James Gunn’s “Superman” — starring David Corenswet as the Man of Steel — surprised even the most worn-out critics with its “charm.”

It’s been almost 50 years since Christopher Reeve starred in “Superman,” the 1978 movie that opened what is now an endless spigot of superhero movies. It didn’t invent the tropes of messiah-like figures with supernatural powers or the building of elaborate on-screen worlds only to reduce them to apocalyptic rubble,