43. Superman: The Movie

Richard, Donner, 1978

“You’ve got me? Who’s got you?”

I believe a man can fly and I always have. Superman has always been my favorite super-hero. I remember my Superman action figure from when I was a kid and the special mail order only Clark Kent I still have. I remember the little spaceship toy I had for him. It didn’t matter that Superman doesn’t need a spaceship; it was his anyway. I remember going to the mall with my parents and watching an odd little one man stage show featuring the man of steel himself, right there, in person. Lex Luthor had rigged an elaborate plan using Kryptonite dust to steal his memory and us kids had to remind Superman who he was. I remember the big book of black and white Superman reprints I had constantly checked out from the New Carlisle library and I remember getting in trouble for reading it when I should have paid attention to class. To this day, I know of no greater mythology than Superman: the planet Krypton, which was his home, his Kryptonian parents, Jor-El and Lara, his earth parents, Jon and Martha, his adventures as Superboy in Smallville, his first tragic meeting with Lex Luthor, his childhood love Lana Lang, the creation of Bizarro, the arrival of Krypto, adventures in the 30th Century with the Legion of Super-Heroes, moving to Metropolis to work at the Daily Planet, where he met Perry White and Jimmy Olsen and fell in love with Lois Lane, the arrival of Brainiac, Mr. Mxyzptlk, the Bottle City of Kandor, Metallo, his cousin, Kara Zor-El, Supergirl, and so much more.

It is no surprise, then, that I would love Superman: The Movie. It pretty much has a pass. Even if it were a really mediocre effort, it would still be amazing to see the last son of Krypton live and breathe and move on the screen. Luckily for all of us, it’s a superb movie, an incredible adaptation to the screen. From those first moments on the barren planet Krypton, with Marlon Brando as Jor-El, you enter a fantastic world where anything is possible. Brando is terrific and Gene Hackman is excellent as the scheming Lex Luthor, but the core of this movie is Christopher Reeve. He is so incredibly sincere in his performance as a man who only wants two things: to help mankind and to be one of them. He works perfectly both as Superman, exuding an offhanded confidence in himself and his powers, and as Clark Kent, the bumbling facade which protects his friends from retribution. The effects are great, too, and I think still hold up today. When Superman flies, you can almost believe it’s true. It would be so easy to fill this movie full of corny, campy performances, but no one does. Everyone on screen believes and commits to the super powered man in blue tights and red underwear.

The film also has just so many great set pieces, which perfectly display how Superman should be. The whole sequence when he saves Lois from the helicopter crash is great, as is the part where he secretly uses his powers, while disguised as Clark, to save her from a mugging. I love the whole early montage where Superman stops a robber walking up the side of the building, stops a drug shipment on a boat, and then takes the place of one of Air Force One’s jet engines during an electrical storm. And, even though it gets a lot of crap, I dig the part where Superman turns back time itself to save Lois’ life. This movie gets Superman in ways that so many other efforts miss the mark. It honors him and respects him and gives us a living, breathing hero to cheer on, if only for two hours.