At nine years old, a boy from London was already a film fan. So much so that he was taken to an open day at a film studio, Pinewood, where he was in awe and wonder at various film props, like the James Bond Lotus Esprit.

He then wandered into a studio, impressively filled with a white construction - polystyrene, as if everything was made of snow and ice. It was striking, although didn’t make much impact at the time, as it was a location for a film yet to be released.

The following year he went to a cinema, where he was transported early on to the North Pole, which was home to the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman stayed.

The film starred Christopher Reeve as the DC superhero, in what went to become a huge, worldwide box office success. And yes, it made us believe a man could fly.

It went on to be the inspiration for all superhero films to come, and without it, Marvel and DC wouldn’t have become the cinematic behemoths they did.

Being in charge of DC Films, James Gunn has looked to the caped, red and blue superhero once again, to fly across the screen.

Despite having superpowers, Superman (David Corenswet) has faced his match in Metropolis. He was defeated by a Metahuman, created by tech billionaire Lex Luthor (Nicholas Hoult).

Although down, he wasn’t out, as he attempted to tackle this menace, and others, in an attempt to save not only the city, but the world. But with Luthor pulling all the tech strings, Superman struggles, especially when Luthor manages to turn social media against him.

If he is to get the better of him, he will need some ‘super’ help if he’s to have any chance of winning.

When it was announced that Superman would return, it raised a concern that it would be yet another origins plot.

Thankfully Gunn, who both wrote and directed this, chose not to go down that particular tired route. Unfortunately the route he did go down, is a convoluted mess.

Gunn’s script is muddled, incorporating far too many elements, which means the narrative lacks a cohesive structure.

We are thrown right into the middle of the chaos, but with too much going on, it’s difficult to concentrate. There are various supporting superheroes, part of the Justice ‘gang’, and a war between two fictional countries (Boravia and Jarhanpur), and visits into a pocket universe. Oh and a Superdog, Crypto.

At the same time, the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane (played by Rachel Broshnahan), is explored, but not much is offered as there is just too much everything flying hectically around.

Gunn makes the screen busy, with some impressive world building, and some less impressive character building; one monster appears and it looks positively amateurish compared with everything else around it.

Even the music is limp; it pays homage to the iconic soundtrack supplied by John Williams, but the version here is so bland and insipid, like a version for a TV show, which lacks any kind of identity.

Unlike Superman’s x-ray vision, the film lacks focus, and tries to cram just too many elements into it, and in doing so, lacks a strong theme holding it together, making it all too clumsy.

At least Corenswet makes a decent superhero, and hopefully its sequel, Man of Tomorrow scheduled for 2027, will get him to flex his super muscles, and make his outing as the Man of Steel not only far more believable, but infinitely more enjoyable.