Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story

SUPER/MAN: THE CHRISTOPHER REEVE STORY (2024) **** Heartfelt and accommodating documentary on the life and legacy of Christopher Reeve, actor/familyman/advocate for the disabled focusing largely upon the nearly-fatal accident in which he became a quadriplegic, which not only strengthened his humanity but in fact defined it. Interspersed with family home videos and testimonials from both friends and colleagues as well as those who have benefited from his & his wife Dana's philanthropic efforts, the film balances the man as well as the myth (naturally playing Superman onscreen clearly iconicized him immortal and underlined the cruel fate of his destiny) filmmakers Ian Bonhote and Peter Ettedgui prove that - to turn a phrase on his most famous film's tagline - You Will Believe A Man Can Try. One of the year's best films.

I saw this documentary at the first showing in theaters and the audience was deeply moved. So many personal stories of the life and times of friends, family and colleagues of a man we hardly knew. The true life story of courage and the love he left behind. I had no idea that his childhood shaped his perception of what family could be and that struck home for me. Great to see Robin Williams help his classmate, friend and being like a brother, stepped up when it counted most while dealing with personal challenges of his own.

The support of Christopher's wife, Dana, goes above and beyond normal caregiving and deserves her own life story told as well. The personal stories their children tell about what she went through in the years that followed.

His advocacy for change in spinal cord injury research has beared fruit all these years later.

It was great to see the original Superman film clips on the big screen since seeing them when they first ran in the 70's/80's.

Great CGI effects of a Superman statue among the stars and heavens with compelling narration. Bravo!

I cried a lot watching this Love letter of a movie. A love story between Christopher and Dana. And the love of children for their parents. And the love of the public for a famous person. When he died in 2004, I remember being in a hotel room in Galveston Texas.

It is the first time I truly cried over the death of someone I had never met. I was diagnosed with Cervical Dystonia in September of 1995, the same year as the accident that put Chris in a wheelchair. I am a scientist so I say, "our mission should not be complete until the wheelchair is obsolete." I could not believe he appeared at the Oscars so shortly after such a terrible accident. I broke down and cried. Yes, it is possible to love someone you have never met. He taught us all that we are "here for a reason!!"

Watched this at the 2024 Sundance Film Festival.

Christopher Reeve was well-known for his performance as Superman and his unfortunate accident in 1995 disrupted his acting career. While I haven't seen many of Reeve's work, I found Reeve's to be a interesting person and this documentary does a good job on exploring his journey before and after his accident with good atmosphere, conversations from other celebrities and exploration about his activist works.

The documentary presents good presentation, structure and some informative insights about Reeve's personal life that I didn't know about it and it was pretty emotional to observe. Seeing his family and others discussing of what makes him so special was pretty touching and I felt connected to Reeve's activist work, his journey and the person he is.

Without being said, the documentary does have it's faults which are some of the pacing that could be improved. Including the musical tracks feeling repetitive. The musical tracks feel out of place and just like Val and Still: A Michael J. Fox Movie, the musical soundtrack feels cheesy and kind of ruins some of the moments.

But as a whole, the movie's core was good and it was interesting to observe and learn about Reeves. May Reeves legacy continues and his legendary performance as Superman to live on.

The film documents the rise, fall, and eventual re-rise of the actor's stellar career. Reeve's story is beautifully and lovingly told by those who were closest to him. Growing up in a broken home and without the support of his friends and colleagues, he became one of the best-known and most-loved screen personalities of the 1980s. The tale causes one to think about one's own life and fortunes, or lack thereof...Reeve had it all and lost it in a second, but through his stubborn perseverance was able to carve out a new niche for himself. Through it all, the love and support of his family stayed solid. Get ready for tears.