The story of Kal-El, exiled by his father (Marlon Brando) and sent to Earth as an infant in the face of his planet's mass destruction. Adopted and raised in rural Iowa, he grows up to be mild manner reporter Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) by day, who is continually thwarted by flighty Daily Planet colleague Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), and Superman by night, a near invincible being who fights for truth, justice, and the American way and is currently combating megalomaniacal criminal mastermind Lex Luther (Gene Hackman) who plans to hatch a nuclear attack to affect a major real estate scheme. Richard Donner's Superman is the kind of movie that Hollywood isn't even capable of attempting anymore, just great, well rounded entertainment. Reeve and Kidder bring great presence and chemistry to the picture and the entire cast pulls off great comic performances from a tongue-in-cheek script which was surprisingly co-authored by Godfather scribe Mario Puzo. Hackman delivers one of the great villainous turns (some of his interactions with Ned Beatty are priceless) and the cheesy f/x (which were heralded at the time) actually enhance the likability of the picture.
*** 1/2 out of ****
