Publication Date: 07-08-2025

Superman (1978) review

Dir. Richard Donner

By: Steve Pulaski

Rating: ★★★

Richard Donner’s Superman is the closest thing I’ve seen to a big-budget, superhero art film in terms of aesthetics and storytelling (we’re speaking of a stereotypical art film, of course). There is a big emphasis on scenery and location, long-stretches of the film are void of dialog, and several scenes are left to the audience to decide how to feel, rather than giving them a perfunctory emotion to explore. Now if there’s anything I want to see it’s a superhero film shot for less than $500,000 to open the next Sundance or South by Southwest Film Festival.

But I digress. With the enormous commonality of superhero films in present-day 2013, no doubt has Donner’s original classic been left in the dust. It’s so easy and justifiable to view it as a corny piece of cinema, but one must respect its roots and its participation in the foundation of an incredible genre. There’s something I never thought I’d call that particular body of cinema. And in its own right, Superman is an incredible movie. There’s something sincere about being able to call a film made up almost entirely of effects “incredible.”

We begin by seeing Superman’s biological father Jor-El on Krypton, a dying planet that is bound for uncertain turmoil. Desperate and worried about his infant son’s potential being unfit for the planet, he sends him down to Earth in a pod that crash lands in an open field. The baby is discovered by an older couple that raise him under the name “Clark Kent.” Clark would be a normal tyke if he wasn’t so damn powerful, with his speed and super-strength.

He grows up into an all American boy, drop-dead attractive and sophisticated, and works for the Daily Planet, a successful newspaper in the big city. He meets and grows fond of journalist Lois Lane, and tries to protect her in the face of crime and danger and Lex Luthor. Luthor is trying to destroy a large part of the west coast to greatly inflate the value of the desert real estate his company owns. Kent, who evolves into Superman, must become bold, brave, and smart enough to stop him in time.

The special effects here are enthralling. The large-scale approach the film uses, even when the film isn’t looking for a riveting spectacle sequence, is pleasant and rewarding in terms of payoff. Early on, the film relies heavily on scenes of the countryside, showing Clark Kent’s adolescent roots. Shots capturing the indescribable, rural beauty of American farmland are terrifically and memorably captured.

When the film ventures into the big-budget, groundbreaker it was meant to be from the get-go, it remains enticing for the most part. Occasionally, the film gets to be a bit slow and sometimes feels like it is trying to drag out its material to opus length (IE: the opening sequence on Krypton could’ve been cut in half). The film, also, has trouble trying to find a consistent tone, often running amok in the possibilities and situations it could throw its protagonist into. It’s nice to see variety, but the cohesion isn’t as strong as the content would suggest.

Furthermore, it wasn’t until the end of the film did I realize that the film robs Superman of a strong identity. This could very well be one of the perks of the neo-superhero genre. The character of Clark Kent is pretty empty and unremarkable when not in his shiny suit, and there is almost no emotional depth to him whatsoever.

The film features a laundry-list of solid performances, most notably, Christopher Reeve’s as a strong, rock-solid protagonist. Reeve pulls off Superman’s charm with the intelligence and design his character needs to thrive and function. Supporting performances by Gene Hackman as Lex Luthor and Margot Kidder as Lois Lane are enjoyable, and Marlon Brando’s brief stint as Superman’s biological father is utilized efficiently.

Fortunately, the film zips along with zealous energy and its action sequences are favorable and generate priceless excitement. If anything, it takes even the most modern viewer back to the time when motion pictures seemed more wholesome and primitive. The time when everything had a discernible cheeriness and not all content had to be dark, heavy, and subversive to the point of alienation. Superman is enjoyable when seen through that and various other perspectives, and if you approach with the mind of whimsy and joyfulness, then there’s almost no excuse why you shouldn’t enjoy it.

My review of Superman II
My review of Superman III
My review of Superman IV: The Quest for Peace

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, and Marlon Brando. Directed by: Richard Donner.