How do you make a movie about a superhero whose time is clearly past? Whose catchphrase "truth, justice and the American way" – always an incongruous value set for a space alien – sounds so hokey you can only use the first two parts of it as an ironic wink? Superman Returns struggles with this challenge in much the same way that its brooding, oddly passive hero does. Ultimately, though, the sure hands of The Usual Suspects’ Brian Singer have constructed a film that derives reasonably sophisticated fare from an increasingly corny-seeming comic-book.

Really, whoever would have thought this guy was gay?

And no, that's not a spoiler. Even from the trailer, the paternity of Lois' kid is even more obvious than Kate Bosworth's miscasting.

The big S has to stop Lex Luthor – the far camper character here, as Spacey ironically hams things up while proving menacing when required – from enacting yet another Kryptonite-based world domination plan. As ever with Superman, the supernatural dastardly-plot elements are too silly to create any real drama. Luthor wants to create massive Kryptonite islands that cause the rest of the world to flood and are Superman-proof. It’s just a question of hanging around until Superman figures out a way to easily destroy them. Which is why, as he did with X-Men, Singer has chosen to de-emphasise the fanciful plot and play up the psychological elements.

The plot’s reinvention of the Superman narrative allows him some scope to do this. Singer has wisely chosen to abandon the third and fourth in the original movies – Superman IV: The Quest For Peace being particularly acclaimed as a prime turkey – and send Supes out to space in a fruitless quest to find survivors from Krypton. Our hero has to work out whether the world needs him any more (hint: yes) and deal with a love triangle.

There are lots of the great human moments that are Singer’s speciality, generally in the Planet newsroom. I particularly enjoyed Richard White, Lois’ new lover, realising that the guy who was just away for half a decade looked quite like the hero guy who went missing for the same period. The guy works with a bunch of journos, for goodness’ sake. They can’t all be that dumb.
 
The problem is that Superman's agonising struggle for his identity isn't nearly as interesting as Wolverine's, and nor is the theme of the god-like man fallen to earth as relevant as the Marvel comic’s use of anti-mutation prejudice as a metaphor for apartheid. We don’t live in a Cold War world of simple good and evil anymore – well, at least outside the White House – so Superman’s simple wholesomeness is hard to relate to.

The film was well-made, mostly well-acted and perfectly entertaining. But with a plot-by-numbers and minimal emotional progress from Superman – whose relationship with Lois was left even more unresolved that John Howard and Peter Costello's – it's hard to feel truly satisfied. Even Singer’s skill can’t make this moderately entertaining movie really powerful, either as a piece of popcorn entertainment or as a more profound allegory for our 21st century society.

This may also reflect of the troubled genesis of the film, which went through numerous directors and screenwriters before Singer stepped up. He deserves credit for saving Superman from the kitsch cinema scrap-heap, and it’s nice to have him back – even if no-one seems to know quite what to do with him, the hero himself included. The powerful John Williams theme brought back lots of happy memories, as I’m sure it will for anyone who was a kid in the ’80s. But while this film is well worth watching, it ultimately feels like a kind of loosener – a first somewhat wobbly spin around the block for a rehabilitated franchise. It will take another, better film for Superman’s return to truly seem a triumphant one.