Superman (NO SPOILERS)

Superman was really good.  A friend describes it as a comic book movie, and I think that's a great way to describe it.  So much fun.  I enjoyed all the characters and Lex Luthor was a good villain.  The other DC characters were great including Guy Gardner (Green Lantern) and Mr. Terrific.  The movie didn't bog us down with an origin story though it's touched on throughout the movie.  You jump right into the action, and they do a good job of letting the plot and characters explain where things stand.  Just very few qualms.  It's very enjoyable and it feels like it can setup so much more.

And Krypto is done really well and a fun character.

1980 Topps Superman II Rack Pack

Topps Superman II: Happy Valentine's Day?  Well I do love this movie.  One of the best superhero movies in my opinion.  I was eleven when it came out and it hit all the marks for me.  This is a rack pack I recently picked up.

The design here is one I like.  The movie logo, red outer border, and yellow inner boarder look good together. Still plenty of space for the photo too.

These cards, like many of the era, are rife with bad centering.  I feel for anyone trying to collect a centered set of anything from back then.

I call these character cards and they make up cards numbered 2-11.  Not bad and provide good close ups of the cast.

What really made Superman II for me is the bad guys and gals.  Superman had foes who could rightly challenge him and Terence Stamp as Zod was amazing.  He was very commanding and how you want a badass bad guy to be.

Zod, Ursa and Non made-up Superman's foes.  Ursa was played by Sarah Douglass and boy my eleven year-old self had a thing for her.  Well, I think I still have a thing for Ursa.

Did I tell you I had a thing for Ursa?

I showed off cards from the '78 Superman movie last week.  I like the original but Superman II is definitely the best of that franchise.

The backs are fine.  They either have parts of the puzzles you can make with the backs or write ups like this one.  The write ups are fine keeping you informed on what is going on in the movie.  Some also have thoughts from actors and actresses.

Superman's love interest in in trouble.  I always thought Margot Kidder did a good job in this movie.  

The special effects in 1980 weren't what we're used to today but in 1980 we were happy.

Non was the brute of the three.  As if that wasn't evident.  I don't think he actually had any lines in the movie.

The happy couple together.  This is a good movie.  Our 1980 selves were able to see some of the first really good battles on screen between heroes and villains which was fun.  This was a great trip down memory lane. 

BREAKDOWN:
48 – Total Cards
5 – Character Cards
2 - Checklist

1978 Topps Superman

 1978 Topps Superman:  Somewhat quiet day of sports with no football so let's do some Superman.  DC announced their new slate of movies and TV shows this week, that will essentially reboot the DC universe.  Can't wait to see what we get.  Like most nine year-olds, I was stoked to have a superhero movie in 1978.  Superman was one I really liked though as an adult I'm surprised it didn't bore me a bit.  It tends to have a lot of setup and icky love story.  Great photo on this first card though not a scene I remember per se.

I definitely liked Superman II much more than this offering.  Still I really like this one and all the characters which were done really well by the actors and actresses portraying them.

The love story played a major part in this movie.  No issues.  Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder had great chemistry.

The movie facts on the back are somehow interesting.  Nothing is earth shattering but they provide good information.  Ursa..Superman II...I'm forever in love...just saying...

My sticker, which has the requisite gum stain from any pack from Topps in this era.  This was a fun pack.  Eleven cards isn't enough.  I definitely wanted more but these are good enough to wet the pallet.  I'll be grabbing some Superman II cards sometime soon.  The shot of Clark Kent on this last card is very simplistic but I really like it. 

BREAKDOWN
11 – Total Cards
1 – Sticker

Movie Review: Man of Steel

Watched Man of Steel yesterday with some family I'm visiting.  Excellent movie.  As my daughter texted me earlier in the week, "they got it right".  Superman isn't the easiest character to make a movie about and we haven't had a good Superman entry since Superman II in 1980 which also featured Zod as the bad guy.  Since then III and IV and Superman Returns all flopped.  Fans and critics alike were not impressed.  I'm not saying this movie was perfect but it was a very good movie and the two hours and 23 minutes flew by. 

The acting was very good from Henry Cavill (who I didn't know of) as Superman, Amy Adams (Lois Lane), Michael Shannon (Zod), Diane Lane (Mom), andto the two dads, Russell Crowe and Kevin Costner.  All characters were cast well and I was pleasantly surprised by how much air time Crowe and Costner received. 

The plot/storyline was solid.  Easy to follow as they really fleshed out Superman's back story which I thought was a big positive for the movie.  Basics are Superman sent as a baby from a dying planet to earth and raised by humans.  Bad guys from said planet arrive later to retrieve Superman and take over planet.  Fighty fighty ensues.  Lots of action in this movie as it should be.  From what happened on Krypton to the end there was plenty to keep you entertained.  The best part is when foes with superhero strength fight there should be massive destruction.  The movie didn't disappoint in this aspect.  Some movies with superhero's have masked what might truly happen.  Not here.  These guys fight a big boy fight and there is tons of ruin left in their wake.  The massive violence accounts for the PG-13 rating.  The only goofy thing was what seemed like 30 minutes of previews we sat through.  We all agreed the amount of previews was long.  Hopefully it isn't the same everywhere. 

I highly suggest anyone on the fence go see this movie.  It is action packed, easy to watch/follow and should make a Superman fan out of many who get to see their first good Supes movie in over three decades.  Hopefully the trend will follow with the sequel that is sure to follow.