By Scott Weinberg
The first healthy chunk of "Superman: The Movie" deals with the basic story points: a doomed planet, a baby in a rocketship, a roadside adoption, adolescent angst, death of the daddy, the fortress of solitude, the return of Clark, and the emergence of Superman. From there we get into a silly but entirely entertaining scheme in which Lex Luthor plans to destroy all of California, thereby giving him exclusive rights to an all-new West Coast. Tone, style, pacing, and content aside, "Superman: The Movie" hits a homer by introducing a flawless cast. Christopher Reeve is simply perfect as Superman, and his Clark Kent is adorably befuddled and humorously awkward. As Lois Lane, Margot Kidder is equal parts sassy, smart, and sweet. Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor is a thing of true beauty. True, he's not as intimidating as he often is in the comics, but there's a dark twinkle in Hackman's eyes that say, "Yeah, I'm playing it broad, but I will destroy California if I can, so there!" Marlon Brando's Jor-El is more than imposing enough, and the supporting cast (Marc McClure as Jimmy Olsen, Jackie Cooper as Perry White, Valerie Perrine as the bubble-headed henchwoman Eve Teschmacher) is pretty much spot-on perfect. And yeah, I also dig Ned Beatty's "Otis" character, an admission that would probably get me drummed out of the National Superman Society.
Released on December 15th, 1978, "Superman: The Movie"-- to absolutely nobody's surprise -- went on to become a bona-fide smash hit, grossing $135 million in North America and another $165 million overseas. Roger Ebert called it "a wondrous combination of all the old-fashioned things we never really get tired of." Good thing the producers were planning ahead, sequel-wise...
Story Overview
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