stint as a defender of humanity and has just suffered his first defeat at the hands of the enigmatic, Luthor-backed antagonist, the ‘Hammer Of Boravia’. Rachel Brosnahan is a perfectly pitched Lois Lane, sporting punky, anti-establishment instincts as she digs into Luthor’s dodgy financial deals and dates Clark on the sly, while Gunn’s own dog provides the inspiration for scrappy super pooch Krypto.

As ragtag and irreverent as it is slick and heroic, in some ways this is exactly what you’d expect from the Guardians Of The Galaxy and The Suicide Squad director Gunn, who also pens the script. Some of the commentary here is not particularly new, but it is cannily applied and confirms that this 87-year-old superhero still has a place in popular culture. Nevertheless, the computer-generated destruction that dominates the film’s denouement drags on for far too long, eroding some of the goodwill Gunn has built up. In that respect at least, it’s far from perfect, but the cast are wonderful and tonally it works a treat. On this evidence, the franchise would seem to be in super safe hands.

Superman is in cinemas now.