I remember sitting through hours of HBO programming with my fingers crossed—hope, hope, hoping Superman would be the movie to play next. Checking the TV Guide wasn’t an option since I didn’t know how to read yet, so there I sat. I have no recollection of how many times I saw the film in those long-gone days, but I remember the anticipation. While it doesn’t quite capture my attention like it once did, I still found it fun and entertaining. It’s playful, which is refreshing considering what’s become of the superhero genre.
Director Richard Donner knew exactly what kind of movie he was making. Despite its budget (the largest for a film up to that point), Superman is a glorified “B” picture but done so with full intention. Had Donner’s film possessed the unsmiling nature of DC Universe films to come, we’d be looking at a complete failure. But, luckily for us, the tongue-in-cheek path took works for a 1978 action/disaster movie. For the most part anyway. The camp is so out front that star Christopher Reeve stops just short of looking at the camera and winking at us.
The origin story behind the Superman legend takes up nearly the first hour of the film. In it, we see his home planet of Krypton destroyed. His parents (Marlon Brando and Susannah York) prepare the spacecraft which will take him to Earth as the walls cave in around them. After a crash landing in Kansas, he’s taken in by the Kents (Glen Ford and Phyllis Thaxter). He lives the typical small-town life that every other alien boy does until his adopted father drops dead out of nowhere. He then heads to Metropolis to become a mild-mannered reporter. But first, it’s a stop in an arctic wasteland to build a snow fort. This is all set to the iconic score by John Williams.
I’m making light of the plot but it’s all in good fun. To be honest, it’s a well-crafted origin. We don’t see Reeve as Superman until well into the film. We know it’s coming, but by making us wait, a level of importance adds to the reveal. I found myself surprisingly thrilled when Clark Kent finally donned the cape and tights to save Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) for the first time. Sure, it’s hokey as hell, but it’s good entertainment.
The charm of the film doesn’t lie in its action or its effects, but in the outlandish nature of its characters. The villains – the nefarious Lex Luthor, his conflicted girlfriend Eve, and his dimwitted sidekick Otis (Gene Hackman, Valerie Perrine, and Ned Beatty) – are all perfectly cartoonish. Their plot to drop the California coast into the ocean (to own desirable oceanside property) is ridiculous in the evilest of geniuses sort of way. Couple that with their extravagant underground dwelling and you have the makings of super-villainy at its finest.
Then there are the “good guys.” Reeve captures Superman’s ultra-Boy Scout persona in such a wholesome way that when he and Kidder share double entendre and veiled innuendo, an air of subversion fills the scene. Watch the interaction between them when the Man of Steel shows up on her balcony for a chat. The sexual tension between them is playful and innocent on the surface, but the subtext of their conversation is anything but. I’d call it pillow talk.
Somehow Reeve is even better as Clark Kent. Even though we know damn well who he is, at a muscular six foot four and handsome as the devil, he manages to capture Kent’s nebbish nature. He’s hamming it up and having a blast doing it. Why not? In 1978 there weren’t any rules for making this sort of movie. The acting, as over-the-top as it can be at times, is exactly what the film needs. Luthor’s diabolical real estate plans and Superman’s impossibly unscientific last-ditch effort to stop them would somehow be more ridiculous if not for the fun the actors are having.
Many of the negatives lie in pacing. The first half of the film takes its time to get us to the big reveal. After that, it moves too quickly, with no sense of where it’s going. Superman saves hundreds of people and stops some crimes across several exploits, all in one night. It’s a bit of a whirlwind and doesn’t quite jive with the first act. This is forgivable because it’s so fun, but a negative all the same. Superman still comes recommended – especially if you’re after some good-time nostalgic amusement, or if you’re curious about what the first successful comic book hero movie might have looked like.
James is a writer, skateboarder, record collector, wrestling nerd, and tabletop gamer living with his family in Asheville, North Carolina. He is a member of the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the North Carolina Film Critics Association, and contributes to The Daily Orca, Razorcake Magazine, Mountain Xpress, and Asheville Movies.