Best Superman Movie of ALL TIME?

fredzilla

In the most recent Comic Talk Episode (CGS Ep. #1362), Jeremy D talked about this discussion in one of the old forums. I thought it would be fun to resurrect that discussion, especially since we've got the cool poll option. So what do you think? Which Supes film is the best?

fredzilla

Superman II

Okay, I accidentally hit enter before adding a couple more options and now it won't let me add them. I wanted to put Superman II: The Donner Cut and The Man of Steel (yeah, I know it's not out yet), but I can't change the categories. Durnit.

I went with Superman II simply because of Zod. As a kid, that guy creeped me out. He was the antithesis to Clark's Americana upbringing--what Superman could have been if he used his powers against humanity. Lex Luthor just seemed a little too childish for me. I could never take him seriously as the greatest criminal mastermind of our time.

batlaw

Superman: The Movie

Superman the Movie. There is no contest. IMO Superman is still the best superhero /comic book movie made.

mguy1977

Superman: The Movie

Superman The Movie is the most important superhero movie of a generation. To suggest any other Superman film is better is just criminal.

Matthew

PS
Superman IV is the worst Superman movie ever made.

Chuck_Melville

Superman: The Movie

I didn't see an entry for Superman vs The Mole Men.

For that matter, shouldn't we also include the two 1940's serials starring Kirk Allyn for the sake of being complete?

tazmaniak

For me, there still hasn't been a good Superman movie. Not to speak ill of the dead, and though I know legions of fans hail him as the definitive Superman, Christopher Reeve was always a wooden actor in my eyes. Because of his limited range and acting abilities, I don't think he made a very good Superman. But that's me.

I'm hoping Snyder, Goyer and Cavill finally give me a good Superman in a good Superman movie.

fredzilla

Superman II

Chuck_Melville said:

I didn't see an entry for Superman vs The Mole Men.

For that matter, shouldn't we also include the two 1940's serials starring Kirk Allyn for the sake of being complete?

I would include them if I could get back in to edit the choices. Unfortunately, I can only update the description of the post. I was thinking of even including the animated iterations of Supes too.

Matt

fredzilla said:

Chuck_Melville said:

I didn't see an entry for Superman vs The Mole Men.

For that matter, shouldn't we also include the two 1940's serials starring Kirk Allyn for the sake of being complete?

I would include them if I could get back in to edit the choices. Unfortunately, I can only update the description of the post. I was thinking of even including the animated iterations of Supes too.

Sounds like a thread relaunch!

I actually consider Superman & Superman II (Donner cut) as an extended singular movie. It ranks up there for sentimental reasons. Having said that, however, Man of Steel looks to have a really good chance of being number 1. I did always think it was weird people just accepted Superman without real fear of his superpowers.

The fact that Superman is arrested, questioned, & not trusted really adds to the outcast angle I felt was overlooked often by the character.

M

Justin_TheBuck

Superman: The Movie

If anyone picks Returns I think we should ban them from the forums.

Matt

tazmaniak said:

For me, there still hasn't been a good Superman movie. Not to speak ill of the dead, and though I know legions of fans hail him as the definitive Superman, Christopher Reeve was always a wooden actor in my eyes. Because of his limited range and acting abilities, I don't think he made a very good Superman. But that's me.

I'm hoping Snyder, Goyer and Cavill finally give me a good Superman in a good Superman movie.

No Nolan love? He was a part of the story process.

M

Matt

Justin_TheBuck said:

If anyone picks Returns I think we should ban them from the forums.

What sucks is that there are some things I really like in that movie. The kid, stalker Superman, & another real estate scheme are some of the things that prevent multiple viewings.

M

DoctorDoom

tazmaniak said:

For me, there still hasn't been a good Superman movie. Not to speak ill of the dead, and though I know legions of fans hail him as the definitive Superman, Christopher Reeve was always a wooden actor in my eyes. Because of his limited range and acting abilities, I don't think he made a very good Superman. But that's me.

I'm hoping Snyder, Goyer and Cavill finally give me a good Superman in a good Superman movie.

I'm not a fan of Reeve Superman either.

That said, if I have to choose from this lot of movies... suppose the first movie wins, as much as it pains me to say that.

I do hope this new movie blows me away.

tazmaniak

Matt said:

tazmaniak said:

For me, there still hasn't been a good Superman movie. Not to speak ill of the dead, and though I know legions of fans hail him as the definitive Superman, Christopher Reeve was always a wooden actor in my eyes. Because of his limited range and acting abilities, I don't think he made a very good Superman. But that's me.

I'm hoping Snyder, Goyer and Cavill finally give me a good Superman in a good Superman movie.

No Nolan love? He was a part of the story process.

