Christopher Reeve is the Superman for my generation. I'm a bit too young for George Reeves, so the big production movie from 1978 defines the cinematic hero in my estimation. It didn't hurt that Reeve was a man of substance and a man who far from disgracing the role, elevated our understanding of it when he was struck down by tragedy and died all too soon. But that's Reeve, what of the movies?
Superman was a big deal when it dropped in 1978, long anticipated it was a big-screen full-color adventure which seemed to have the scope and more importantly the budget to maybe make Superman come alive for fans and others across the globe. Well, they almost did it. I have to put myself back into that time, a time devoid of the modern digital wonders which deny us no visual we desire, and a time when to making a man super required a great deal of physical effects in addition to manipulation of actual film stock. The flying they got right. It's not as dynamic as it is now of course, but it might well be more elegant. When Reeve gentle lifts off it's totally convincing, or it was. Clark Kent is a boob, but then he was that in the comics more or less, and his relationship with Lois Lane is the emotional centerpiece of the first film. I've never been a great fan of Margot Kidder's Lois, but in retrospect it's a frothy presentation and I love the running gag that she can't spell. I still squirm when we enter her thoughts while they share their dancing flight. It's always felt overwrought to me. The villains are fun and hold up quite well, but the ending of the movie has always seemed ragged. But as we have known for some time there's a reason for that.
Superman II from 1980 was a movie doomed before we got to see it. Filmed simultaneously with the first film, it gives us the payoff hinted at in the prologue with Marlon Brando and the Kryptonian villains. And that's where this movie works best, the trio of Kryptonian thugs are delightfully evil, each in his or her own way. Terrence Stamp is fantastic and steals the movie as far as I'm concerned. But the other two are close behind. The Superman-Lois story gets a lot of attention but loses its potency by the middle of the movie. There are a lot of scenes in this movie that have not aged well, the 70's will do that to a movie. The movie is damaged beyond repair by the dreadful decision to change directors and to keep Brando out of it. I know a movie needs to make money, but Hollywood also has to realize that their art is not well served by such short-sightedness. This time I watched the Donner Cut of the movie which does its best to bring to the screen Richard Donner's original version of the movie. And it's clear his version is better. Richard Lester's scenes, especially those where the villains are challenging the military in the backwoods town hurt the movie overall and undermine the sense of scale which this opus was attempting. But that doesn't mean Lester's a bad director, but not the man for this kind of story.
That's proven by his direction of 1984's Superman III which is basically a comedy with some adventure elements added. Despite the overuse of Richard Pryor this movie still holds up thanks to some really entertaining performances all around. The light tone results in some really good gags and the tone suits the modest production. The focus on computers makes the movie funny in ways not even intended at the time since our understanding of that technology has zoomed into a new era. Clark's return to Smallville was fun though Lana Lang was a tad annoying, and I wish the combine harvester had hit her kid, he was so irritating. I love Loralei, the so-called dumb blonde who reveals some hefty brainpower she keeps hidden for the dubious benefit of her boyfriend. The credits for this movie are outstanding and an entertaining set piece in their own right. The credits for the first two movies were so slow and boring that I remember actively dreading them and was joyfully surprised.
Superman IV The Quest for Peace from 1987 is the one most folks single out for persecution. But despite his "B Film" quality it has a reasonably solid plot and a proper super villain. I've always argued that this movie was the most like a Superman comic. I can see Nuclear Man showing up in DC's Metropolis quite easily. The special effects of this one are limited but not so much that it impairs the movie in any way that I can tell. Turning the tables and giving Clark a love interest aside from Lois was fun but how they handle it is dubious at best. This is the only movie of the period which uses the logo and for that I will forgive many sins. Most superhero movies often tried to escape their roots, but this movie embraces them. None of the Superman movies make all that much sense if you push the details, but they do a great job with the modern myth which the man from Krypton has become.
All in all, some good entertainment. Christopher was a smiling shining example of what a hero can be even in the worst of times and the late 70's and 80's were rough indeed. But at least they got the flying right.
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