Superman

'Superman' is imperfect, though has an undeniable charm to it and a straightforwardness that I actually appreciated whilst watching. It's a film that feels broken in pieces and then glued back together, like each stage of the movie almost feels unconnected to the other. We get the backstory in a decent sized chunk, then a long bit for Clark's early Earth life, then he turns into the titular character and we have a hefty portion of him doing his superhero things consecutively and then the antagonist finally rears his head. I know that sounds like every film ever, but whilst viewing it does feel oddly constructed. The humour is also quite wooden, while Lex Luthor is incredibly cartooney. None of what I'm saying is criticism though, because I had a very pleasant time watching this 1978 production. It's just a really nice experience from start to end, albeit one that is rough around the edges. Gene Hackman's portrayal of Luthor is excellent. I like Jesse Eisenberg's Lex in the DCEU flick, but I do prefer this version - just due to how fun he is, it works well. I actually wish we got more of a direct Superman v. Luthor movie, to be honest. Perhaps that's coming in the sequels, I guess I'll soon find out. Christopher Reeve fits the main character strongly, admittedly I kinda enjoyed his performance as Clark Kent a tad more. Margot Kidder, Ned Beatty, Valerie Perrine and Jackie Cooper stand out on a notable support cast; which also includes one Marlon Brando, someone I had only previously seen in 'The Godfather' - gotta watch more! For a two hour plus thing, this goes by remarkable quickly - despite the aforementioned clunkiness. I have a clock near the television and any time I looked across it was closer and closer to the conclusion. As true a sign as any that I enjoyed this one. Now to check out the follow-ups!