When it comes to superhero/comic book movies, Superman: The Movie is the grandfather of them all. The sheer spectacle of the film, as well as a flawless performance by Christopher Reeve, helped pioneer these kinds of films into their own genre. This is such a revolutionary movie that helped launch comic book characters off of the printed page and on to the cinema screen.
Superman: The Movie is the story of an alien boy who gets sent to Earth because his planet is dying. This boy grows up to become Earth's first superhero. What this movie does so well that, quite frankly is insanely hard to do in narrative storytelling, is dive right into the action by giving you a scene of exposition. We learn about the history between Jor-El (Marlon Brando) and General Zod (Terence Stamp) without actually seeing the events that happened. One could argue that it would have helped the film if we actually got to see these events, but I believe that there is enough dialog in this opening scene to understand what happened, and to also understand the intentions of the characters. This film also does a wonderful job of explaining the mythology of the character of Superman. We see Kal-El's birth mother, Lara (Susannah York), wrap him in the red and blue clothing that he will eventually wear as Superman. We also clearly understand that Clark Kent is a disguise, that he took his adoptive mothers' middle name, and Superman is the kind of person that Kal-El is at his core. This film does a magnificent job of bringing the Man of Steel to the big screen in a beautiful way. After nearly forty years, this film still holds up for the most part. However, after re-watching it recently, there are some cheesy elements that just do not feel right. After the sequence where Kal-El speaks to Jor-El at the Fortress of Solitude, Jor-Els' face turns to ice and slowly spins off screen. If this was meant to be a metaphor for his permanent disappearance, I do not believe that this was executed well. I think it would have been better to have his face just slowly fade away into nothingness. This would also help us understand that Jor Els' task is done, and that Kal-El does not need his fathers' wisdom and advice anymore. Also, in the scene where Superman and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) are flying together, we hear narration by Kidder that explains her feelings when she is with Superman. This is unnecessary. We can clearly see how she is feeling from the way she is looking at Superman. We do not need to be told this through narration. There are also a few flaws in the scene where Lois Lane interviews Superman. Lois asks a few questions that begin with, "Is it true that...." In order for her to phrase the question like that, she had to have heard rumors about Superman, and yet there are no previous scenes where she is learning anything about him. Also, later in the film, when Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) is reading about the interview in the newspaper, some of the traits she reveals about Superman were not even asked in the interview! Later in the film, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) puts Superman through a gauntlet of attacks before he enters Luthors' lair. While this is all visually splendid to watch, Luthor knows these attacks will not kill Superman. So, why does he do this? Does he think Superman will retreat?? Now, towards the climax of the film, it is revealed that there are two nuclear missiles that Lex Luthor and Eve Teschmacher have altered (even though it was actually Otis, played by Ned Beatty, that did the altering). The only thing is, we only Otis alter ONE missile. Where was the other one this whole time?? During the exciting climax of the film, an earthquake occurs which results in a dam breaking, sending endless amounts of water towards a neighborhood. Wait....is there really a neighborhood near a dam?? Does that even make sense?? I feel that this particular scene exists just so we can witness the power of Superman. Despite all the glaring plot holes, Superman: The Movie is still just as influential and entertaining as it was forty years ago. I personally never get tired of watching the movie that launched superhero films as their own genre.
Christopher Reeve, in one of my personal favorite performances of all time, plays Superman/Clark Kent. What Reeve does in this movie is so beautiful. His physical nuances as Clark Kent and his gentlemanly demeanor as Superman are captivating to watch. The first scene with Clark Kent at the Daily Planet is a personal favorite of mine. Reeve completely disappears into the character, and it feels genuine. When Superman says, "I'm here to fight for truth, justice, and the American way", you believe him. There are truly not enough words for how much I love Reeves' performance in this film.
Margot Kidder plays Lois Lane. Personally, I find this version of Lane to be somewhat dimwitted. Yes, she does display remarkable exuberance when it comes to her job, but other than that it just seems like nothing can go right for her. Now, her being "dimwitted" may partially have something to do with her being head-over-heels in love with Superman, which is understandable. I just do not see her purpose in being in the film other than being Supermans' love interest. I mean, how can you be a writer at the Daily Planet if you do not know how to spell?? Kidder is fantastic at playing the character, do not get me wrong. I just do not like the character all that much.
Gene Hackman plays Lex Luthor. Quite honestly, I have always had mixed feelings about the way Hackman plays the character. I enjoy seeing the maniacal, intelligent side of Luthor. However, I do not particularly care for the scenes where he shows his more humorous side. I believe this takes away from how cunning the character can be. In fact that cunning side is played brilliantly by Hackman when Luthor and Superman come face to face near the climax of the movie. Even though I do have some misgivings about the portrayal of the character, that does not take away from how much I enjoy watching Gene Hackman play the character. This is a solid piece of acting by one of cinemas' finest.
Richard Donner is the director of Superman: The Movie. I love Donners' work in this film because he dives right into the conflict between the characters, and sets up their characteristics and motivations. This makes you care about the characters even more when all the spectacular visual effects scenes happen. I love the set design of the Daily Planet and Lex Luthor's lair. The Daily Planet is bustling with people doing their jobs, people typing and phones ringing off the hook. Luthor's lair is lined with encyclopedias and research books written by well-renowned authors. I have to say that some of the visual effects during the flood sequence at the climax of the film do feel a bit dated. You can tell that the sets of the neighborhoods are miniatures. Other than this minor complaint, Donner does a marvelous job with this movie. The characters, sets and visual effects are handled with the greatest of care by one of the most brilliant directors of our time.
Superman: The Movie is an unmitigated classic in every sense of the word. It has a great story, wonderful characters, and spectacular visual effects. If you have not yet checked out the movie that started the superhero movie genre, I highly suggest that you do as soon as possible. You will love it.
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