Superhero Movie Smackdown Volume 1

Superhero Movie Smack Down – Round 1

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Chuck Moran – Superman

Superman: The Movie (1978) is the one that started it all. Every superhero flick from this point on would use this movie as the model.

It is the first movie that brought in an overly qualified actor to take a small but critical role with Marlon Brando as Jor-El, Superman’s father. From then on, every Michael Caine and Jack Nicholson would always sit in Brando’s shadow.

An origin story has never been told in a better way. Watch Kal-El when he is on-screen for the first time coming out of the hole where Ma and Pa Kent find him. He is a boy, not much different looking than a young Chuck. He is embraced by the good nature of the Kents and taken in as their own. The Kents impress upon him wholesome values and we see Clark take shape into a helpful and good son. As a child watching this movie, I could relate to wanting to be a good and helpful son, and there was no better son than Clark Kent.

Clark, knowing full well of his potential, still had the ability to bring it. When Clark is a teenager, see the way he looks at Lana Lang after racing the train and beating the kids in the car to the school. He knows he will be playing a secret life from the very beginning.

As a kid I believed that he really loved and cared for Lois Lane.  With the affection he  gets from and gives towards  Lois, he is able to be more understanding of the human condition. Without her, he struggles to understand his place in the world. You can feel his anguish when she is swallowed up by the San Andreas Fault.

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The combination of the John Williams score and opening title sequence set the tone for the movie and for what should be expected from superhero movies to come. The final shot, when Christopher Reeve looks right at the camera, makes it seem like he is talking directly to me – letting me know there is a Superman in all of us.

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Don’t forget to come back on Monday to check out Superhero Movie Smackdown – Round 2. In the meantime, tell us which of these seven superhero movies YOU think is the best.

 

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