Review of "Superman: The Movie," DVD version

Review of

Superman: The Movie, DVD version


Five out of five stars

Reeve will always define the part of Superman

 Like Sean Connery’s first appearance as James Bond in “Dr. No,” Christopher Reeve’s first appearance as Superman will always be the standard for the recurring character. His humility and fumbling nature as Clark Kent contrasts in the right way with the strong assurance and confidence of Superman. Margot Kidder is also the perfect modern Lois Lane, the hard career woman with the strong personality that would contrast with a Superman. It is clear minutes into the first interaction between Reeve and Kidder onscreen that they were the perfect pair for Clark and Lois.

 The supporting players are also solid, Jackie Cooper as editor Perry White, Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, Glenn Ford as Jonathan Kent, Phyllis Thaxter as Martha Kent and Jeff East as the teenage Clark Kent all turn in Oscar-caliber performances. The only really bad performance is by the biggest star cast in the movie, Marlon Brando. There were valid reasons why he was removed from the sequel.

 While this is a great movie that started a film franchise, there is a significant weak point. Although Superman is forbidden to alter the course of human events, he does so by literally turning back the course of the Earth. This was unnecessary, for there were many ways in which this could have been handled. This is a movie that you can re-watch with great joy on a regular basis.