Rating: - The fools that are Rhino...
Most of my points have been iterated here already, but hey, repetition improves the breed...
(1). Ottman made the right choice in borrowing, tweaking, and adding to Williams' existing body of work. In much the same way that "Returns" director Bryan Singer continually pays homage to the original 1978 film (e.g., Lois' inability to spell, Clark ultimately resisting his desire to tell Lois the truth about his dual identity, Lois' smoking and Superman's gentle nudging to kick the habit), Ottman makes liberal use of the themes that Williams composed (e.g., the Planet Krypton, The Flying Sequence, and of course, the March). The best track in the lot must be number 6, "How Could You Leave Us?" which takes Williams' "The Flying Sequence" and turns it into the height of pathos. In the first film, Lois and Superman are essentially on their first date, so to speak, and Williams' piece seems to telegraph that - the whole piece is light, airy, and fun. In "Returns," Ottman has altered the cadence of the theme, the instrumentation, and the overall tone, mirroring the latent, but now forbidden, love between Superman and Lois, who is now happily engaged to someone else. I really could listen to this track all day.
(2). Some of the other tracks are really not up to par. In particular, track 3, "Rough Flight," is almost atonal at times, and in the end, completely unmemorable, which is unfortunate, considering that it is supposed to support the best action sequence in the film - Lois' rescue from the Genesis space shuttle. See "The Battle of Hoth" from The Empire Strikes Back for an example of an orchestral track during an frenetic action scene that still manages to develop and maintain clear and memorable themes.
(3). So some tracks are studs, and some duds. If that was The End Of The Story, I could accept that, be happy, and move on. HOWEVER, Rhino, in their infinite wisdom, has treated this release like so many other publishers who seem clueless about soundtracks (e.g., Back to Future III, Apollo 13, Gladiator). Not only are the tracks NOT in chronological order (per the film), the CD does not even contain all the music from the movie! The most egregious and obvious example is the cue "The Planet Krypton," which is the somber trumpet solo that opens "Returns" during the title card. This track, originally written by Williams, is available on the 1978 "Superman" soundtrack, but for whatever reason, Rhino chooses not to include it here. Is it a royalty/legal thing? Is it incompetence? Is it general sycophantic toadying and maliciousness? Who knows? Who cares? Bottom line, the soundtrack is hosed.
In the end, then, 3 stars for the composer, and 0 stars for the publisher. I'm sure we'll see some sort of "Complete Unabridged Score" type product released in the next few years. Until then, though, you'll have to remain happy with this or wait for some intrepid soul to cobble together a bootleg score on UseNet.