When most of us think about superheroes, we think of humans, or mutants with super powers, who can remove big objects with their bare hands, or break mountains into pieces. They might be able to control electricity, weather, or even take control over your mind. But in real life, real superheroes are the ones who sacrifce themselves to save someone from a fire, helps someone from drowning, or will risk their lives to help someone from falling down a mountain. People who will do everything to help someone, these are the real superheroes. Without these people, we would not be able to save human lives. So i personally really admire people who are not afraid to risk their own lives, to make sure that someone else will survive. We have seen a lot of superhero characters in comic books, Hollywood films, and TV series of course, in many different versions. One of the most iconic comic book heroes of all time, has to be the comic book character known as Superman. Created by writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster, Superman debuted as a comic book character in 1938, in the comic book Action Comics #1. Since the late 1930´s, Superman became a very popular superhero comic book character, that turned into radio serials, novels, movies, televison shows, and even theatre plays. I did read Superman comic books back in the early 80´s, when i used to visit the local comic book store in our howtown. But when i really got into Superman was acually when i first saw the 1978 film Superman, from legendary director Richard Donner ( who have directed so many good films such as Lethal Weapon, Leathal Weapon 2, The Goonies, The Omen, Maverick, Ladyhawke, Scrooged and many more ). Unfortunately, we lost legendary director Richard Donner earlier this year, and to pay my respect i decided to review his film Superman from 1978. I have actually not seen this film in quite some time, so it was actually fun to revisit this film for this review. Question is, do i enjoy this film even more after all these years?
On the planet Krypton, Jor-El ( Marlon Brando ) of the Kryptonian high council discovers that the planet will be destroyed when it drifts out of its orbit toward its red supergiant sun. The other council members dismiss his claims. To save his son Kal-El, his infant son, Jor-El sends him in a spaceship to Earth, where his dense molecular structure will give him superhuman strength and other powers. The ship lands near Smallville, Kansas. Kal-El, now three Earth years old, is found by Jonathan Kent ( Glenn Ford ) and Martha Kent ( Phyllis Thaxter ). It becomes very clear that this little boy have incredible strength. As Kal-El grows up, he becomes more aware of his strength, but there are a lot of questions unanswered. Where is he originally from? What is his purpose on Earth? He must travel far to find out, all the answers that he is looking for.
When a film based on a classic comic book superhero, released 43 years ago, still feels like a better superhero movie than a lot of other comic book film adapations, you realise the powerful impact that the film Superman still have, after all these years. Not only is this film really well made, but one of the most important details of this film is that there are so many great characters in this film. But what makes this film really unique, is the portrait of a superhero, where you can sense that he may not be able to help everyone. Especially when a young Karl El, played by actor Jeff East, when his adopted father Perry White, dies of a heart attack. Not even Superman can save ordinary humans to die of natural causes. And i think this sends a very important message in a film like this, that no matter what superpowers you have, you can´t save everyone, we will all die at some point. Legendary actor Christopher Reeve as Clark Kent / Superman, is without a doubt the best Superman actor in history so far. There was something very charming about his portrait of these 2 characters, that no other actor have been able to do in more modern Superman films. I also think Christopher Reeve understood the comic book character Superman very well, and you can tell that through his acting performance. Since we are talking about acting performances, one of the highlights of this film is definetely legendary actor Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor. This is how you give a performance that you will never forget, and Gene knows exactly how to portrait this classic comic book character, without any flaws. Legendary actress Margot Kidder as reporter Lois Lane, is also one of the performances that you will be affected by. Margot feels so natural in this role, and you can feel her presence. You also have legendary actor Marlon Brando here as Karl El´s father Jor-El, wich feels like a perfect match. As a superhero movie, Superman manage to combine a serious superhero tone, and manage to balance this with some charming moments through the strong characters of this film. All of the action scenes may not be as effective today, as they probably were in the late 70´s, but some scenes are still really powerful, especially when Superman tries to save Lois Lane from an earthquake. Christopher Reeve as Superman will always be one of the most iconic acting performances in a film based on a comic book hero, and director Richard Donner managed to find the right balance to make this film work, on many different levels. This is a film that still can bring hope to the whole world, and that is exactly what we all need these days. Superman is a must see for all ages, especially if you are a comic book fan. This film will go down in history as one of the better comic book films, thanks to the brilliant story telling of director Richard Donner. I suggest you all pick up a copy of Superman on DVD or Blu ray today, and let´s celebrate 43 years of cinema magic.
Rating: DDDD
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