This 1978 film, released in the wake of STAR WARS the previous year, is an attempt to update the Man of Steel with (then) modern special effects technology and a crowd-pleasing, summer blockbuster mentality designed to woo both kids and adults. The result is a bit of a mixed bag, leap-frogging from grandiose seriousity (in the opening sequence on Krypton) to campy comic-book hijinx (courtesy of Lex Luthor and his bumbling partners in crime). Fortunately, much of it works so well that you hardly need be a mindless fan to forgive the errors and surrender to the joy and wonder of this splendid cinematic experience, which lives up to the advertising campaign promise: "You will believe a man can fly."

The story starts on Krypton, with Jor-El (Marlon Brando) sentencing three villains to the Phantom Zone. At some point thereafter, Jor-El warns the elders of Krypton that their planet will explode, but they dismiss his prediction. When the cataclysm arrives, Jor-El sends his son Kal-El in a spaceship to Earth, where he is adopted by the Kents. He grows up to be the mild-mannered Clark Kent, who gets a job as a reporter at the Daily Planet in Metropolis. Eventually, he takes on the guise of Superman to fight for Truth, Justice, and the American Way - and just in time, because the evil Luthor (Gene Hackman) is in the process of stealing two nuclear missiles and launching them to create an earthquake that will send a large chunk of California into the Pacific Ocean. Superman deflects one bomb, but the second one hits its mark, precipitating the earthquake, which causes a dam to break. While Superman stops the quake and the resulting flood, reporter Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is trapped in a car and smothered to death. An anguished Superman flies at faster-than-light speed, reversing time and bringing her back to life, before capturing Luthor and depositing him in prison.

The film clearly goes for an epic feel, beginning on Krypton, then portraying baby Kal-El's interstellar journey (with only a computer simulation of his father's voice as a companion), then showing the young Kent/Kal-El's boyhood and his journey to the Arctic, where a crystal from his spaceship creates the Fortress of Solitude. Only after this lengthy prologue does Superman appear in the familiar red-and-blue tights. The scope of the storytelling is impressive, and the drama is even moving, particularly the death of Pa Kent (Glenn Ford), which teaches Clark a bitter lesson about the limits of his powers.

Once Superman and Luthor launch into their hero-villain rivalry, the movie shifts, dropping most of the epic ambitions and moving into safer comic book territory - with an emphasis on the comic thanks to Hackman's amusing performance as the bald-headed criminal mastermind (here usually wearing a wig). This later half of the film work well on its own terms, but it does seem somewhat at odds with the beginning, which promises a more serious take on the material.

Fortunately, the film never completely surrenders its higher aspirations. The love triangle between Clark, Lois, and Superman is amusing without ever losing its romantic charm, and the film does suggest the sadness and loneliness of the Kal-El character - in our world but not of it, forever an outsider who would like to live a normal life but knows he must put his powers to use for the common good, regardless of his own desires.

Christopher Reeve is nothing less than brilliant in the role, playing both Clark and Superman to perfection, clearly distinguishing the two with a few deft strokes (a change of voice and body language) and even shifting back and forth between them without changing costume (as when he briefly toys with revealing his secret to Lois). Margot Kidder makes Lois Lane a sexy modern woman, ditching the goody-two-shoes comic book character. Hackman is perfect, playing for laughs without undermining Luthor's villainy. The rest of the cast also shine in their roles, except for Brando, who delivers a competent performance that suggests he did not consider the material worth exercising his skills to the fullest.

The special effects are variable, with lots of great work occasionally interrupted by some fairly feeble shots. Superman's rescue of a damaged helicopter is a convincing showstopper, and most of the flying scenes are breath-taking. In the days before computer graphics, the miniatures of Krypton are spectacular though not entirely convincing; unfortunately, the miniature work for the climactic dam break and flood (a sequence borrowed in tact from EARTHQUAKE, also scripted by Puzo) are nowhere near as good.

Fresh off his work on STAR WARS, John Williams delivers another rousing score, with a memorable main title theme that captures the glory and sets the tone for the rest of the film. Only the feeble spoken-word/musical interlude (with Lois narrating a poem on top of Williams' score while Superman flies her through the sky) falls flat, although the fault here lies more with the words than the music. The scene would have worked better without words; the attempt to add "lyrics" (even if spoken rather than sung) makes it feel like a music video shoehorned into the narrative.

Despite the minor flaws that prevent SUPERMAN: THE MOVIE from ever quite reaching the stratospheric success of STAR WARS, this remains the best feature film treatment of the world's most famous comic book character, the subsequent sequels only confirming its stature. This SUPERMAN may not be perfect, but it is a glorious piece of popular filmmaking that brings a genuine American icon to life. It may not live up to the epic promise of its opening sequences, but it remains entertaining throughout, delivering all the spectacle and excitement one could wish for.

 TRIVIA

Director Richard Donnor shot most of SUPERMAN II simultaneously with SUPERMAN. A few years earlier, the film's producers, Ilya and Alexander Salkind, had adopted a similar strategy with THE THREE MUSKETEERS and THE FOUR MUSKETEERS (both directed by Richard Lester). However, after the successful release of SUPERMAN, the Salkinds fired Donnor and hired Lester to reshoot and finish SUPERMAN II.

Marlon Brando's $3-million-plus salary for appearing in the first ten minutes of SUPERMAN set a record, making him the highest paid movie star in the world at that time. (Technically, this is true only if you count money paid in advance; Burt Reynolds was making more at the time, if you count the percentage he earned on his films' profits.)

Director Richard Donnor disliked the screenplay that the Salkinds had developed with Mario Puzo, David and Leslie Newman, and Robert Benton, calling it "ridiculous" in one interview. (For example, while searching for the bald Lex Luthor, Superman grabs bald TV star Telly Savalas by mistake, who was to utter his trademark line "Who loves ya, baby?")

Screenwriter Tom Mankiewicz (who had contributed to the Bond films DIAMONDS ARE FOREVER, LIVE AND LET DIE, and THE MAN WITH THE GOLDEN GUN) was brought in to rewrite the screenplay, but the Writers Guild of America declined to give him a screen credit. In compensation, Mankiewicz was listed in the credits as "creative consultant."