My rating - 5/5 stars CONTAINSPOILERS December, 1978 - 21 years after the Adventures of Superman TV show, Richard Donner brought us one of the most magical, awe inspiring movies ever to hit the big screen. This was a simple hit or miss project. During the search, Richard Donner thankfully stepped in, and proposed a largely unkown actor, Christopher Reeve, his biggest role being in a 1951 soap opera entitled Love of Life. Standing at 6'4", sporting dark hair and blue eyes, Reeve looked as though he had just stepped out of a Superman comic book. The script was written by the popular Mario Puzo, with help from David and Leslie Newman, Robert Benton, and Tom Mankiewicz. In order to guarantee a large number of viewers, Marlon Brando was cast as Superman's father, Jor-El. Gene Hackman was also cast as the fiendish Lex Luthor, also a big actor at the time. Another large addition to the movie was John Williams, who composed some of the greatest music of all time. From action scenes, to romantic scenes, his music fit with the movie perfectly.
The movie begins with the Krypton Council banishing General Zod, Ursa, and Non to the Phantom Zone. Jor-El attempts to convince the council that Krypton will explode in no more than 30 days. The council, not believing a word, warns Jor-El that he will be banished to the Phantom Zone as well, if he tries to cause a panic on Krypton. Jor-El promises that neither he nor his wife Lara would leave the planet, however, he never mentions his son, Kal-El. Kal-El's spaceship is ready. Jor-El bids him farewell, and Kal-El begins his journey to his new home, Earth. The ground shakes, walls collapse, and finally, Krypton explodes.
We see shots of Kal-El in his spaceship, slowly growing. As he enters Earth, parts of the spaceship melt away. We see Jonathan and Martha Kent in their truck. The ground shakes as the spaceship smashes into the ground. Jonathan and Martha find Kal-El. Due to the shaking of the ground, the truck has been damaged. As Jonathan gets under the truck, the truck collapses. Amazingly, Jonathan is still alive, and the truck is being lifted by someone - Kal-El. Jonathan and Martha are both thinking the same thing - he's an alien.
We see a football team, and then a water boy - it's Clark. Lana Lang invites Clark to play some records. Unfortunately, he has too much work to do. As the football players and cheerleaders drive away, Clark kicks a football in anger. It disappears in the distance, obviously in space. We see and train, and amazingly, Clark is racing it. With a jolt of speed, he jumps past it, towards his house. Clark meets his father at the farm, who talks to Clark about showing off, and makes Clark realize that he is here for a reason, definitely not to play football. Jonathan Kent grasps his left wrist, a sign of a heart attack, and collapses.
Clark and Martha Kent are at the funeral. In the next scene, we see Clark in his bed. There are strange noises, and Clark follows them into the shed. He wipes away brush from the ground, and opens a trap door. There is a green glowing crystal inside. The next scene is very beautiful. Clark and Martha talk on the fields. Clark realizes that he has to go, and finally, after one last hug, and bids his mother farewell and heads north.
Clark is walking in snow, he suddenly stops. He opens his backpack up, takes the green crystal out, and throws it out of instinct. The crystal disappears in the snow. Suddenly, we see flashes, and loud noises. Massive ice formations are erupting from the ground. After one more flash, we see the fortress of solitude, in all of its beauty. Clark walks inside, and takes a look around. He takes a clear crystal, and inserts it into a tube. A hologram appears, it is of his father, Jor-El. Jor-El talks to him, and answers his obvious question, "who am I?" The camera is flying through space, and it's obvious that Jor-El is teaching Clark. Years pass, and we see a shot of Superman standing in the fortress. Suddenly, he flies towards the camera, and out of view.
