Superman at his best?

lumphammer2

It would be interesting to put this out there and see what people think .... what is the best Superman film out there and what is the worst? ... I think the answer to best is the combination of Superman and Superman II watched either in one sitting or on 2 sittings close together ... they define Superman's origin and have the best baddies ... An honourable mention goes to Superman Returns and Man of steel too as good Superman films ...

Superman III is worst for me ... I used to consider Superman IV The Quest for Peace as worst but revisited both recently ... neither are great Superman films compared to the other ones ... but Quest for Peace I found more enjoyable ... Nuclear Man was a sort of a low rent Zod and there was this homage to Superman II in there with the action scenes ... worst part of IV is it was way too short at just 80 mins and storylines were not complete like Clarke and Lacy ... Superman III was way worse for me ... the computer geek was typical of its time and the computer gamey stuff was lame ... plus no Lex Luthor !!

That all said and done ... I'd rather watch even a bad Superman movie before I'd watch a lot of the modern films with the minor superhero characters ....

flasher0030

Wow, I didn't even know there was a Superman 4. From a quick review online of its creditionals, I'll be giving it a miss. I thought Superman 3 was such a turd of a film, and 4 is supposed to be worse.

Superman 1 and 2 and epics though. Was the best part of CHristmas growing up (other than the big man from the North Pole of course). That was back before movies became streamable on demand

Full_Circle_81

I know this probably has a lot to do with what Superman you were raised on, but for me, the best live-action Superman will always be the one we saw in the original 78 movie with Christopher Reeve. Even after all these years I think it mostly stands up as being a really good film and a solid representation of the character himself. The casting was great, the acting was earnest and fun (in a pulpy/campy sort of way) and the music still stands as a masterpiece of superhero scoring. When I was younger I remember also loving Superman II as much as (if not more than) the first one, but over time I've soured on it because of all the behind-the-scenes shenanigans that went on after Donners firing, and don't think I could ever go back to watching it now. Its such a pity that Donner never got to finish them both.

If I'm allowed to bring animation into the mix, my ideal Superman will always be the one that was I was introduced to by Bruce Timm in Superman The Animated series back in the mid-90s. More than any other incarnation, this show was unafraid to portray him as the "big blue boy scout", instilled with an innate goodness by his adoptive parents and was unwavering in his compassion for all life (excluding Darkseid!). The "Worlds Finest" 3 episode arc with Batman works well as a mini-movie (if we are sticking to "movies" in this discussion). Supermans strengths/weaknesses are always best highlighted when contrasted against someone like Batman who, while still a hero, can operate outside of Clarks black and white, right and wrong view of the world. Their partnership always leads to interesting moral dilemmas, especially when dealing with the villains.

Back on the live-action side of things, I didn't care too much for Superman Returns, even though it was a gorgeous looking film, and Routh was surprisingly good at channelling Reeve during his scenes as Clark (at times the similarities are uncanny). And while I know Man of Steel has its fans, the character that Snyder had Cavill portraying in both that and Batman vs Superman was never really "Superman", as far as I'm concerned. Cavill looked the part, so I wouldn't have minded seeing him reprise the role again in a more light-hearted/heroic entry (I think Cavill himself wanted the character to move more in that direction) but sadly it'll never be. Heres hoping that Corenswet gets more of an opportunity to play an actual hero under Gunn.

tesla_newbie

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/2058319131/superman-at-his-best

1978 Superman the movie is by far the best

1987 Supeeman 4 is quite possibly the worst movie ever made. Never mind the worst Superman movie

CastorTroy

I see IV is on RTÉ today for anyone who wants to check it out to confirm how bad it is.

Bobby_Bolivia

I despise Man of Steel.

An abomination of a movie which fundementally misunderstands the character of Superman.

AMKC

Christopher Reeve is, was and will always be Superman for me. I recently went to see it in the Cinema during the Summer and loved it still.

The vest films is the 1978 film and Suoetman 2.

3 is OK in parts but 4 is atrocies in fact it's so bad it's funny.

Seamus4life

Donner cut of superman 2

lumphammer2

I'd say ... on reflection ...

