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Superman: The Movie
Warner Bros.

Superman: The Movie reviews
Critic Score
Metascore: 88 Metascore out of 100
User Score  
7.1 out of 10
based on 12 reviews
Read critic reviews
How did we calculate this?
based on 32 votes
Read user comments
Rate this movie

MPAA RATING: PG for peril, some mild sensuality and language

Starring Christopher Reeve, Marlon Brando, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Glenn Ford, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine, and Terence Stamp

An adventure re-told, spanning the Man of Steel's life from his Krypton infancy and Midwest boyhood to his career as Daily Planet reporter Clark Kent (Reeve) and through his titanic struggle with archnemesis Lex Luthor (Hackman). (Warner Bros.)


GENRE(S): Action  |  Adventure  |  Sci-fi  
WRITTEN BY: Jerry Siegel, Joe Shuster (comic)
Mario Puzo
David Newman, Leslie Newman
Robert Benton
 
DIRECTED BY: Richard Donner  
RELEASE DATE: DVD: May 1, 2001 
Video: August 31, 1994 
Theatrical: December 15, 1978 
RUNNING TIME: 143 minutes, Color 
ORIGIN: USA 

The film was nominated for 3 Academy Awards in 1979 in the categories of Best Film Editing, Best Original Score (Williams), and Best Sound.

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

100
Chicago Sun-Times Roger Ebert
Superman is a pure delight, a wondrous combination of all the old-fashioned things we never really get tired of: adventure and romance, heroes and villains, earthshaking special effects, and -- you know what else? Wit.
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100
Dallas Observer Luke Y. Thompson
If not the best superhero movie ever, it's definitely in the top 3. Reeve will forever be Superman to most of us.
100
Empire Chris Hewitt
It hits the characters, feel and look of the comic spot on, especially Reeve in the title role.
Read Full Review
100
Austin Chronicle Marjorie Baumgarten
Boasts a smart screenplay by Robert Benton and David and Leslie Newman, striking cinematography by Geoffrey Unsworth (especially in the Smallville sequence), bright comic turns by Margot Kidder and Gene Hackman, and of course, that winning performance by Christopher Reeve in the title role. Believe a man can fly? You bet!
Read Full Review
100
The Globe and Mail (Toronto) Jay Scott
Estimates of the movie's costs range between $35-and $70-million; whatever the price, it was not too much to pay. As gods go, Superman is one of the godliest; his movie is one of the best.
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100
Variety Staff (Not credited)
Magnify James Bond's extraordinary physical powers while curbing his sex drive and you have the essence of Superman, a wonderful, chuckling, preposterously exciting fantasy.
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90
The Onion (A.V. Club) Keith Phipps
Effective both as Superman and as the bumbling Clark Kent, Christopher Reeve still seems ideal for the part.
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88
ReelViews James Berardinelli
There's no doubt that it's a flawed movie, but it's one of the most wonderfully entertaining flawed movies made.
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80
Washington Post Judith Martin
it's the simple, earth-bound quality of the film that makes this comic-book fantasy soar.
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70
The New York Times Vincent Canby
Superman is good, clean, simple-minded fun, though it's a movie whose limited appeal is built in.
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70
Chicago Reader Dave Kehr
The film is best when it takes itself seriously, worst when it takes the easy way out into giggly camp--as it does, finally and fatally, when Lex Luthor enters the action; Gene Hackman plays the arch-villain like a hairdresser left over from a TV skit.
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60
TV Guide Staff (Not credited)
The film burdens itself with too many story lines and an overlong (though beautifully photographed) prologue, but things really get moving when Reeve takes the screen.
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What Our Users Said

Vote Now!The average user rating for this movie is 7.1 (out of 10) based on 32 User Votes
Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Peter J gave it a1:
DON'T BELIEVE THE 88 RATING. This is a pretty bad movie. The pacing is horrible, not nearly 2 and 1/2 hours of material, and the special effects aged poorly. One wonders how esteemed critics could have been bamboozled by such tripe. The sound track and opening sequence are ripped off Star Wars, which is funny but sad. The acting is ok later on: two good scenes with comic relief between Clark and Lois, but the script is otherwise cheesy, (including Lois's in-flight mental poetics: "I'm flying so high/ Up in the sky") and Lex Luthor's insufferable whining. The action sequences are fraught with holes and fail to arouse even the barest tendrils of excitement. The only reason to watch this movie is for historical purposes to see how the film version of Superman began. And if you're a big Christopher Reeve fan (though the red panties didn't age well either...) Otherwise, a waste of time.

Greg M gave it a10:
There have been other actors before christopher reeve that played the part of superman but he made the character of clark kent and superman come to life.

D S gave it a10:
Looks like somebody got bored and decided to trash a classic film. Yeah it seems a bit dated now, but it's a great great movie. Supes is in need of a reboot.

Jared K. gave it a10:
The first superhero movie is one of the best still, see this movie.

Ted F. gave it a10:
Before Batman Begins, Spider-man 2, Iron Man, and Dark Knight there was Superman and Superman II. Fantastic film making with wondrous moments. John Williams score takes flight. They got it right. Superman Returns needs to get back to this formula of film making - bright colors, fun story plots, spunky superboy, and energetic risk taker(Lois Lane). Superman is American Pop culture. I think of Coca Cola, Apple Pie, Uncle Sam, State Fairs, and Amusement Parks. I love the story of Superman. The whole thing. I think Donner and Lester both understood the super hero myth and where it fits with Americana. I would sure love more movies made like these. I don't think they ever get old.

Damon C. gave it a0:
The problem with this movie is that it goes too far with Superman's powers. And whenever he fights a bad guy, he always wins. Its like he's undestructable and invincible. And director Richard Donner cheesily art directs this movie, with a horrible style, unengaging fashion, and a dull, dudfull life. Superman would have been better if it weren't cheesy, frick'n overrated, and better acting. Its so corny, Richard Donner presents a getting far overaged, and has easily lost its high standards it once had. The affects are terrible, everything sucks. The kryptonyte stuff, the nudity (which in the beginning shows an 8 year-old kid butt-naked, showing absolutely everything, and some parts we don't want to see), its nudity like never before, but a bit too much. The planet Krypton stuff, the 7 crystal things, the ghost of his father, led being a weakness. There are so many stupid ideas. Just to settle the reviews, I personally think this is a simply forgettable bore. Snd a huge disappointing letdown.

Chad gave it a6:
It seems everyone wants to remain forever a child these days, but this movie is not that good. It is entertaining for kids, but hardly worthy of the fawning reviews it's received from critics. I supect it is at least partially due to sentimetality over Christopher's Reeves' unfortunate fate.

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