by Lizzy’s Take:
I can’t believe I had never actually seen this movie. Like, what kind of superhero fan am I? I knew about it, of course. Everyone knows about it. Christopher Reeve. John Williams. The “you’ll believe a man can fly” of it all. But somehow, I’d never really watched it. Not in a way that stuck. Not as an adult who could appreciate just how much this movie shaped everything that came after.
So I sat down to finally watch Superman (1978), expecting some dusty old cinema homework. What I got instead was… weirdly delightful? Absolutely bananas in places? A bit like someone tried to film a Greek myth, a disaster movie, and a Saturday morning cartoon—all at once?
In other words: it was kind of amazing.
👉 Recommended if: You want big-hearted heroism, cheesy villain monologues, and the purest Superman to ever Superman. Also: if you’ve ever dreamed of stopping an earthquake with sheer willpower and biceps.
🚫 Skip it if: You need your superheroes grim, grounded, or remotely beholden to the laws of time, space, and tectonic physics.
Act I: Myth and Melodrama (and Brando Being Brando)
We start with Krypton, which is apparently made entirely out of glowing ice cubes. Marlon Brando floats in, gives a very Brando speech, and then boom—space baby in a crystal pod. The entire thing feels epic, weird, and a little rushed? Like, this movie is sprinting through Superman’s entire life story in under an hour. Childhood farm trauma? Check. Dead dad? Check. Weird ghost-dad crystal fortress? Check.
And just like that, he’s Superman. No big “call to action,” no real moral crisis. He’s just like, “Well, guess I better go to Metropolis now.”
Act II: Capes, Camp, and Chaos
Let me be clear: Christopher Reeve is a treasure. There’s something so quietly magical about the way he plays Clark Kent vs. Superman. It’s all posture, all tone. It’s like watching someone flip a switch. And honestly? Watching this made me appreciate how much Brandon Routh was clearly channeling Reeve in Superman Returns. The man didn’t just play Superman—he was Superman.
But then we get to Lex Luthor, and this movie just completely unbuttons its shirt. Gene Hackman is doing some kind of chaotic evil lounge act here. He’s got wigs. He’s got henchmen. He’s got a real estate scam to drop California into the ocean so he can sell beach property in the desert. It’s giving “Scooby-Doo villain with nuclear codes.” And I’m not mad about it.
There’s a real sense of “just go with it” in this middle act. One minute Superman’s saving helicopters, the next he’s chatting up Lois Lane while flying her around the city like an airborne prom date. It’s romantic in a very what is gravity? kind of way.
Act III: Superman, Seismologist Extraordinaire
So, uh… Superman just lifts up the San Andreas Fault at one point. Like, with his arms. I laughed so hard. He also outruns a missile, dams a river, saves a school bus, and then—when Lois dies—literally spins the Earth backwards to reverse time.
Physics said no. Superman said yes.
It’s bonkers, and I kind of loved it. This is superhero camp turned up to eleven. It’s Adam West Batman levels of absurd, but with a full orchestra and dead-serious delivery. And somehow, it works. The sincerity is doing so much heavy lifting. You feel the stakes even as you giggle at the logic.
Final Verdict: A Classic Wearing Its Cape Proudly
Yes, this movie is goofy. Yes, it’s dated. But also? It’s a classic for a reason. Superman (1978) makes you believe—if not in physics, then at least in the idea of a hero who actually wants to do the right thing. No brooding. No antihero edge. Just a guy with a cape and a smile who saves people because he can.
And watching it now, after all the Snyder-y angst and cinematic universe sprawl, it’s kind of refreshing. It reminds you why these characters matter in the first place.
Also, shoutout to Terence Stamp showing up in the Phantom Zone for five seconds and already acting circles around people. General Zod supremacy forever.
