Superman: The Movie Review

        In 1938, two Jewish Americans Jerry Seigel and Joe Shuster created Superman. Little did they know that their creation of an alien from another world who looks human would ultimately become a pop culture icon in the United States. The Man of Tomorrow has appeared in various animated shows and film serials, and it only became logical that the Man of Steel would eventually be adapted for feature length. I think the film is the superhero genre’s bible on how to do a great comic book film. 

1. Origins

        With any adaptation of Superman, you must show the planet Krypton blowing up. We see Jor-El as an accuser for General Zod and his treasonous gang. This is one of the exceedingly rare moments where we see the beginning set up the sequel. In fact, director Richard Donner was shooting Superman and Superman 2 back-to-back. Beating Peter Jackson for filming sequels sequentially as far as I know. Anyways, after the trial Jor-El pleads to the Kryptonian council that the planet is doomed for destruction. 

        We see the brave scientist and his wife help their baby son Kal board an escape pod. For as little time we see of Jor-El, he is highly intelligent in picking the planet that is suitable for his son. Even elaborating how exactly Kal-El will be different among the people. Ultimately the rocket flies off and the planet’s sun explodes, destroying Krypton. As Kal lands on Earth, he is seen by the farmers Jonathan and Martha Kent. 

        As years go by, we see a teenage Kal being alienated by his peers. One moment that I like is when he races the teens across the road, he is given a lecture by his adoptive dad. It shows us that Jonathon has great principles for Kal and asks him if it felt good showing off his powers. He lectures him that there’s a responsibility for being humble with great gifts. Pa Kent doesn’t understand why Clark came from space but knows it’s for a reason. What follows is the saddest scene in the film. 

        Pa Kent dies from a heart attack. It’s to the point and really shows us that Clark, with his amazing abilities can’t save everyone. From there, he decides to venture out to discover who he really is. He goes north and establishes his Fortress of Solitude and has a hologram projection of his actual father explaining who he is and what he must do. Soon, Superman starts out living as a mild-mannered reporter for The Daily Planet. Unbeknownst to him, Lex Luthor a criminal mastermind, hatches a plan to destroy the west coast for real estate purposes.

        This is probably one of those instances where we see Clark grow up and become a hero. Most of the acts represent and establish who he is and who he is supposed to be. Christopher Reeve absolutely nails the part of balancing Clark Kent and Superman. He is very humble when he is Clark and the no nonsense hero when he dons the costume. What works is that he is the opposite of the contemporary times. He has that “Oh Gosh” small town attitude which weirds out Lois when they meet in the newspaper company.

        The music by John Williams, is up there in terms of best films scores he has conducted. Whenever we hear or see Superman, that iconic theme is playing in our subconscious, since the theme is ubiquitous to the hero.  

2. A Man Who Can Fly

        As the tagline on the poster suggest “You’ll Believe a Man Can Fly”, seeing him fly shows how far special effects has come from the seventies. I believe it was Star Wars to really nail and perfect special effects at a time where it was difficult to pull off how to show Superman fly. It looks good to see him fly at night since it doesn’t look too awkward when he’s flying in the daylight. I will excuse the film on the technical side since, yes, it does look weird seeing Superman turn another way to fly. 

3. The Best Scene

        This is the best scene in the entire movie. Superman wanting Lois to interview him, this is a power move on Clark’s end. We see Lois waiting for the hero until he arrives to really get to know Lois and to share details about himself. He is honest with his answers, and it really shows just how both characters are the opposite personality wise. 

        The context I think is that during the 70s, the US was a very cynic place. With everything happening such as a distrust in authority, Lois represents how the people feel in that time. Clark shows the ideal way of authority by being completely honest with who he is and to really embrace his principles of fighting for truth and justice. When asks by Lois what color is her underwear, Superman says its pink with no affection or flirtation in his voice.

        When asked on what it’s like to fly, Superman invites her to fly with him. It’s a romantic scene between two beloved comic book characters. They fly around Metropolis and Superman holding Lois on one arm to have her act like she’s flying. A great scene for any film about a hero, and one where it shows the humility of Clark and him loving Lois. 

        After they land, Superman flies away and reverts to Clark to visit Lois for a date. There is one moment which absolutely shows that Christopher Reeve is and always will be the ideal Man of Steel. So Lois sees Clark and changes in her room. We see Kent removing his glasses and have his assertive voice of Superman come out as he wants to tell Lois his secret. When she comes out, he puts on his glasses and is Clark again. 

4. Legacy

        The film was a massive success and spawned a franchise. Which progressively got worse after the sequel. I’ll say that the fourth one is probably the worst thing ever in terms of Superman and a fall from grace for an adapted superhero. There were attempts to bring back Superman in the 90s. Tim Burton and Nicolas Cage were signed on to do one, but Warner Bros. pulled the plug. It wasn’t until Bryan Singer made a quasi-sequel with Superman Returns. 

        It gave the legitimacy of how to do a perfect comic book film. Since prior to the release, most adaptations were mostly of animated matinees that was shown before a film started. Having the humility and drama made the character worth caring for and to be invested in when something tragic happened. More so that Christopher Nolan cited Donner's take of Superman when pitching his version of Batman to Warner Bros. 

        Little did people know was that the series has a spinoff. Supergirl was the first superhero film to have a heroine in the lead. And one of the worst comic book films ever. You know how I feel about Man of Steel and I won’t divulge on it. 

5. Overall

        This is still the best Superman film. 40 years later and there has never been a Superman film that has matched the first one. Well, the director’s cut of Superman 2 is the superior sequel than the studio cut. What is it with Warner Bros. and director’s cuts?

        Superman: The Movie gets a four out of five.