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Written by: Jerry Siegel & Joe Shuster (character created by: Superman), Mario Puzo (story), Mario Puzo and David Newman and Leslie Newman & Robert Benton (screenplay), Tom Mankiewicz (screenplay, uncredited)
Directed by: Richard Donner
Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Terence Stamp
Rated: PG
Watch the trailer
Plot
An alien orphan is sent from his dying planet to Earth, where he grows up to become his adoptive home's first and greatest superhero.
Verdict
It's impressive for the time period, as well as pre-dating the superhero genre. The scenes that build Superman as a hero and show the duality of Clark Kent and Superman are great, but the second half of this falters with a bumbling villain and a ridiculous plan. It feels like two different movies. I get this wants to have a big comic book villain and in turn inspiring finale, but what's delivered feels ridiculous. Everything Lex Luthor does stretches credibility. That's capped off with Superman turning back time, and I just can't take that seriously. Superman is a hero while Luthor is a cartoon that drags this down.
It depends.
Review
Mario Puzo, known for the novel The Godfather, was hired to write a script due to the producers wanting someone famous. His script reduced the sci-fi aspect and combined Superman and Superman II into one movie. It was later rewritten due to the heavy themes. Newman and Benton's script was much more campy and split Puzo's script into two movies while making it much longer.. Mankiewicz ultimately wrote the script that was filmed. By the time the movie started filming, it was claimed not a word of Puzo's script remained, though it does use Puzo's story structure.
An introduction with a comic talking about the newspaper precedes an extremely long text credits sequence before we finally start with Krypton. Superman's father exiles a group of rebels and also warns of a star destroying the planet. No one believes him, and he agrees to remain quiet. Instead he prepares to send his son away to a primitive planet where he knows he will thrive.
I'm surprised that Jonathan and Martha Kent don't find it completely odd that a boy in a burned field looks like he fell from the sky. It's only when toddler Clark lifts a truck they wonder if he's different. Despite his ability, Clark hides in plain sight, not revealing what he can do. Exposition from his father provides the reason. He must hide so he isn't taken away.
I assume that just as the crystal in his space ship hidden in the barn called to him, so did this fortress in the Arctic. Who built the fortress? It has a message from Clark's father, and this is the turning point where Clark Kent becomes Superman. He's created this persona of Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve), a weak, clumsy but well meaning boy scout. These scenes, though improbably, build the character. He and Lois are mugged, and he catches the bullet. It's a way to show his power and his motivations.
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| Christopher Reeve plays Superman |
Something this does better than the 2025 version is showcasing Clark's strengths and goals. I get the new one assumes everyone knows who Superman is, but when Superman grabs the falling helicopter, it's such a cool moment. We see a montage of Superman at his best. It shows us who he is as he's also becoming a hero. Reeve does a great job between the two, changing his voice and posture. The Superman parts of this movie are inspiring.
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| Margot Kidder, Christopher Reeve play Lois Lane, Superman |
The Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) aspect of the movie feels like a comic book, but that's also a part of when this was released. Lex has a hidden secret lair in the subway and his goals are silly. This is an attempt to create a villain with a grandiose plan. You need something grandiose like sinking a continent or starting your own country. A Superman villain needs to seem big with designs that affect the entire world. It's not an easy task. Luthor plans to sink California in a real estate scheme. In turn Superman gets to single handedly repair the San Andreas fault. It's wild, but it's a nod to the ambitious comic book adventures. Then to add stakes, Superman must save Lois. Even when I watched this as a kid, I found it dubious than Superman could reverse time by flying around the Earth and changing the rotation. To restart it, he flies the other way to start time again. Yes, it's a big finale, but it's also eye roll inducing.
This does a great job of introducing Superman, someone truly heroic. It falters in trying to create a formidable villain for one of the greatest heroes. We need a villain that has designs on the world. Luthor suffices, but everything about him is just so silly. Superman avoids feeling campy, Luthor doesn't.
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