'You'll believe a man can fly!" boasted the posters for the now classic Superman: The Movie (1978), but times have changed in the film world: not only have special effects created increasingly amazing cinematic feats year on year, but after the success of films like X-Men (2000) and Spiderman (2002) � along with a host of other comic book films � the superhero film has become a familiar fixture on movie release schedules. Just as people aren't surprised by another comic book film, audiences may no longer be satisfied by 'simply' seeing a man fly.

Instead of trying to top what has come before, director Bryan Singer opts for a low key approach. As he did with the first two X-Men films he directed, Singer doesn't just throw action sequences and special effects at the audience; he focuses on characters and takes the fantastic material seriously. So while we get the prerequisite scenes that feature Superman fighting crime and mopping up the mess created by a disaster, we also understand that a superhero who's capable of performing amazing feats will never feel as if he fits in with the rest of humanity.

When Superman (Brandon Routh) returns to Earth after a five year absence � after leaving to investigate the remnants of his home world, Krypton � he finds that things on Earth have changed: not only has the world learnt to live without him, but when he returns to the city of Metropolis, he discovers that Lois Lane (Kate Bosworth), the woman he loves, has a fianc� (James Marsden) and a young son (Tristan Lake Leabu), and has put her love for Superman behind her. It seems that while the world has changed, grown and moved on, Superman hasn't, and it's this dilemma that becomes the crux of Singer's film.

Although Superman Returns initially seems like a rehash of the original Richard Donner film, the story revolves around the fact that everyone except Superman is living their life instead of obsessing over the past. The film also addresses plot threads that were left dangling at the end of Superman II (1981), and confronts Superman with the consequences of his actions from the first two films. While the links with the previous Superman films are promising, this devotion to the past films also creates problems for this new interpretation of the character.

Superman Returns has clearly been made by people with an intimate knowledge of Superman: The Movie and Superman II (and it includes numerous tips of the hat to these earlier movies) However, compared with the first two Superman films, (and it's fair to judge the new film against the previous instalments, precisely because this is presented a continuation of the first two movies) Superman Returns falls short. The most obvious element that suffers in comparison is the casting: not one of the actors in Superman Returns (and this is a film full of talented performers) is a match for their 1970s counterparts (particularly Kate Bosworth, who seems miscast and out of her depth as Lois Lane, and is utterly outclassed by Margot Kidder's version of the character).

The actors often seem adrift in the film, and act as if they're going through the motions rather than losing themselves in their roles. As well as squandering the talents of well-known actors like Kevin Spacey and Frank Langella, even the actors in minor roles are underused (Kal Penn, who was so memorable in his Jason Lee-like role in Harold and Kumar Get the Munchies (2004), is given virtually nothing to say or do here). In fact, the mannered acting style (deliberate movements and clear diction) is reminiscent of the Star Wars prequels, which also felt like films populated by action figures instead of characters.

To be fair, the actors don't have much to work with when it comes to dialogue. Either they're not given memorable lines to chew on, or they're not given anything to say at all. As Superman, Routh certainly looks the part, but he spends most of the film moping around silently. There are a few moments where it looks like he's enjoying himself in the role (such as his lecture in the plane after a miraculous rescue, and his confrontation with a thug on a rooftop who's equipped with some serious firepower), but most of the time he seems to hang around on the edges of the film rather than participating in the drama.

What Singer and Routh do successfully capture is Superman's alien-ness; both his distance from humanity in general and his estrangement form Lois Lane in particular. Reeve's portrayal of Superman and Clark Kent had a warmth to it that made his take on the character more personable, and earned the audiences' goodwill, but Routh's Superman is often seen observing people in silence instead of interacting with them. This may invite criticism that Routh hasn't embraced the role or is simply not up to the task of playing Superman, but he is clearly playing a different man than the one seen in Donner's film. Audiences may not be able to warm to the character as they when Reeves wore the cape, but Routh's portrayal is consistent with Singer's 'alienated loner' approach to the character.

