[9]

This was the first blockbuster superhero movie (for better and for worse) and I doubt there will ever be a better film adaptation for the Man of Steel. Under Richard Donner's (The Omen, Lethal Weapon) direction and good taste, Superman is a winning blend of action, drama, charm, and yes, camp. The first forty minutes are emotionally powerful, more than any other comic book adaptation I've ever seen. I get choked up every time I watch this movie, whether it's seeing Marlon Brando (as Jor-El) say goodbye to his son before sending him away from their doomed home world, watching the Kent family deal with the death of Jonathan Kent, or the gorgeous wheat field scene where Clark tells Ma Kent it's time for him to go.

The movie shifts gears, narratively and stylistically, when we enter Metropolis and The Daily Planet. Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder are terrific together as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. They capture the essence of screwball comedy in their interactions, making their budding romance more palatable, at least for me. The scene on Lois Lane’s patio, where she interviews Superman for the first time, is extraordinarily well-written and performed — my favorite scene in the movie, thanks to Reeve and Kidder. Adding remarkable luster to the fantasy are cinematographer Geoffrey Unsworth and composer John Williams.

If I have gripes with the movie, they all come in the movie’s last forty minutes, when Lex Luthor attempts to sink California into the ocean. I love Gene Hackman as Luthor, but things get a bit silly toward the end. I’m not a fan of the whole ‘spinning back time’ sequence. The movie is so good for so long, I feel like it deserves a better ending than this. Fortunately, it’s not enough to tarnish the movie too badly. This Superman’s not perfect, but it’s close. It’s still my favorite ‘superhero’ movie to date.

With Ned Beatty, Terence Stamp, Glenn Ford, and Jackie Cooper

Academy Award: Special Achievement in Visual Effects
Nominations: Best Film Editing (Stuart Baird), Best Music Score (John Williams), Best Sound