Superman: The Movie

I don’t remember the first time I saw Superman: The Movie. As far as I can tell, it’s just always been there in my life, existing as one of my favorite movies of all time. Between seeing this and Tim Burton’s Batman as a kid, my love for superheroes was forever cemented in my manboy brain, but Superman: The Movie, and more specifically Christopher Reeve’s performance, to this day stands tall as the best on screen version of Superman, and my personal favorite interpretation of the character.

Spoilers for Superman: The Movie to follow.

The movie opens with a child’s voiceover detailing the heroic reputation of The Daily Planet during the Great Depression. ”A great metropolitan newspaper whose reputation for clarity and truth had become a symbol of hope for the entire community!” By using a child’s simple yet accurate description, director Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon, The Goonies) deftly establishes the films themes of truth, justice and hope within seconds, and then immediately throws us into the opening credits sequence that is led by John Williams now iconic score. It’s a joyous opening for a film that is already brimming with positive vibes.

Donner then takes us through the destruction of Krypton, Kal-El crash landing on Earth and learning important lessons from his adoptive parents, Jonathon and Martha Kent, and then his arrival in 1970s Metropolis as Clark Kent, mild mannered reporter. Donner perfectly captures the Man of Steel’s origins in this first act. The Krypton sequence alone is a beautifully realized tragedy, filmed with gorgeous miniatures and other various old school effect tricks that live within the film. The practical effects add a sense of wonder and awe to the planet’s destruction; it feels like a real, living environment instead of CGI backgrounds.

Marlon Brando pops up for a few minutes in this section as Jor-El, father to Kal-El AKA Superman. Despite the actors notorious diva like behavior behind the scenes, his presence no doubt adds gravitas to this comic book world (this film was one of the first, if not THE first, comic book movies to truly be taken seriously by Hollywood).

But for me, the movie really begins to take flight (!) when we see Kal-El, now known as Clark, in his high school years in Smallville. This sequence only lasts maybe 5 minutes, but it’s the most poignant in the whole movie. Clark, frustrated that he can’t use his abilities in sports to make high school bully Brad shut the hell up, gets a pep talk from his adoptive father. Clark asks, “Is it showing off if a person is doing the things he’s capable of doing? Is a bird showing off if it flies?” It’s a question that any teenager chomping at the bit to be an adult and do all the things they want to do would ask. Pa Kent responds with, “No, no. Now, you listen to me. When you first came to us, we thought people would come and take you away because, when they found out, you know, the things you could do... and that worried us a lot. But then a man gets older, and he starts thinking differently and things get very clear. And one thing I do know, son, and that is you are here for a *reason*. I don't know whose reason, or whatever the reason is... Maybe it's because... uh... I don't know. But I do know one thing. It's *not* to score touchdowns. Huh?” After this quality exchange, the father and son then share a nice moment before Clark challenges his Dad to a race as Clark takes off running to the barn and Jonathan follows, only to collapse seconds later of a heart attack.

This is the biggest chunk of screen time legendary actor Glenn Ford has in the movie, but he nails this short monologue so hard and so well that we don’t need anymore time with him to understand the impact he has on the Man of Steel. Once again, Donner is gliding through this origin with skill and efficiency, milking each moment for all that it’s worth.

After the funeral, Clark begins his journey of self discovery and the creation of the Fortress of Solitude, a smaller version of Krypton right here on Earth made from crystals that Jor-El sent with Kal-El on his journey to this planet. Included is an A.I. version of Jor-El that will help Superman learn not only about his history but the human race as well. It’s an incredible sequence that glosses over years of lessons between the two, one of which is that Jor-El spends an entire year teaching his son about the complexities of the human heart. This is one of my absolute favorite tidbits in the movie, as it explains the empathy, understanding and care Christopher Reeve’s Superman has for his adoptive planet and its people.

Reeve’s performance echoes those teachings every second he’s on screen, whether it’s as Clark or Superman. I think that’s a big reason why this performance has endured as long as it has; Reeve shows us that this all powerful God who can easily take the world as his throne instead CHOOSES empathy. He decides to show the human race what genuine goodness is in hopes of inspiring others to do the same. It’s something so simple yet it feels utterly profound to me, especially since we’re living in a reality where it’s abundantly clear that people don’t want to help or care for others, especially if it’s inconvenient for them.

For me, the Boy Scout quality of Superman is part of what makes him so endearing and inspiring, and Reeve brings that to life in a way only he could. I love watching him help people, whether it’s stopping crime or grabbing a cat out of a tree, I love it. Watching him in this role digs up my inner optimist, something I didn’t think was possible after the hell scape the past year has been.

It should also be mentioned that the rest of the cast is equally entertaining to watch. Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor is one of Hackman’s funniest performances. Margot Kidder is THE perfect Lois Lane (and her chemistry with Reeve is the real fucking deal) and of course Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine, Jackie Cooper and Marc McClure are all note perfect.

The film as a whole, however, is not. The much maligned ending has Superman rewinding time so he can save Lois Lane, who died after he failed to rescue her in time. It’s a choice that strips away the stakes the film had been setting up this entire time and more than anything I just find it to be very lame, especially for a movie that is anything but.

At this point though I’ve long come to terms with the ending, and thankfully the rest of the movie is so good it almost doesn’t matter anyway. Besides, this movie gave us Christopher Reeve’s Superman, and in the end that’s all that matters.