Superman and Superman II joint #1

Superman Returns #2

Man of Steel #3

Superman Iv the Quest for Peace #4

Superman 3 #5

1 and 2 are excellent ... Returns is also pretty good ... Man of Steel is good enough but do not like the sequels .... 4 is a good laugh and has some corny action at least ... 3 is a total bore and dated ...

fritzelly

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121294019#Comment_121294019

Yeah really bad film - so badly edited and such a stupid script, take him to the moon just to break out of the lift and battle again, so many things wrong with this film (cinema release this is)

flasher0030

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121296850#Comment_121296850

Just of curiouslty - where would you put Superman V Batman in there. I have never seen that movie. Was going to throw it on a couple of times, but the lukewarm reviews put me off everytime.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121298303#Comment_121298303

To answer this simply ... Superman v Batman was a disappointment in one major way ... I know many will not agree but I liked Man of Steel quite a lot ... and it should have been the first of 3 Superman films akin to the Dark Knight Trilogy ... it was a disappointment because it did not produce a pure Superman sequel to Man of Steel ...

Less simple is where Batman v Superman belongs in a list of rated Superman films ... Well it is much better than either Superman III or IV that is for sure ... it is also better than Justice League that is for sure too ... in Batman films it is better than Batman Forever and Batman & Robin that is for sure too ... I like both Batman and Superman but they are best on their own I would feel too ... I know these films were not the first to combine them though as the comics had done so before ...

I would give the film a go though ... it is by no means the worst film you will ever see and it has a lot of good moments in there for fans of both superheroes ... just do not expect it to be as good as the best films in either series ...

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121298303#Comment_121298303

The directors cut is marginal better but fundamentally the whole set up is contrived, even by the standards of pitching Superman versus Batman. Synder really overcranked everything, not least Batman being a murdering psycho with really flawed logic & Superman with the whole Jesus allegory and the Burden of Superpowers angst. The Jessie Eisenberg Luthor was a theoretically good idea played utterly horribly. The whole thing was just Synder off the leash in the worst possible way - even his b&w Justice League had a better sense of itself.

buried

The first Superman movie is the only genuinely authentic comic book character film that actually works. Donner is literally the only director that was able to blend the sequential editing that is utilized in comic book formats in order to make that medium work on the cinema screen. Everything that came after the first film was just trying to capitalize on it's success without giving a damn on why the first film, it's story and it's artistic execution really actually worked.

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121307103#Comment_121307103

Of course .... those who make sequels only care about capitalizing on success without caring about what went before ... wrt Superman I love 1 and 2 and in fairness 2 was made at the same time as part of a longer film that was split .... but 3 is v poor worse than 4 in my view .... but that is not saying that 4 was good ... only thing good in 4 was that Eddie Cochran? song .... but 3 was worse ....

Very seldom though do 3rd and/or 4th sequels work ... those 3rd and 4th Batman films from the 1990s were woeful too for instance .... same goes for Jaws films, Beverley Hills Cop films, and both Die Hard and Lethal Weapon to a lesser extent ... Indiana Jones and Star Wars too good after 3 films but debatable after that ... and even in the Dark Knight trilogy started sagging by film 3 .... Mad Max and a couple others were exceptions ....

Man of Steel I did like but Batman v Superman and Justice League destroyed that ... I got the feeling here that they thought they could bring in all the DC heroes and make a killing with a film series that would please all ... it didn't ... that villain from Justice League was anything but perfect for Batman or Superman .... it was some strange combination of a horror and Star Wars villain done badly ...

lumphammer2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121301421#Comment_121301421

Would agree with this .. Lex Luthor was good ... but the rest was contrived ... both Batman and Superman were not in typical character .... Batman was not ever a murdering psycho until this and Superman's angst is too emphasised .... it is as you say overcranked ... the film is to me a curiosity but is not a classic version of either superhero who happen to be my 2 fave superheroes ...

Acosta

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121326745#Comment_121326745

Die Hard With A Vengeance is one of the great action movie sequels and is much better than the second movie. Die Hard 4 isn't bad either. Let's not mention the 5th one though.

