Superman (1978)

I have been very captivated with how far comic book movies have come. Marvel has been very successful in forming a franchise with a cast of heroes that we’ve grown up with. We’ve been enthralled with the cinematic adventures of Iron Man, Captain America, and the rest who form the Avengers. We were even entertained by lesser known heroes like the Guardians of the Galaxy. Yes, Marvel seems to be on top of the summer blockbuster world.

However, when it comes to their rival company, DC films have attempted to catch up on the heels of Marvel’s success and mainly backfire. With messy storytelling and dark qualities in its characterization and tone, the recent DC films just leave me empty. It’s a shame because their movies look so promising and again comic book movies are to a higher standard not just because of Marvel, but because of one DC movie that changed everything: The Dark Knight. Yet the films from the DCEU feel so mishandled, either from the makers or the Warner Bros. studio. I have been thinking a lot about Superman and how he’s been portrayed so far in the DCEU. I haven’t been a fan of the destruction he caused, fighting his opponents, and the way he looked bitter and emotionally tortured. Some felt this modernization was well-needed, but it didn’t felt right to me. It was then I decided to go back to the film which you could say paved the way for the comic book movie genre. I went and watched Richard Donner’s Superman.

Now in this review, I will not draw any comparisons to Man of Steel or Batman v Superman. No mention of the DCEU from this point on. I will judge the movie on its own merit.

I guess we’ll start with the story. Yes, I know everyone knows this story but just bear with me. The planet Krypton is on the verge of destruction. Jor-El sends his only son Kal-El in a little ship bound to Earth. The boy is found by Jonathan and Martha Kent in the town of Smallville where he grows up as Clark Kent and shows some incredible abilities. However, his father dies of a heart attack and he leaves home to find out where he came from.  Clark goes up north and finds the Fortress of Solitude where a hologram of his father from Krypton explains who he is and teaches him how to use his powers. Clark then becomes a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis where he meets reporter Lois Lane, photographer Jimmy Olsen, and chief Perry White. When Lois gets in a serious predicament, Clark becomes Superman and rescues her, as well as performs more heroic deeds. But little does he know a mastermind named Lex Luthor plans to use missiles to wipe out part of California. So Superman has to stop the missiles and save everyone in peril, including Lois of course.

Firstly, let’s talk about the cast, starting with Christopher Reeve as Superman. My goodness, his performance still holds up. He just brought the man of steel to life extremely well with his likeability. The other cast members do well, including Margot Kidder as Lois Lane and Gene Hackman as the smooth, well-dressed, self-proclaimed “greatest criminal mastermind of the century,” Lex Luthor. Marlon Brando is very good and genuine as Jor-El, even though he keeps mispronouncing Krypton as Kryptin.  And even with only a few minutes of screen time, Glenn Ford plays Jonathan Kent with a lot of warmth.

The special effects, even to this day, are great…for the most part. Those flying scenes still look incredible. The tagline for this movie was “You’ll believe a man can fly” and boy they didn’t disappoint.  But with that said, some FX look campy like the phantom zone which was a spinning, flying screen which I’m sure it looked cool back then but it looks pretty silly. The same goes for the scene with young Clark running beside the train where he kind of looks like a stop motion miniature. Also, the way Clark changes into his Superman suit in a revolving door. I guess back then spinning was the standard for superheroes, much like Wonder Woman. Nonetheless, the flying scenes shine all the way.

The other best thing about the film is the iconic music from John Williams. Just hearing that theme in the opening title sequence with the zooming credits is a great way to get the audience pumped up. There were also some beautiful music cues in the Smallville scenes and the Superman/Lois flying scene.

If there were any other issues I have with the movie, besides some of the FX, it would be the part of the climax when Lois dies in an earthquake caused by one of the missiles because Superman could only stop one. Very grief-stricken, Superman spins the Earth very fast, reversing time. This is an issue a lot of people have. The biggest question on my mind was if Superman could fly fast enough to spin the earth, why couldn’t he stop the other missile as well?

But aside from that, Superman is an enjoyable, visual treat. Although there were some campy moments and no fighting scenes, I felt it was meant to be a spectacle and manages to pull through.  It was a huge success when it came out and even though the next films would decline in quality, Warner Bros would later strike gold again with Batman in 1989. But Richard Donner’s Superman would be the beginning of a long line of successes and failures for some of our favorite heroes’ transition to the silver screen.

RATING: MODEST APPROVAL