by Dan Gattuso

While the look and feel of Superman Returns is exactly right, the characterizations and especially the story are just too similar to the older Donner films.

It's been 26 years since the Man of Steel last graced the silver screen and... what's that you say? It's only been 19 years? Oh, you're referring to the ghastly Superman IV: The Quest for Peace (1987) and its nearly-as-offensive predecessor Superman III (1983). Silence! No more shall we speak of these films!

Now, where was I? Ah, yes. It's been 26 years since the Man of Steel last graced the silver screen, and in that time he's been married, killed off and resurrected in the comic books and found his way back onto TV in the mushy Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman; two pretty good animated series, one solo and one with the Justice League; and my personal guilty pleasure, Smallville.

In Superman Returns, director Bryan Singer picks up where Richard Donner left off after Superman (1978) and Superman II (1980), the latter of which was mostly shot by Donner before he and the producers had a falling out and Richard Lester was brought in to finish it.

Suffering from a bit of an identity crisis—understandable when you've got three of them—Superman/Clark Kent/Kal-El leaves Earth to look for what's left of his home world of Krypton and find out if he truly is the last of his kind. He is, and when he returns five years later he finds his adopted home world a bit worse for wear but managing life without him.

One person in particular has moved on: Lois Lane. She's the proud mother of a 5-year-old son, engaged to the nephew of Daily Planet Editor-in-Chief Perry White and a Pulitzer Prize winner for her essay "Why the World Doesn't Need Superman."

There's another person who hasn't moved on quite so well: Lex Luthor. Recently released from his incarceration at the hands of Superman, Luthor has been using the Man of Steel's absence to his advantage, gathering intelligence for another run at world domination and revenge against his nemesis, this time using Kryptonian technology to facilitate his evil plan.

From the opening title sequence and bombastic introduction of John Williams' original theme music, we know we're in a familiar place—maybe a little too familiar. Superman Returns is at times an homage to the Donner films, at other times a retread of those films and still other times a completely new experience. But never does it truly come into its own.

The most glaring offense Singer commits is not taking Lex Luthor seriously enough. The reason Luthor is able to compete with Superman is because he's smarter than Superman. And not just Superman; he's smarter than everyone. So why is he attempting another land grab accompanied by another high-strung moll like the one who helped undo him in the first movie? Singer and screenwriters Michael Dougherty and Dan Harris blew a great chance to reintroduce Luthor as the ruthless corporate industrialist in charge of LexCorp instead of a guy who has to swindle a rich old lady out of her money to get back on his feet.

I guess the more things change the more they stay the same. Kevin Spacey gives Luthor a much more serious edge than his forebear, Gene Hackman, did. Spacey's Luthor takes himself very seriously, tolerating the lesser intellects around him rather than nurturing them. But that doesn't stop him from falling victim to the same villain clichés that brought down Hackman's Luthor in the original Superman.

Where things really stay the same is with newcomer Brandon Routh, who seems to have been cloned from Christopher Reeve. For the most part this is a good thing—he looks and sounds almost identical, the poster child for truth, justice and the American way—but once again he and his director missed a chance to tinker positively, not just toning down the oafishness of Clark Kent but removing it altogether.

Faster than a speeding bullet, more powerful than a locomotive, able to leap tall buildings in a single bound: This is where Singer & Co. truly shine. Thanks to the marvels of computer generated imagery, the action scenes are swift and vigorous, with Superman moving at speeds so fast he's difficult to follow at times (the sonic booms are a nice touch). When the action slows, Superman levitates effortlessly, drifting off the ground rather than forcing his momentum. The transitions from Routh to CGI Superman and back again are seamless, and the true physical power of the character is undeniable. This time, you truly will believe a man can fly.

While the look and feel of Superman Returns is exactly right, the characterizations and especially the story are just too similar to the Donner films to make an impact on the generation first affected by those movies. Throw in a revelation toward the end that risks doing irreparable harm to the rest of the series, and it's hard to see where exactly this franchise is going.

It will be interesting to see what impact the film has on the teenagers and twentysomethings whose knowledge of Superman may be limited and whose link to the superhero world was established through the last decade of great comic book adaptations, starting with Singer's two X-Men movies, Sam Raimi's wonderful Spider-Man series and most recently Christopher Nolan's exquisite Batman Begins.

For the rest of us, Singer's unwillingness to remove his kid gloves for Superman Returns results in a good movie, but one that fails to establish itself as the new order in the chronicles of Superman.