Superman (1978)

_**"Miss Teschmacher!"**_
I didn't catch "Superman" (1978) until over 25 years after its release. It's a great superhero flick with a lot of wit, well worthy of its reputation. Although a couple of things are understandably dated, like the flying sequences and Clark Kent's glasses (which are so BAD they're laughable), the movie definitely stands the test of time despite being shot in 1977.
"Superman" may be a comic-booky superhero flick, but it's also a powerful piece of SCI-FI cinema. The outstanding Krypton sequences of the first half hour confirm this. These scenes are highlighted by the magnificence of Marlon Brando playing Superman's father Jor-El. So, if you're a serious Sci-Fi fan, don't skip "Superman" just because you assume it's some mere superhero flick. No, it's more, much more. The screenplay seems to have been written with little concern of cost so many are the great F/X sequences.
Speaking of Brando, you can't beat the cast, starting with newbie Christopher Reeve knocking it out of the ballpark in the starring role.
I'd like to point something out that is hardly ever mentioned: Lex Luthor's girlfriend, Miss Teschmacher, played by Valerie Perrine, is jaw-droppingly voluptuous! Watch out for the pool scene where Ms. Perrine is wearing a green one-piece bathing suit.
The film is a little long at 2 hours, 23 minutes, but it doesn't overstay its welcome.
GRADE: A

John Williams' epic overture is used to good effect to help illustrate the pretty stellar cast (Christoph Reeve gets only third billing) as this story opens with us on the icebound planet of "Krypton" where "Jor-El" (Marlon Brando) is encouraging his high council members to pass sentence on the treacherous "Gen. Zod" (Terence Stamp) and his co-conspirators. This all seems somewhat pointless as we soon discover that their planet is about to be decimated by it's nearby sun. It's only "Jor-El" and his wife "Lara" (Susannah York) who have the vision to build their son an escape pod and just in the nick of time launch him into space: destination Earth. Fortunately, he arrives under the very noses of the kindly Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter who, after a timely demonstration of his strength, decide to adopt their foundling. Skip forward many years and we start to appreciate the frustrations this young man faces - never being able to use his powers for good (or even American football). Tragedy strikes and to the city he goes where he finds work working for the irascible "Perry White" (Jackie Cooper) at the renowned "Daily Planet". He also realises that he is now free to don his red cape, remove his geeky spectacles, and become the world's first flying, strong-man, super-hero. These antics attract plenty of attention - not least from his colleague "Lois" (Margot Kidder) and from arch crook "Lex Luthor" (Gene Hackman). The former wants an interview (amongst other things); the latter wants to destroy him so he can carry his out his dastardly plan to redefine the geography of California. Some solidly entertaining contributions from Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine and Marc McClure all help the consistently under-rated Reeve to own the part with a charismatic charm and to convey a quickly paced action adventure that also allows Hackman (perhaps just a bit over-scripted) to play a fun role as a baddie with megalomanic tendencies and a brain to boot. The visual effects have held up remarkably well and though I didn't quite love the ending, this is a strong and confident outing for Reeve that resists the temptation to overly moralise, and delivers us an enjoyable series of good vs. evil escapades that are well worth a few hours in front of a big screen with proper sound.