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The First Movie
BENNY
Superman as a movie had a lot to live up to as the first big budget superhero film. This being the first Superman film only added to the problems they needed to prepare for. A lot of this was taken into consideration when making the first Superman movie, along with the face that not everyone is fully aware of this character.
The dedication of the intro in the movie to the origin and background story was a huge help in establishing the character of Superman. This was an incredible decision, as it set up the entire franchise with the opening series of events. We knew who Superman was and why he was here. So future movies never needed to touch on these simple facts. We never needed to question things.
This introduction sequence was similar to the Big Bang for the universe. By this I mean, with the explosion of Krypton, big budget superhero movies had begun. No longer were they joke movies, or a movie serial; they were in fact a success.
Looking at the original movie from a more opinion/review standpoint, they had a few challenges in front of them. How do you show destruction on a massive scale and not add a campy look to the film? Their use of miniatures only cemented the destruction of Krypton as a physical tangible explosion.
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Too many things are lost to the world of computer animation these days, and seeing the destruction of an entire planet placed on a realistic scale really hammered home its effects after seeing some really good back story which answered some honest to god questions Superman fans have wondered for a while; such as dealing with things such as vanity and pride.
We move to the first appearance of Clark Kent, and Christopher Reeve does an amazing job of separating Clark Kent. He slouches his posture, brings his voice up a few octaves and combs his hair in such a way that the glasses are only the final touch, not the focal point of his transformation.
This is something fans have asked for generations: how does Superman hide himself with glasses? Well it’s not just the glasses, it’s the whole Clark Kent persona. And as I said, Christopher Reeve shows us that in his portrayal.
Another aspect that is enjoyed by many is Gene Hackmen’s portrayal of Lex Luthor. This is a villain that started out as an evil genius out to ruin Superman. But somewhere along the lines he became a villain out to beat up Superman.
This has been shown in his use of power suits, getting powers such as lantern rings, and the use of his own Legion of Doom and Injustice League. But this early portrayal of the villain shows us a version of Lex Luthor that is working towards a real estate scheme. That is literally his plan: buy cheap land and turn it into beach front property so he can be rich. This is classic, cheesy villain 101 and I loved it.
To hammer home the entire experience, Superman does not fight any great super powered bad guys in his battle against Luthor Real Estate. Instead, he has to fight against the
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disasters Luthor’s missiles are causing. Dams exploding, cars piling up, and bridges crumbling are all the kind of things people forgot Superman stops. They always expect Doomsday or Brainiac, but Superman’s goal is to promote truth, liberty and the American way. Fun fact: “The American Way,” was in his slogan in this day and age.
During this time, Superman was being established as doing more than punching things. He was growing to represent more: to be a thinker with power.
What I’m getting at is that this is one of if not the best Superman movie in the entire collection of Superman movies. It does the best job of portraying Superman without bogging everything down.
All of my favorite moments and comic portrayals aside, the movie boasted an impressive screenplay that was smart while maintaining the humor. The music was also to none with the Superman theme becoming famous and instantly recognizable the world over.
As you can see by looking anywhere on the internet, many fans enjoy this original Superman movie. While you can see its age poking through, it does stand the test of time. So with such a promising start, how did the franchise begin to falter? At what point did a Superman movie become something to skip and watch on television?
When did a movie titled Man of Steel bring back the franchise and gross around six hundred and sixty-eight million dollars in the box office? Well the road from a three hundred-million-dollar box office to sixty- eight million dollars is a long one that we’ll dive into.
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JASON
The Superman film franchise is important to recognize because it was the first time when film techniques established by 2001: A Space Odyssey and Star Wars: A New Hope were used in mainstream movies to propel images from comic books to the silver screen. This franchise had staggering success followed by a slow and steady decline over the course of a decade.
What cannot be denied is the influence this franchise has on all other comic book franchises; its lessons of what to do and what not to do. As a child of the 1980s I grew up on the Americana of the first three Superman films and was profoundly influenced by their achievements and shortcomings. What follows are my thoughts on these films in individual reviews.
The film that started off the modern superhero genre, Superman, lives up to all of the hype, using elements of great filmmaking from the 1970s. This is one of my favorite films because it incorporates great elements of film and lives up to the promise of what a movie can be.
The script by Mario Puzo established the key elements that are needed in an origin film and gave Superman the air of an American myth from the get-go. Everything taking place on the last days of Krypton embodies an intense amount of imagination, establishing villains for future. Jor-El is played masterfully by the greatest actor of the 20th Century, Marlon Brando.
The film is slow paced following the destruction of Krypton. Experiencing the childhood of Clark Kent on screen shows the distinct juxtaposition of the alien world of Krypton and the
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