Superman 1 and 2 are great.

I'm looking forward to seeing what James Gunn does with it.

JoeA3

Not to derail the thread, but I never got the love for Die Hard with a Vengeance. I guess it’s ok as a standalone 1990’s action movie but “Die Hard” for me is one man against all the odds, in a confined space and the original movie is a stone cold classic that none or the sequels got close to - but DH2 is closer to the spirit of the original than any of the subsequent sequels imo. I think the original has also aged the best by far. All of the sequels look very dated on a re-watch whereas the original still stands up to watching over and over. Its timeless.

To answer the question in this thread, I loved the original Christopher Reeves movies as a kid. They were truely magical, Reeves absolutely nailed the role to perfection. You believed he was Superman.

I probably loved #3 too back in the day, but like the DH sequels, it doesn’t stand up to re-watches and looks horribly cheesy and dated for the most part.

I liked Superman Returns, it had a big nostalgia factor retaining the original iconic theme music, etc but the storyline was pretty weak and the new Lois Lane actress wasn’t believable at all.

Not a fan of the more recent movies at all.

buried

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121344353#Comment_121344353

The opening segment of 'Superman Returns' is cleverly crafted. You get the introductory text at the very start, the text explaining how Superman has dissapeared. The second you get to the end of that opening introductory text, the icy chords of John Williams "The Planet Krypton" score track from the original film kick in.

Probably the only decent bit of that entire film.

Agent Coulson

Donner’s Superman and still the best was released 45 years ago today.

The Nal

Superman 1.

So Lex sends off two rockets, Supe stops one but not the California one but managed to bandaid the earth crust fault, but Lois still dies in an aftershock.

Superman then spins the world back in time and forward again to current time. Lois is alive but mentions shes seen earthquakes and gas stations blowing up. So the 2nd rocket still hit California.

So, err, why wasnt she still at the bottom of the aftershock dead when he restored time?

SuperBowserWorld

Superman II by far.

Superman I reversing time plotline was dumb and I found the movie boring at times. Superman II is way more exciting and interesting with General Zod and co.

Christopher Reeve transcends the role. And Terence Stamp is brilliant as his nemesis. Some really excellent lines in the movie too.

And any Superman Movie without John Williams music just doesn't cut it. Possibly the best cinema music ever.

Superman Returns was excellent I thought. Captured the romance and grandeur of the first 2 movies, and it had that music of course.

The Zack Synder ones turn Superman into some 2D dystopian thug. Henry Cavill deserved better.

walshb

Superman is a superb movie. Superman II even better.

The Nal

President: "But there is one man on this planet who will never kneel before you."

General Zod: "Who is this imbecile?"

artvanderlay

Superman 2 was the best because it was pretty much non-stop action from the off. The characters had been established in the first film so they didn't have to waste time with backstory, and then they threw in 3 Kryptonians with similar powers to Superman to spice things up and you also the continued presence of Lex Luther trying to capitalise on this new development. Many great moments: the transition to Superman in the alleyway (great effect for its time); Niagara Falls and Lois discovering Clark is Superman; Superman giving up his powers for Lois; the diner bully; Zod, Ursa and Non wreaking havoc in Metropolis; Superman returning and having a smackdown against them; the Fortress of solitude finale and Superman's trick to win. So many memorable scenes and dialogue. Hackman was very funny in it, Terence Stamp's bored insouciance as Zod was great too.

I actually enjoyed the first half of Superman 3, especially when Clark went back to Smallville, and there were some interesting ideas in it, but it collapsed under its own ridiculousness and Richard Pryor took the attention from Supes.

4 is a turd. Superman Returns was even worse! I've never been so disappointed in a film except for maybe Halloween Ends. It was such a downer of a movie and a bizarre way to bring Superman back to the big screen. I really liked Man of Steel but as usual with these superhero films nowadays it was too long and the CGI was over the top during the end fight. Also a bit too earnest in parts,usually the scenes with Costner. The street fight against the Kryptonians in Smallville was a highlight. All the other Snyder Supes films were ****.