M

I know, but beyond being a producer, I'm not entirely clear on his contributions to the film. I am positive Snyder directed it, Goyer wrote it and Cavill starred in it. I honestly don't know the extent of his involvement, so I left him out.

jaydee74

Superman: The Movie

I picked Superman: The Movie as well. As much as I love General Zod in Superman II, the first movie was just magical. I love being introduced to Christopher Reeve as Clark and Superman. In my opinion, he showed how people could not see through the disguise of Clark Kent and Superman. He plays both characters so well that it made sense to me. There was something so special about that movie that while Superman II is more action packed, it's not as special to me as the first movie. There are moments in all of the movies I loved though. The Clark Kent/Superman fight in III was pretty cool and there are aspects to Superman Returns I do like. I like Brandon Routh as Superman/Clark Kent. I like Sam Hunington as Jimmy. I like Kevin Spacey as Lex and the actor who played Perry. I just wish the creative team behind the movie did more to make the movie it's own entity instead of a Superman: The Movie ripoff. Man of Steel does look like it has the potential to become my new favorite.

Planeis

Superman: The Movie

fredzilla said:

In the most recent Comic Talk Episode (CGS Ep. #1362), Jeremy D talked about this discussion in one of the old forums. I thought it would be fun to resurrect that discussion, especially since we've got the cool poll option. So what do you think? Which Supes film is the best?

I honestly HOPE this one will be the best. Not saying it will be, I have a lot of emotions wrapped up in the original. But it could happen.

jaydee74

Superman: The Movie

I agree. I also have a lot of emotions tied to the first one as well but this does seem to have the potential from what I've seen so far. The scene with young Clark and Jonathan Kent always gets me everytime I see it. It's just so powerful and I love it. Is this based on the Secret Identity story? If so, I need to read that.

Planeis

Superman: The Movie

jaydee74 said:

I agree. I also have a lot of emotions tied to the first one as well but this does seem to have the potential from what I've seen so far. The scene with young Clark and Jonathan Kent always gets me everytime I see it. It's just so powerful and I love it. Is this based on the Secret Identity story? If so, I need to read that.

I agree, I have found myself getting strangely emotional during the previews. If Man of Steel is really good, it definitely has advantages over the original, just because the process of big movie spectacles has advanced so far.

I know to some that will sound like blasphemy, but its true. If I had to pick between the original Superman movie and the Avengers, and could only watch 1 for the rest of my life.... I think I might choose the Avengers. Storywise, they both have things going for them. But in terms of exciting visuals, Avengers crushes Superman: The Movie

So, Man of Steel has some advantages. But that also means if its a bad movie, i'll knock it even further down. For instance, if the Green Lantern movie was the first ever bigtime superhero movie made, I think I'd probably like it. But its not. It had a standard to live up to, and had the pedigree (big budget, good director) to be a good movie, but in my opinion it fell horribly flat. So it gets shoved down to the dregs of movie history as far as I'm concerned.

Again, not saying Superman: The Movie is bad, but I am saying that if you put it on a scale with a movie that has equally good story, actors, characters but is made now... the modern movie has a leg up. I feel the same way about The Dark Knight and Tim Burton's Batman. I use to lurve the Tim Burton Batman. And there's nothing wrong with it.

John_Steed

Superman: The Movie

I was 12 when I saw it at the theater with my dad. It was magical.

JDick

Superman: The Movie

I voted Superman 1 because the stuff up through the Fortress of Solitude is the best Superman stuff on film (although he isn't in costume at all).
I am like a lot of others here in that I don't think that there has really been a good Superman movie yet.

LibraryBoy

Superman: The Movie

I don't think every aspect of the original has aged well, and it certainly has its slow points, but I've loved it since I was a kid and it still manages to maintain the same near-magical hold on me it did back then. Even my son loved it when I showed it to him for the first time earlier this year, and he has a pretty limited attention span.

As far as I'd rank the whole series, I think they go down right in order - first to last = best to worst, IMHO. I know a lot of people hate 3 and 4, but I think they have their moments (if you can get past some of the really cheesy parts, 3 is a lot better than its reputation, and certainly the closest to the Silver Age Superman that has ever been depicted on-screen), and I'd watch them dozens of times before I'd ever watch Returns again.

jaydee74

Superman: The Movie

I really like the Clark Kent/Superman battle. I like the idea of Superman 4 but the overall product isn't so great.

LibraryBoy

Superman: The Movie

jaydee74 said:

I really like the Clark Kent/Superman battle. I like the idea of Superman 4 but the overall product isn't so great.

The Clark/Superman battle is a lot more brutal than I remembered it being. Great scene and weirdly hard to watch (in that good way). Also, Superman puts out a chemical plant fire by freezing a lake and dropping it onto the fire, which is about the most Supermanly action in the whole series.

As for 4, yeah, a lot went wrong there. But it's probably Margot Kidder's best performance as Lois since the first movie... go watch it again and pay close attention to her, because Super Roofie Kiss or no, she totally knows.

Torchsong

Superman II

Best Superman movie? Easy...

The Iron Giant.

/Yeah, I'm a jerk, but if you saw it you know from whence I speak. :)

hauberk

Superman II

Torchsong said:

Best Superman movie? Easy...

The Iron Giant.