We are introduced to the Daily Planet, reporter Lois Lane, photographer Jimmy Olsen, and the chief, Perry White. Clark seems to stare at Lois a lot, it's obvious that he likes her. Lois and Clark walk out of the building, and are met by a thief. He takes them into an alley. He asks for Lois' handbag - she slowly gives it to him, but then purposely drops it. As he bends down to pick it up, she kicks him in the head. In slow motion, he takes his gun out and fires. We see Clark's hand shoot out, and catch the bullet before it hits Lois. Clark falls down purposely, and the thief runs away, thinking that he's killed Clark. Later, we see Otis, Lex Luthor's henchman, walking down the streets. He is being followed by a detective. Otis grabs a newspaper, and then heads for the subway. He stands by a door (the detective is watching) and a train cuts him out of view. When the train is gone, Otis has vanished! The detective walks towards the door, and pushes it. We hear another train coming by, and we see a hand pushing a switch forward. As he pushes it forward, the door moves forward. With a jolt, he pushes the switch as far as it can go, and Harry, the detective, is thrown into the train, and crushed. We see a lair, with Lex Luthor and a woman (Ms. Teschmacher) inside. Otis comes in and gives the newspaper to Luthor. Luthor sees the front page, and knows that his plan is working smoothly - There will be a missile test, involving 2 500 megaton bombs.
Back in the Daily Planet, Lois leaves Clark, and goes into the dressing room. She is going to take a helicopter to the airport - Air Force One is arriving, and she plans to ask the president a few questions. She is in the helicopter, and we see a wire shaking. The wire breaks off, and ties itself to the helicopter. The helicopter flies around in circles, and crashes, at the very and if the building. The pilot passes out after hitting his head, and a screaming Lois hangs on for her life. At the foot of the building, we see Clark. He picks up Lois' hat, that has fallen. He looks up, and sees Lois and the helicopter. He runs into a building, and changes into Superman! As he flies up, Lois loses grip, and falls. Superman flies up and catches her. The helicopter falls off of the building as well, and Superman catches it, to the cheers of the crowd below. Superman leaves, and Lois faints. Superman goes on a Super-spree, catches a burglar, saves a cat from a tree, saves Air Force One after it has been struck by lighting, and catches some robbers in a boat.
In the extended version, there is a memorable scene, where Superman talks to Jor-El about the night. Afterwards, we see Lex, Ms. Teschmacher, and Otis in the lair. They discuss Superman. We see a scene in the Daily Planet with Perry lecturing the reporters about getting an interview with Superman. Lois sees a note in her hand, which says "Tonight at 8, your truly, a Friend."
We see Lois waiting. Superman comes, and they talk about his statistics. He talks to her about his x-ray vision, his invulnerability, and his speed. He offers her a chance to fly with him, and they take off. It's a very nice scene. In the end, Lois tries to communicate with Superman telepathically, she thinks he can read minds. He takes her down, changes into Clark, and comes into Lois' apartment. He is about to tell Lois who he really is, but he chickens out at the last minute, and they head to get a burger.
There are many memorable scenes in this movie, too many to list. I'll skip to the end.
Like a classic James Bond movie, Luthor explains his plans to Superman. He manages to stop Superman, puts a chain around Superman with a piece of Kryptonite attached to it, and throws Superman into the pool. Ms. Teschmacher finds out that one of the missiles is headed towards Hackensack, New Jersey, where her mother lives. She saves Superman, on the condition that he will save her mother first. He does, and as he hurls the missile into space, he sees the other one his the San Andreas fault. The entire state of California shakes. Superman saves a train, a school bus, etc. He pushes the San Andreas fault back up, but that doesn't stop the aftershocks. As he saves a town from being flooded, he remembers about Lois. He finds her dead, inside her car, which fell into a crack in the Earth. His sadness turns into anger. Not able to handle it, he flies into the air. He stops, and hears voices. He hears Jor-El telling him that it is forbidden to interfere with human history. He hears Jonathan Kent say that he is here for a reason. Finally, he hears himself, "All those things I could do...all those powers...and I couldn't even save him." He flies away, and spins around the Earth. The Earth starts spinning in the opposite direction, thus turning back time. He comes back to Earth, and sees Lois alive. He then takes Luthor to jail.
This movie was, in my opinion, the best movie ever created. It was better than the sequels, although they were all great as well. This movie has a magical feel to it, that is hard to find in most other movies. The movie was, in fact, a hit, and three sequels were created, by different directors however. This is a classic film, and if somehow, you've never seen it, I recommend renting the DVD and checking it out. Believe me, you won't be disappointed. Otherwise, if you have seen it, watch it again, right now.
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