In Richard Donner's blockbuster, the Superman myth is well told, from his birth on the doomed planet Krypton to his childhood in a small Kansas town and beyond. After he comes of age, young Clark Kent, as his Earth parents have named him, learns the truth of his alien birth on a voyage of discovery to the Arctic. It is there that he learns--through a link to his long-dead birth parents--of his superhuman abilities and his responsibility to preserve and protect "truth, justice and the American Way." Once he adjusts to life in the big city, Metropolis, he discovers that hiding his superpowers as mild-mannered reporter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) isn't easy as he flirts with hard-nosed Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) and battles supervillain Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). The film's all-star cast includes Jackie Cooper, Marlon Brando, Ned Beatty, Glenn Ford, Terence Stamp, and Valerie Perrine, among others, all camping it up wonderfully.
This big-budget, epic-scale version of the Man of Steel legend is irresistible, fabulous entertainment. The elegiac opening — from the destruction of Krypton to Clark Kent's arrival at the Daily Planet in Metropolis — turns more traditional comic book when Clark falls for Lois Lane, before a bright and breezy confrontation with comedic criminal Lex Luthor. The deliberate clash of styles generates much excitement and, yes, you'll believe a man can fly. Christopher Reeve is perfectly cast (though Dean Cain fans may now disagree) and as a spectacle it's a highly satisfying confection.
Halliwell's Film Guide
Long, lugubrious and only patchily entertaining version of the famous comic strip, with far too many irrelevant preliminaries and a misguided sense of its own importance.
Radio Times