/Yeah, I'm a jerk, but if you saw it you know from whence I speak. :)

Aweome movie and excellent perspective.

hauberk

Superman II

Going with Superman 2. Superman the Movie had some great stuff. Unfortunately, it also had Otis, the original real estate deal (without which, Superman Returns could have only beeen better) and the far too long earthquake scene - so, great movie up through the Fortress of Solitude (as mentioned above). By comparison, Superman II had Zod and a nod to Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex.

Did I mention that it had Zod?

shroud68

Superman II

Superman 2. In viewing both recently I can see how it feels like halves of the same movie but Superman's origin and growing pains consume far too much of the first. 2 just works better as a straight narrative. It gets points for "kneel before Zod" line, certainly one of the most quotable line of the genre to this day.

Don't understand the anti-Reeves contingent out there. Other than Robert Downey Jr.' s Tony Stark/Iron Man is there a better performance of both sides of a hero than Reeves'? Keep in mind he was playing essentially the Bronze Age version at the time, not a version informed by the stronger Post Crisis Bryne era Superman. I love Reeves' take and everything has and will pale in comparison.

Matt

shroud68 said:

Superman 2. In viewing both recently I can see how it feels like halves of the same movie but Superman's origin and growing pains consume far too much of the first. 2 just works better as a straight narrative. It gets points for "kneel before Zod" line, certainly one of the most quotable line of the genre to this day.

Don't understand the anti-Reeves contingent out there. Other than Robert Downey Jr.' s Tony Stark/Iron Man is there a better performance of both sides of a hero than Reeves'? Keep in mind he was playing essentially the Bronze Age version at the time, not a version informed by the stronger Post Crisis Bryne era Superman. I love Reeves' take and everything has and will pale in comparison.

I'd add Michael Keaton & Christian Bale's Batman/Bruce Wayne performances. Both did excellent Dark Knights. They were also able to do believe able performances as carefree/eccentric billionaire playboys, but could remove that public persona with Alfred (& Fox).

M

JDick

Superman: The Movie

shroud68 said:

Superman 2. In viewing both recently I can see how it feels like halves of the same movie but Superman's origin and growing pains consume far too much of the first. 2 just works better as a straight narrative. It gets points for "kneel before Zod" line, certainly one of the most quotable line of the genre to this day.

Don't understand the anti-Reeves contingent out there. Other than Robert Downey Jr.' s Tony Stark/Iron Man is there a better performance of both sides of a hero than Reeves'? Keep in mind he was playing essentially the Bronze Age version at the time, not a version informed by the stronger Post Crisis Bryne era Superman. I love Reeves' take and everything has and will pale in comparison.

How do you know that?
I don't think people are anti-Reeves. He was the best part of some not very good movies.

jaydee74

Superman: The Movie

LibraryBoy said:

jaydee74 said:

I really like the Clark Kent/Superman battle. I like the idea of Superman 4 but the overall product isn't so great.

The Clark/Superman battle is a lot more brutal than I remembered it being. Great scene and weirdly hard to watch (in that good way). Also, Superman puts out a chemical plant fire by freezing a lake and dropping it onto the fire, which is about the most Supermanly action in the whole series.

As for 4, yeah, a lot went wrong there. But it's probably Margot Kidder's best performance as Lois since the first movie... go watch it again and pay close attention to her, because Super Roofie Kiss or no, she totally knows.

I remember being very uncomfortable the first time I saw the Clark Kent/Superman fight. They were really trying to kill each other. It was very disturbing but I thought it was done nicely and a good scene. The part where he freezes the lake to put out the chemical fire was outstanding and yes. A very cool part of the entire series. I do remember Lois being really quite awesome in 4. She is the highlight of the film in my opinion.

DoctorDoom

shroud68 said:

Superman 2. In viewing both recently I can see how it feels like halves of the same movie but Superman's origin and growing pains consume far too much of the first. 2 just works better as a straight narrative. It gets points for "kneel before Zod" line, certainly one of the most quotable line of the genre to this day.

Don't understand the anti-Reeves contingent out there. Other than Robert Downey Jr.' s Tony Stark/Iron Man is there a better performance of both sides of a hero than Reeves'? Keep in mind he was playing essentially the Bronze Age version at the time, not a version informed by the stronger Post Crisis Bryne era Superman. I love Reeves' take and everything has and will pale in comparison.

Hey, there are people who don't care for RDJ either.

Reeves just never sold me on Superman. Like Taz said, seemed a bit wooden to me. If I had to choose my own words, I'd say "blah".

Really hoping this new Superman film turns it around for me.

Chuck_Melville

Superman: The Movie

Frankly, my Superman was always George Reeves, who really made the role his during the 50's... but Christopher Reeve really took the role and owned it from his very first movie. Even the later, poorer films are worth watching just for his performance, for his trying to raise the role above the mediocrity of the scripts. He wasn't just playing Superman or Clark Kent -- and we should make note here that Reeve was actually playing two distinctly different roles -- he was those characters.