The first hour - the origin story - is magical, helped immensely by John Williams' rousing score (yes the theme is marvellous but I also get chills up my spin especially with "The Planet Krypton" tune). The stakes start off big - Marlon Brando (so not phoning it in) telling the council that the planet will be destroyed, having to send off his son in a little capsule across the galaxy (though where are he and Susannah York running to when the planet starts exploding - it's like there's somewhere they need to go).
Then little Superman meets Glenn Ford and Phyllis Thaxter (very well cast as all American types), and grows up to be Jeff East, in some touching all-American stuff, wanting the girl and being picked on by the bully, etc. (NB what if Superman had landed in Stalinist Russia?) It builds satisfactorily to the visit to the Fortress of Solitude - every teenager needs one!
The middle action in Metropolis is also a lot of fun. This is mostly rom com stuff between Lois and Clarke - director Richard Donner made the completely accurate decision to focus on the love store, and pays off in spades. Chris Reeve is perfect, the best ever Superman, and I've never seen a more spot on Lois than Margot Kidder's, a superb combination of wise cracks and big heart. It beautifully culminates in that perfect flying sequence - okay, well, perfect except for the Margot Kidder song and some iffy effects.
The last section is the least good - Lex Luthor's plan. It's a decent plan, and there's some fine playing by Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty and Valerie Perrine, but it's too much like a not particularly good Bond film: complete with Luthor trapping Superman, explaining his plot, then leaving him alone, thereby enabling him to be conveniently rescued by Perrine. And the ending involving time travel and Margot Kidder is a downright cheat.
Still, as comic book movies go, this one is hard to beat.
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