This image released by Warner Bros. Pictures shows David Corenswet in a scene from "Superman." (Warner Bros. Pictures via AP)

James Gunn’s busy, hit-and-miss “Superman” is a lively summer ride, but it comes with lots of turbulence.

David Corenswet makes a great Superman but is too briefly depicted as Clark Kent, “mild mannered reporter for the Daily Planet.” Kent’s office romance with ace reporter Lois Lane (played by Rachel Brosnahan, in the film’s best performance) is constantly interrupted by real estate developer-turned-supervillain Lex Luthor (played by Nicholas Hoult, making interesting choices in every scene). This time, Luthor is using an overseas conflict to distract Superman and every other available alien-turned-crimefighter (there are lots of them in this movie) from a plan that includes creating alternate worlds.

I always liked this new “Superman,” but the moments I savored are surrounded by chaos and overplotting. The central three performances and Gunn’s typically merry, anything-goes approach keep it lively, if always on shaky ground.

The contemporary setting and media depicted connects this to the modern world. Yet, this series, about a reporter for the Daily Planet, has always been about how media can be a means of spreading truth or a way of weaponizing lies. There’s a subplot here about Superman’s parents that has a valid point to make (we are not our parents and the decisions we make reflect who we are today) but does it in a murky way.

Nearly every scene has at least 10 too many characters in it. The action sequences are so frantic in their pace and staging, it’s as though they were fueled by Red Bull.

Thankfully, the heart of the movie is the relationship between Kent and Lane, which Corenswet and especially Brosnahan get to the heart of. There’s a long scene early on where Lane and Kent have a long, intimate exchange and it’s a welcome break from the constant barrage of chaos. A brief stopover in Smallville with Ma and Pa Kent is another welcome detour.

Here is yet another summer movie that has trouble getting started, as a needlessly exposition-heavy opener hurls into a massive battle scene between Supes and Luthor that feels like we’ve walked into the movie an hour late.

If you’re a longtime fan, you’ll be able to connect the dots, but the storytelling is sloppy. For example, you’ll know who Perry White is if you know this franchise, but for newcomers, the character appears, is played by a great actor but never properly introduced or given much to do. The same goes for most of the dozens and dozens of supporting characters.

Gunn is, thankfully, not Zac Snyder, as the persistent angst and downcast visuals of his Superman movies have been replaced by a bright visual palette and a mostly upbeat sensibility. The theme is how it’s “punk rock” to be empathetic and joyful about the human race. I appreciated the film’s take on Superman’s earnest affection for humankind. However, Gunn dips into the Marvel playbook by cramming far too many subplots, colorful characters and chaos into a single scene, let alone the entire movie.

Gunn’s wacko sense of humor is especially visible in a bit involving Lex Luthor weaponizing an army of keyboard warrior monkeys (you read that right). Yet, while we can see his passion for the Man of Steel, nothing here matches his “Guardians of the Galaxy” trilogy.

The insistence of including John Williams’ classic “Superman” themes is nice but interpreted here in a noisy, overly produced updated score. Gunn clearly loves the character but bludgeons him as much as the villains.

Whenever the story gives focus to Lois Lane, the film reconnects with its emotional center, stakes and sense of humor. Every time the emphasis is on yet another fight, the editing makes everything fly by without total coherency. Superman may be all powerful but I’d rather watch a mere mortal like John Wick take out a dozen villains instead.

Despite the trailer’s emphasis of scene stealer Krypto the Dog, the character isn’t in the movie nearly enough. In fact, don’t take your young kids to see this, as the ample profanity and brutality more the earn the PG-13 rating. Instead, check out the underrated, terrific “DC League of Super Pets” (2022).

The original “Superman: The Movie” (1978), “Superman Returns” (2006) and the aforementioned “Super Pets” remain my favorite in this franchise. If Gunn makes a sequel, I hope he turns the volume down, deletes the needless subplots and gives us much more Krypto.

(2.5 stars out of four)

Barry Wurst II is the founder of the Hawaii Film Critics Society and teaches film classes at University of Hawai’i Maui College.