As well as displaying a different Man of Steel, Superman Returns presents a villainous Lex Luthor who is markedly different from the previous films. Kevin Spacey's version of the character is not the roguish criminal that Gene Hackman played; instead, Spacey's Luthor is bitter at being imprisoned, which explains the vicious streak his character displays here. Although not as memorable as Hackman in the role, the scene with an excited Spacey illustrating his nefarious scheme using a series of maps is one of the few dialogue scenes that come alive. Among the other cast members, Eva Marie Saint is touching in a small role as Martha Kent, while the reappearance of a disembodied Marlon Brando as Jor-El carries an added poignancy now that the actor, as well as the character, has passed away.

The presence of Brando is further proof that Singer and co. have a deep respect for the source material, but like Peter Jackson's approach to the recent remake of King Kong (2005), Singer seems so in awe of Superman: The Movie that instead of rolling up his sleeves, diving in and making a distinctive, lively and thrilling film of his own, he has crafted a glittering artefact that resembles a mummified, perfectly preserved museum piece than a living, breathing movie. Singer seems shackled to the spirit of the Donner film rather than being inspired by it to create a new, distinctive work.

There's no spontaneity in this film: everything feels so pre-planned and polished that all the life has been sucked out of the material. Superman Returns also lacks the wit and cynicism that writer Tom Mankiewicz (credited as 'Creative Consultant on Superman: The Movie, but for all intents and purposes, the film's screenwriter) brought to Superman: The Movie (the same wry humour that he gave the James Bond films he worked on in the early 1970s). Donner took Superman seriously when he made the first film, but he also included a tongue-in-cheek element to the proceedings that made the whole thing fun to watch.

Gripes aside, there are a number of impressive sequences on display: Superman hovering above the earth and tuning into the sounds of the world below; a wide shot of Luthor, cloaked in shadows, entering the immense fortress of solitude; the clacking of the pool table balls in Luthor's boat as he lectures Kitty (Parker Posey, in 1940s gangsters moll mode); a virtually silent shot of Superman flying through the streets of Metropolis, with the citizens gazing up at him. It's in these isolated moments that Singer captures the awesome nature of Superman and the epic nature of the material.

Another memorable sequence occurs when Luthor demonstrates the power of the Krypton crystals on his model of a city. At first, the shots of his model shaking is amusing but as it's destroyed, the scene suddenly and chillingly foreshadows events to come, as we realise that this is the kind of destruction that Luthor's plan will unleash on the real world. Another successful element is, of course, John Williams' iconic Superman theme music, which has been integrated into the film by composer (and frequent Singer collaborator) John Ottman.

Superman Returns has also had some scenes converted into 3D for IMAX cinemas, but the results mixed. While the 3D process works for static shots or sustained takes (as when Clark Kent stands outside the farmhouse where he grew up, and we see clear separations between various elements), it is less successful in the action scenes (where the fast editing and close-up shots makes everything look choppy, unfocused and confusing), and is sometimes distracting rather than engrossing. One reason for this is that presumably the original film was not originally designed and shot with the 3D process in mind: it's the modern equivalent of colourising a black and white film, with the original intended effects of the shooting and editing style ruined.

Also, the scenes selected for conversion into 3D (the aforementioned farmhouse scene, a space shuttle/plane rescue, the rise of a new continent from the depths of the Atlantic Ocean and a climatic scene of Superman flying) feel arbitrary. There are other moments that cry out for 3D (such as the classic 'zooming' opening credits in space (here preceded by the explosion of Krypton with debris flying towards the audience), but they have been left untouched by the process. At this point in time, the 3D process feels more like a taste of things to come and a gimmick with which to bring audiences into cinemas. Hopefully, the problems with IMAX 3D will be ironed out and future filmmakers will design their films with the process in mind, and take advantage of a development that holds a lot of promise.

In conclusion, it feels churlish to criticise a filmmaker for being too studious and diligent, and too close to the source material, but Singer's evident love for the earlier films could be the very thing that ultimately suffocates Superman Returns, and prevents it from being a living, breathing film that takes flight and soars to new heights. Singer's film is an affectionate tribute to the first two Christopher Reeve Superman films, but it doesn't feel like an engaging superhero film in its own right. As a visual spectacle, the film succeeds; as a compelling drama, it's flat and humourless. Hopefully, the inevitable follow-up will rectify some of these problems, cut Superman loose from the baggage of his past and plunge him into an all new adventure. As it stands, Superman Returns is a welcome return with some memorable moments to savour, but it's also a film that may end up being admired more than liked.