Movie Reviewed: Superman: The Movie (1978)

BOMB BA BOMB BOMBBBBB! BOMB BA BOMB BOMBBBB! BOMB BA BOMB BOMBBBBBB! Bomb bomb ba bomb.. Man, I cannot get that music out of my head.

In A Nutshell:
On the doomed planet Krypton, the scientist Jor-El sends his only son on a space ship to Earth so that his life may be spared, raised by a kind Kansas farmer and his wife, raised on good old fashioned American ideals. The boy's name is Kal-El. He will be called Clark Kent (aka Nerdy Reporter Man). But to the world, he will be known as Superman, the Man of Steel. After being raised in Smallville, Kansas, Clark journeys to the arctic, creates the Fortress of Solitude, undergoes 12 years of training under the ghost of Jor-El, and becomes the Man of Steel. He takes a job at the Daily Planet, falls for coworker Lois Lane, and battles the nefarious Lex Luthor.

The Good:
So, I have a hard time reviewing classic movies, because I can't look at them as classics to review them without a biased. I have to treat them like I would any other movie. That being said, I though this was really good. The story was awesome, albeit corny, and makes you believe in this journey and this hero (I'm not gonna say "that a man can fly" here because every critic has said that at some point, but yeah, I believed that too. Wait..), played by the ever-amazing Christopher Reeve (RIP). Seriously, Christopher Reeve's performance, both as Nerdy-Reporter-Man Clark Kent and the Man of Steel, was probably the best part of the whole movie. He owns it, and you what, I'll say it, he IS Superman (sorry Brandon Routh). I could go on about how Reeve's performance was coupled with an entertaining story with appropriate amounts of humor and danger and what not, along with other great performances by the people who played Lois and Perry and Lex (but not Jimmy Olsen. The best Jimmy Olsen is still the guy in Superman Returns whose name escapes me), but honestly, there isn't much I can really say to praise this movie that hasn't been said by film critics/scholars for the last 34 years. That's how good it is.

The Bad:
"I am Lex Luthor, the greatest criminal mastermind of the 20th century! Bwahh!" I won't lie, that is one of the corniest lines of all time. And truthfully, the movie can be pretty corny. To be fair, Superman, and DC Comics in general, have always had a tendency to be cheesy. So yeah, the dialogue, by today's standards, is a tad corny. Just don't let it take away from the quality of the movie too much. My only beefs with the movie besides the occasional corny-ness are the dated special effects (it was 1978, I get it, but it still does look kind of fake) and the whole flying around the world really fast to turn back time thing (Superman ANGRRRYYYYYYYY!).

Final Rating: 95%


So, what's your favorite Superman movie? You've got all five to choose from. Comment below, let me know!


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