Review of “Superman”

Review of “Superman”

By Roger Ebert

The first time we see Superman in his red, blue and yellow uniform(ˈyo͞onəˌfôrm) is nearly an hour into “Superman.” Perhaps the filmmakers(ˈfilmˌmākər) agreed with Spielberg’s(ˈspēlˌbərɡ) famous statement that “Jaws(jô)” would work better the longer he kept the shark off the screen. That means the film doesn’t open like most superhero movies or James(jāmz) Bonds(bändz) with a sensational(senˈsāSHənl) pre-title sequence(ˈsēkwəns). To be sure, it opens on the planet(ˈplanət) Krypton(ˈkripˌtän) with his father Jor-El preparing him to be launched into space. But those aren’t action scenes(sēn); they provide weight(wāt) to the origin(ˈôrəjən) story every superhero requires.

In fact, Richard(ˈriCHərd) Donner’s “Superman” (1978) is surprisingly(sərˈprīziNGlē) slow-starting. The scenes of young Clark Kent’s(kent) boyhood(ˈboiho͝od) and adolescence(ˌadlˈesəns) might seem pointless if we didn’t know, “and someday…that child will grow up to be Superman.” The high school football scene, where the future Man of Steel(stēl) gets bullied(ˈbo͝olē) and has a cute(kyo͞ot) girl snatched(snaCH) away from him, pay off later in establishing(əˈstabliSH) Clark Kent as a shy(SHī) and, yes, mild-mannered(mīld-ˈmanərd) reporter. But they also raise(rāz) the intriguing(inˈtrēgiNG) question: Who is this being, anyway.

He is clearly not human. His body is not from our world. It’s probable he can’t reproduce(ˌrēprəˈd(y)o͞os) here, or perhaps even have sex with the cute girl – or Lois Lane(lān). Toward the end, when Lex Luthor’s girlfriend kisses him, his response (before flying off to stop an earthquake(ˈərTHˌkwāk)) is positively(ˈpäztivlē,ˈpäzətivlē,ˌpäzəˈtivlē) Vulcan(ˈvəlkən)-like; he wonders why she kissed him before, and not after, freeing him from the Kryptonite(ˈkripˌtəˈnet).

Christopher(ˈkristəfər) Reeve(rēv), who must have spent his career(kəˈri(ə)r) in a love-hate relationship with the character(ˈkerəktər), does a more nuanced(ˈn(y)o͞oˌänst) acting job than he’s usually credited(ˈkredət) for. As Clark Kent he’s not merely(ˈmi(ə)rlē) mild-mannered, but performs with a wink(wiNGk) to the audience because we know who he really is. Much(məCH) of his dialogue(-ˌlôg,ˈdīəˌläg) is double entendre(ənˈtänˈdrə). Pushing his glasses up on his nose, looking like an undertaker(ˈəndərˌtākər) in his blue suit, his hair coated(kōt) with greasy(-zē,ˈgrēsē) alderman(ˈôldərmən) stuff, he may be 6-foot-4 and have the physique(fəˈzēk) of a god, but Margot Kidder’s Lois Lane doesn’t take the bait(bāt). Perhaps she senses(sens) there’s something… off… about Clark. She swoons(swo͞on) for Superman and literally(ˈlidərəlē, ˈlitrəlē) flies away with him, but then how could anyone think Superman looked like Clark Kent? Superman doesn’t wear(we(ə)r) glasses. Is she seduced(səˈd(y)o͞os) more by the superpowers than by the personality(ˌpərsəˈnalədē)?

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https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/great-movie-superman-1978