Clark Kent comes to the big city from his small town life, is intimidated by his job at the bustling Daily Planet, and crushes on star reporter Lois Lane but can’t figure out how to even flirt with her without humiliating himself. In stark contrast Superman blows onto the scene rescuing Lois from a accidental death and smooth talking her about the safest way to travel, he catches jewel thieves with a nod & a wink, and has Lois Lane crushing on him. But of course the road to being the worlds savior is not easy, it must have a villain – in this case it’s the real estate obsessed, over the top Lex Luthor who plans to exploit California’s fault lines and create a new west coast.
Superman the movie is very exaggerated – beyond exaggerated in fact as at one point Superman flies around the world and reverses its rotation to turn back time. But that said, I still love this movie with all it’s bumps and flaws.
I’ve had an obsession with Superman my entire life and this movie is part of that obsession; while Richard Donner did not create the perfect version of Superman, he did manage to bring the hero to the screen in an epic and monumental way. Donner has defined the way the man of steel has been used in movies and TV for the past few decades. Even Bryan Singer in Superman Returns directly tried to follow the Superman world set up in the first two Superman movies.
One thing that has always driven me nuts about this movie is the interview Superman give Lois. In a classic information dump Superman sits down and proceeds to tell Lois all of his strengths and every single one of his weaknesses, plus his entire origin…thus painting a target on his cape. What I noticed this time that is even more absurd is at the beginning of this interview Lois asks Supes how old he is and when he gives a coy answer she states she realizes he needs anonymity for protection…then they devolve into the aforementioned interview. Also, how does Luthor immediately jump to kryptonite being Superman’s achilles heel?
All that being said, Superman is a movie that I love, and it will remain part of my viewing library for many years to come. At this point, it is still one of my favorite Superman films.
Director: Richard Donner
Writers: Mario Puzo, David Newman, Leslie Newman & Robert Mankiewicz
Clark Kent/Superman: Christopher Reeve
Lois Lane: Margot Kidder
Jor-El: Marlon Brando
Lex Luthor: Gene Hackman
Perry White: Now look. The Post: "It Flies." The News: "Look, Ma, No Wires." The Times: "Blue Bomb Buzzes Metropolis." The Planet. We're sitting on top of the story of the century here! I want the name of this flying whatchamacallit to go with the Daily Planet like bacon and eggs, franks and beans, death and taxes, politics and corruption.
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