Superhero Rewind: Richard Donner's Superman Review

[Numinous20111]

I don't agree that Superman is SF. It's fantasy done with as much consistency as you could expect for a fantasy, but there are still some huge jumps in consistency, logic and any kind of science. It's done with respect and conviction.

[Samuel24842]

I think this is one of those films that you were slightly biased on, 4 out of 4 I think is too high a score after you pointed out its flaws and though it may have introduced superhero films in the 70s, I think even without it SOMEONE would have made a superhero film by now

[robertreturns]

@Geekvolution Really? You've NEVER thought of a better ending? *Cough, Donner's intentions, Cough*

[qwuezalothus]

0:33: I yűwould punish steeling or bullying childrens with that kind of show. Or Adam West's Batman.

[stitch99]

I've never understood where the line is with regards to interfering in human history. Most notably, one of the first things he does as Superman is save the president of the United States. How does that not affect history?

[dstebbin]

9:00

To be fair, the only reason Luthor fired those missiles in the first place was because of Superman.

So, you could argue that he wasn't really interfering, per se, but rather, correcting the interference that his presence had already caused.

[Vader47000]

The Donner Superman has a great since of humor about itself.After he catches the bullet meant for Lois, he holds it in his hand, LOOKS AT THE CAMERA and smiles. (Superman now has the power to break the fourth wall). This repeats in the diner scene at the end of II. Clark beats up the a-hole trucker, says he's been working out, and then briefly glances at the camera and raises his eyebrows. a big "wink" to the audience. I love it.

[ThoixHeoro]

There is are consequences for Superman turning back time.

Superman III and IV.

[Maurcusj777]

George reeves, Kristopher reeves, keyana reeves hu hu hu? XD sorry for the misspelling

[dstebbin]

2:48

That begs the question... why is it, in Science Fiction, that earth is always portrayed as the most primitive planet in the universe?

I mean, intelligent life started on our planet about as quickly as it possibly could, given our current understanding of cosmology... so it's not like anyone else could have gotten a head start on us, and had more time to develop their technoloy!

[rockys201]

I thought the spiderman film was a better film than this. The origin was more fun and there wasn't stupid humour where it wasn't needed.

[horaciosi]

My Top 5 superhero films:

5# Hellboy (Yeah, i think is that good)

4# Spider-Man 2

3# The Crow

2# Batman: Under the Red Hood

1# Superman

[zombiefan011]

The idea that the ending was cause of adrenaline is ridiculous. So Superman didn't get angry enough when millions of lives were in danger, but he was when his "girlfriend" died. I mean I was sad when Lois died and I'm sure it would've affected him greatly, but that seems kinda selfish of him.

[johnnymassacre]

You truly live up to your name.

[Mrcool210]

oh but superman did have to pay for his mistake, the price, having superman 3 and 4 made

[Tobbe9975432]

One thing I cannot understand about this movie is how does Lex learn about Kryptonite??

Superman doesn't know about it and It almost magically appears the way I see it...

[Geekvolution]

@Tobbe9975432 Well, everybody would know about it if Lois had already published her article and mentioned what Superman said about Kryptonite... that's why I thought it was really kinda silly of him to bring that up in an interview.

-Captain Logan

[dstebbin]

@Geekvolution Well, no, as I watched the movie, he only mentioned his inability to see through lead. I don't think Superman even KNEW about kryptonite until he found it in Luthor's lair.

My explanation for Luthor's knowledge of Kryptonite is... his evil genius. He can put a lot of stuff together rather quickly. E.g. in the 2nd movie, he figures out really quickly how to use the crystals in the Fortress of Solitute. He's just a genius that way.

[qwuezalothus]

@Geekvolution

Too many flaws found to give it maximuum point.

[hiran558]

@Geekvolution hey cl maybe he told her about the cant see through led thing because superman doesn't lie???

[TheDalinkwent]

It's kind of amazing that no matter who plays Superman, Reeves will always be the template for that character. Just goes to show the mark he left in these films.

[227060]

What could have been a good ending was if by turning back time Superman somehow used that other missile to inadvertently free Zod or if he created a temporal paradox which freed Zod. in Doctor Who time works in such a way humans cannot conceive of and can do all kinds of werid things like that

[ShadowGunner82]

My biggest problem was the ending. Other than that, good movie.

[227060]

@ShadowGunner82 yeah the ending is WAy out there but iv come round 2 it bcos a) its so ridiculous its cool and b) there r actually other trip ups in this movie as well that seemed to be some kind of bi-product of adapating a super hero comic book and doing a film like this in the 70s. an example would be when Lois Lane is shown t be a little kid while superman is a teenager or Superman changing into his costume while falling out of a window. they don't break the film but they show its flawed

[gideonblackman]

Ok as for the ending, the best defence is to remember that earlier on in the film Clark was distraught after the death of Jonathan because despite all of his powers, he couldn't save him. This is a flashback too just before Superman saves Jonathan. He'd already lost someone he'd cared about, now because he did have the power, he wasn't going to do so again. Selfish yes, but just as human as well.

Also, IMO this film makes all other superhero movies (Including Dark Knight) look mediocre.

