Superman

I've been waiting to review this movie for a long time. Finally, at long last, I get to take a look at the one that started it all: Superman. Coming out in 1978, this was the first serious major motion picture about a superhero; therefore, it was only fitting that it features the first and original superhero. Superman was directed by Richard Donner and stars Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman and Christopher Reeve. How does this classic hold up after more than 30 years? Let's find out.

The opening credits is kind of long, but powerful with John Williams' iconic music. Nothing says Superman more than this wonderful soundtrack, which earns a point by itself.

The score rises to a 7 for Marlon Brando as Jor-El. He really adds a sense of dignity and mysticism to the movie. At first, I was a little bothered that he was so old, but then it made me think about Abraham and Isaac. I once wrote a 10-page paper about Superman being a type of Christ, and most of my sources came from this movie. Not only was baby Kal-El sent to Earth in a small rocket, kind of like Moses, but his dad intended for him to be an example and savior for mankind. Now with my new little idea that Jor-El had to wait a long time for his only son to be born, kind of like Abraham, furthers this religious motif. Superhero stories can be pretty deep if you want them to.

I have to take a point off for some confusing and kind of lame plot points. After Jonathan Kent dies, Clark takes the green crystal (probably not Kryptonite?) from his spaceship and somehow knows he's supposed to take it to the North Pole. Once there, he throws the crystal into the ice and it turns into the Fortress of Solitude (OK, I can handle that), and then he trains with Jor-El (also good). But then Jor-El says they've been training for 12 years. 12 years?! Why would it possibly take THAT long to learn to be Superman? Later, we see Lex Luthor and company reading Lois Lane's article, and they quote several lines that Superman did not say in the interview scene. Did she interview him a second time off screen? Possibly. But then Luthor tells his cohorts that Kryptonite can kill Superman. Did the article say that? If so, how did Luthor find this out? But if it was in the article, then why did Superman tell that to Lois Lane? "By the way, Lois, the only thing that can kill me is Kryptonite. That's K-R-Y..."

But I will add a point for Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent. He is goofy, bumbling, yet lovable. Most importantly, he is very un-Superman-like. It's not just a matter of putting on glasses — his whole demeanor changes. He slouches, walks differently, talks in a different voice, and can change back and forth so fast, that it almost seems like he really is two separate people. I also really liked how he was able to secretly save Lois as Clark. Christopher Reeve really set the standard with this role.

However, the score will fall back to a 6 for Margot Kidder as Lois Lane. She's not very pretty and has a really annoying voice, which is only made worse by her incessant screaming. You'd think a courageous, top-notch reporter wouldn't freak out so much. Also, how can a reporter have that bad spelling. I know she's supposed to be bad at spelling, but this movie had her misspelling tons of rather basic words. I did like how she was quickly infatuated with Superman, but I really have no idea what he sees in her.

One of the best scenes in the movie is the first time we see Clark Kent transform into Superman. The music and the tension builds, and then he rips open his shirt to show the S-shield underneath. Gets me every time. To me, it's a wonderful representation that while all of us are rather ordinary on the outside, we each have the potential inside us to be something super.

The worst scene of the movie is quite possibly the "Can You Read My Mind" sequence. The idea of having Superman and Lois fly over the city romantically is a good one, and the music was really nice, but having Lois speak the words of the song was weird, and having her fly for an extended period of time side-by-side with Superman while supported only by her hand was just ridiculous. Yes, she did fall after he tried to hold just her fingers, but she should not have been able to stay up as long as she did. She would have had to be an expert acrobat to pull that off.

I will bring the score back to a 7 for Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. Yes, he was pretty goofy, but in a lovable way, I feel. There's nothing wrong with a little humor, right? ... Nevermind. But the most important things about Lex Luthor — being smart and evil — they nailed pretty well. My favorite Lex line is when Superman says, "Is that how a warped mind like yours gets its kicks? By planning the death of innocent people?" To which Luthor replies, "No, by causing the death of innocent people." Classic Lex.

A lot of people like to point out how stupidly impossible it is to reverse the rotation of Earth to go back in time. I agree completely. However, I will not take a point off for that because I really enjoyed Superman's emotional scream that set the whole thing off after Lois Lane died. Therefore, it kind of balances itself out. I'll also address an issue brought up by How It Should Have Ended. It's not that Superman couldn't catch both the missiles, it's that he didn't know he could. He still was relatively new at being Superman (despite spending 12 years training in a strange inter dimensional plane with his dad), and he wasn't fully aware of his capabilities. That's my excuse, anyway.

In the end, I also have to add a bonus point for the historical significance of this movie. Before Superman, the only superhero to grace the silver screen in a modern major motion picture was the hilarious Batman starring Adam West. Nobody had ever attempted a serious superhero movie of this magnitude before, and, by 1978's standards, I'd say this was a success. It inspired three more Superman movies, and I do believe that without this first movie, there'd be no Batman, X-Men, or Spider-Man movies, either. Every historical comic book discussion begins with Superman, and every historical superhero movie discussion also has to start here. True, the once-amazing special effects of 1978 no longer lead me to "believe a man can fly," but I think the film as a whole did a good job of capturing the essence of Superman and what it means to be a superhero. And in my opinion, that is the most important thing.

Final score: 8 out of 10