Superman: The Movie (1978) Movie Info
| Field | Details |
|---|---|
| Movie Name | Superman: The Movie (1978) |
| Director | Richard Donner |
| Screenplay Writer | Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman, Robert Benton |
| Based on Novel by | Based on DC Comics character created by Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster |
| Lead Actors | Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman |
| Cast | Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Terence Stamp |
| Genre | Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Superhero |
| Release Date | December 15, 1978 (United States) |
| Duration | 2h 23m (143 minutes) |
| Budget | ~$55 million |
| Language | English |
| Country | United Kingdom, United States |
| Box Office (Worldwide) | ~$300 million (including re-releases) |
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Summary
The Last Son Of Krypton comes to the big screen in a flawed, if still compelling, movie.
Review
Let’s face it after the first hour of this movie, you want to skip to Superman II and avoid Gene Hackman making with the ham, but this is still a perfectly fine way to kill a few hours thanks to compelling performances, special effects that still hold up, and a script that effectively balances the widescreen action with personal moments.
In case you didn’t know: Superman is an alien sent from the doomed planet Krypton to our world, where he has powers and abilities far beyond those of mortal men. If you needed that particular tidbit, you may also be unaware that the Earth is round, gravity is the reason things fall, and that a nice scoop of vanilla ice cream improves most slices of pie effectively.
Anyhow, we get to see young Kal-El escape the death throes of his homeworld after his father Jor-El (played by Marlon Brando, who collected a huge paycheck) places him in an experimental spacecraft and aims him in our general direction, land in Kansas where Jonathan and Martha Kent find and adopt him, and become the face that’s sold a few million comic books.
Christopher Reeve is perfect for the role of Clark Kent Superman and the rest of the cast, with the notable exceptions of the slightly lupine and unattractive Margot Kidder (who still delivers her lines well, but seems more pissed off than she really should) as Lois Lane and Gene Hackman (who really seems convinced that he’s playing Lex Luthor at a dinner theater in Poughkeepsie,) matches this high standard.
While Lex Luthor’s plot to sink California into the ocean to make him a real estate mogul in Nevada is stupid, the viewer does get to see Superman doing what Superman does so well he saves the world, he serves as a symbol, and all that very effectively, but it’s not until the second movie that he gets a challenge that truly sells the character to the audience. The first hour is perfect, the rest of the movie alternates between excellent and quite painful, which keeps this from getting five beers.
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