[nymetsfan9121]

i have to ask this because me and my friends argue this constantly to the point we start fighting. who would win in a fight superman or goku from dbz. i personally believe superman but all of my friends say goku, and they even say superman would lose in a fight against any character in dbz. whats your opinion?

[qwuezalothus]

I really think this movie was the best interpretation of Superman sofar, together with all it's flaws. However, because of those flaws, I would give the first Superman movie a 3 out of 4.

[gideonblackman]

@qwuezalothus

I disagree, if not for the ending this film would be a 5 or 6 out of 4!

[qwuezalothus]

@gideonblackman

I can't look past the flaws of a movie, just because it's entertaining.

[qwuezalothus]

To me this movie is allways running here and there between fantastic and terrible. And in every 10 minutes of it. I have high hope for Snyders and Nolans work.

"Super Man" means: "Over Human", the possible future of Homo Sapiens, Homo Superiour. That makes his figure interesting. He's not indistruckable, and not just because of the green cryptonite. He's abbilities are given by the planets nature. That's why he's not a god.

[undeadnightorc]

The movie has its flaws but it also did so many things right. The pros outway the cons by a huge margin.

And to think that the Salkinds wanted to do a less serious version of Superman. Can you imagine what the superhero movie genre would have ended up as (if it managed to survive after the 70's?)

Thank you Richard Donner for sticking to your vision.

[1424nathan]

The only problem I have the movie is Lex's plan. Lex's plan only works if a certain one hits while the other is a decoy that does nothing to help Lex and his plan. Its not like Lex plans on Superman to get rid of the decoy first.

[noirgwio]

@L3vel9 That would've looked pretty cool... I'm sure some people might say that'd be too simplistic, but it could've worked if handled right. All-in-all cool idea. :D

[noirgwio]

@Geekvolution I've just stumbled on all these Rewinds and even when I disagree, I'm enjoying them immensely... With the ending of Superman; I'm a writer, a fanboy and I fill any plot holes in my head usually. Here, Supes goes back in time, so he CAN be there to save Lois. I don't think he erased his previous save. There's a bit of a paradox in effect, but with time travel he gets both saves done.

[L3vel9]

Here's a better ending instead of just going after the missiles one at a time superman grabs one and throws it at the other

[pypeworld]

Richard Donner's Superman is the definitive template for every present day comic book adaptation, it's without doubt a true classic.

[thanks51]

The ending required more suspension of disbelief than the rest of the film, but it was pulled off by the emotional resonance of Supes yelling.

[superheromovies]

Great review but there was consequence to his actions.. The missle he sends to space explodes & free's Zod , Ursa & Non from the phantom zone. Of course we didn't know any of this until the Donner version of Superman 2 was released!!

[spikejr3113]

o and when she askes what colers my under were i think havent seen it in a while

[MojoWeedPatrol9]

Even after 32 years this film still kicks ass:)

[KonElKent]

Actually, the decision to become Superman isn't necessarily Jor-El's. Look closely at the scene where Clark is in the Arctic and reaches into his pack for the crystal to build the fortress, one can see his pack has "something" made of red, blue, and yellow fabric.

[dorodevil]

such a great movie..

[desotowrong]

This might be the best review I've ever seen for this movie a great comic book superhero film as well as a great science fiction and fantasy film with an epic storyline, fantastic characters and some grand special effects. It's obviously one of the best movies out there and it's a shame that some kids today haven't gotten to see it yet.

[TMC1982Part2]

I assume that Superman couldn't get to both missiles in time because he was still recoving from the effects of the Kryptonite neckless that Lex Luthor put on him.

[pedalero]

The consequences of Superman interference are in the original script of the sequel. He frees the villains with the first missile.

[TheWishfulGoddess]

Fantastic review. Echoed all my thoughts.

[pypeworld]

A really great review, you should check out the Richard Donner cut of Superman II, which is a flawed but still an amazing comic book movie.

[Rizchark]

Greet Review!

Greetzz Rico

[theRealPlaidRabbit]

2:44 -- Draco Malfoy

Consequences... thinking too hard. Superman (classically) is first and foremost about how super superman is. Look at all the impossible stuff he can do! He's super!

[MegaSpideyman]

Super video there Cap'n!

SPOILER WARNING!!!

I did think why were there not consequences for Superman turning back time, later on in the film, or in the 3, 4 sequels?

SPOILER OVER!!!

I really think this movie is a lot of fun- nice emotion, humor, classic, quoteable lines, high flying thrills and romance to boot... a movie that should be watched, I think, by anyone.

I look forward to the next installment- wonder what it is.

[jointron33]

@MegaSpideyman if u haven't heard yet, it's a reboot. it's suppossed to have luthor and braniac as well as the daily planet suffering cuz of the internet

[MegaSpideyman]

@jointron33 Yeah, that oughta be a good 'un. Roll on the year the world ends! But I had meant that I wondered what Captain Logan's next installment is.

[Kniletiah]

@jointron33 And I hear it's not gonna cover the origin story by pulling an Incredible Hulk, since everyone knows his origins.