There is a scene in the middle of James Gunn’s Superman. The titular superhero sits in Lois Lane’s apartment, sharing a heartfelt conversation about the difficult situation in which he has found himself. Through the window we can see a giant tentacled alien hovering over the skyscrapers of Metropolis. pummeled repeatedly by fellow hero Green Lantern with a giant glowing baseball bat. Superman does not need to intervene – Green Lantern clearly has it in hand with the support of Hawkgirl and Mr Terrific. The entire scene is absurd: whether it is the space octopus, or the ridiculous glowing bat, or Superman’s nonchalance about its presence above the city, or even his suggestion to Lois that he might be a little bit ‘punk’.

The scene is emblematic of Gunn’s film, and indeed how the viewer takes it in likely signals how they will take the production as a whole. It is earnest, and strange, and more than a little bit silly. It is also singularly the most faithful representation of the DC Universe ever committed to film.

They call them ‘the big two’: Marvel and DC Comics, two rival lines of superhero comics that have been in constant publication for decades. Each boasts their own roster of household name characters: Marvel has Spider-Man, Iron Man, the Incredible Hulk, and others. DC Comics has Superman, Batman, Wonder Woman, and so on. It is one of the great pop culture contests for generations, like Sega vs Nintendo, or Elvis vs the Beatles. Everybody has a favourite. For many, it has always been Marvel. The tone is a little darker, and the characters more nuanced and fallible, with a sharper edge to its sense of storytelling and social commentary. Since 2008 Marvel has been ably represented in cinemas by Disney’s sprawling Marvel Cinematic Universe. DC Comics, a publisher owned by Warner Bros, has struggled to compete.

The DC Universe, which has its roots in the late 1930s, is a more innocent and playful creation. It is, for the most part, a much brighter and colourful affair. Since 1989 DC has been awkwardly positioned in the shadow of its most successful character, Batman, and successive adaptations of its characters have been relentlessly dark and bleak. That approach reached its zenith with the DC Extended Universe that launched with 2012’s Man of Steel. That made a murderer of Superman and a hulking brute out of Aquaman, among other takes. While it was an approach that delivered some decent dividends – I remain a committed fan of Zack Snyder’s Justice League trilogy – it failed to capture the core appeal of the DC Universe in print.

James Gunn, who not only directs Superman but supervises the entire extended franchise of new DC Comics adaptations, has an unprecedented handle on that appeal. This is not the best Superman film – that remains Richard Donner’s 1978 classic – but it is undoubtedly the best DC film. It comes crowded with incident and characters, outlandish spectacle, amusing banter, and the kind of brightly lit idealism that seems sorely needed in our entertainment today. Whether or not if successfully lands a mass audience remains to be seen, but Gunn has swung for the fences with a bold approach that definitely deserves one.

The film cleverly begins in media res, with Superman (ably played by David Corenswet) falling to Earth in the middle of a battle. Nobody’s first superhero comic is the start of the story; as children we would first read issue #237 as likely as issue #1, but they were written so as to be easy to pick up and follow. Gunn takes the same approach here, and it pays off wonderfully. The story is dense and moves rapidly. Its screenplay is built on a trust that the audience will embrace a wide variety of characters and situations. The film smartly avoids including an origin story. One of the most comfortable aspects of the entire enterprise is that this Superman occupies a world already familiar with superheroes, intergalactic shenanigans, and giant monster fights. The film is palpable spin-off bait, presenting multiple characters who are well-played, cleverly developed, and interesting to watch. Edi Gathegi’s Mr Terrific is an obvious example begging for more exposure.

This is a big, colourful carnival ride of a movie. It is a nice place to inhabit for a couple of hours. One can only hope the cavalcade of spin-offs and sequels it is designed to generate as as enjoyable.