George Taylor
The first third of this movie is one of the best origin stories of all time. It's when Superman gets to Metropolis that it gets creaky. The plot, Luthor dropping california into the sea, isn't really Superman worthy. And his powers aren't up to snuff. Superman can't catch two missiles? The entire spinning the earth backwards is a lame idea, I can't believe it took what, five screenwriters? But Superman himself, as portrayed by Chris Reeve is great - for it's time. Still worth watching, warts and all.
darinwalter-34701
Winner of all time, Richard Greenberg for "Superman" The Movie. Genius, original, and breathtaking.
Horst in Translation (filmreviews@web.de)
"Superman" is an American/British/Swiss live action movie from 1978, so this one has its 40th anniversary next year. It was the film that turned comic book character into a full feature superhero to be reckoned with. Sure there were a lot of other inclusions of him in film and television before that, but none of them were really as impactful as Adam West's Batman series for example. The most known were probably still the old cartoons from the days of WWII. Anyway, if you take a look at the people who made this, you will find many big names. The writing team is packed with Oscar winners and nominees that were in charge of several films that are considered classics today and this is also true for director Richard Donner, even if he was never nominated for an Oscar. He is still alive today by the way, in his late 80s. And the cast list is just as spectacular. Brando and Hackman in the same film, add to that Stamp, a personal favorite of mine and Oscar nominees Cooper, Howard, Perrine in supporting roles plus the likes of Maria Schell etc. This project was really destined to turn into something big. And it sort of did.I think it was a good watch. Even at over 2 hours and 20 minutes, it basically never drags, which is quite an achievement. Sure there are moments that you will maybe not like as much as others, but they were gone quickly and it is all subjective obviously. The long runtime is also justified by the story. There really is a lot in here: Jor-El, the childhood, the reckoning of his powers, becoming Superman, leading a normal life at the same time, meeting Lex and keeping his catastrophe from happening. At under 2 hours, it could certainly have felt rushed, so it's all good. I am not sure if I am entirely sold on the ill-fated Chris Reeve playing the title character. It's not that he is bad or anything, but lets decide after film 2 perhaps if I think he is right for the part. The best thing about the film were maybe the first 25 minutes as Brando really shines there and I find it shocking that he received zero awards recognition for his turn here, if even the female assistant to the bad guy got some. Speaking about the bad guy, Gene Hackman is a brilliant actor, but honest he wasn't working too well here for me I must say. Maybe they gave him the wig, so he wouldn't feel like another Blofeld or so as he sure had an aura of Bond villain to him. Just like the girls, especially Perrine's character, felt a bit like Bond girls and as I am a huge Bond fan, maybe that helped the film with me.Still it is okay overall: If you like superhero films, then you can check this one out and like it too. The Oscar nominations it got are okay, by the way it lost two of them to Best Picture winner "The Deer Hunter". So yeah, I liked the beginning the most, but the fact that the film would have worked without it too, shows that everything afterward isn't too bad either. Audiences apparently thought the same and Reeve reprised his role several times in some sequels that were after the first sequel not well-received anymore. But the pathos of Superman is shown by this still being the defining role of his career. And of course, in the wave of recent superhero films, the character is more than present in today's cinematic landscape. Back to this one here: I am not too enthusiastic about it to be honest, but it was a decent introduction to the character and universe and as I have always been bigger on Batman and Spider-Man, my judgment is a bit biased here. "Superman" gets a thumbs-up from me. Go check it out.
