Super Man series

[Bruce Lee]

We all have seen at least one of them, and we also probably have mixed feelings about them.

Of course I happen to be talking about the Christopher Reeves Superman series from the 1980's.

Most fans consider the first film to be the best one, and some even go so far as to say it's the only one worth watching.

What are your thoughts?

[CopyCat]

I remember seeing Superman as a kid and thinking that he was the king
of cool... He was the toughest, strongest, fastest man that ever lived...
I thought that until I over heard my gay ass neighbor tell one of his boy
friends that he thought Superman was sweetest, sexiest, most desirable
man that ever lived... Well that pretty much ruined it for me,
I never looked at Superman quite the same ever again...

[Stubblecat]

It's hard to follow that post, but I'll try...

I could go on forever about the Superman films. But I won't. I'll try to be succinct:

Superman - The Movie (1978) - Brilliant. The gold standard by which every superhero film should be judged.

Superman II (Theatrical version) (1981) - Still excellent. Some quibble with the Richard Lester reshoots, but I think as a whole it expands upon the original and even manages to deftly handle a very fragile relationship subplot.

Superman II (Richard Donner cut) (2006) - Excellent in a different way. I'm not a huge fan of his 'seen-it-before' ending, but Donner's more serious take is a nice counterpoint to some of the lighter moments in the Lester version. *Of note, there are fan edits which exist that take all the best elements of both versions and meld them into what most Superman fans feel is an absolutely superior product. I'm currently looking for one to review.

Superman III (1983) - A steaming turd in every way, shape and form. Again, fanedits exist which junk most of the campiness and reinstate many more serious deleted scenes.

Superman IV (1987) - Good intentions marred by limited budget and schizophrenic script. Somewhere in here (buried very deep, mind you) is a very good movie. Again, fanedits with lots of deleted scenes exist.

Superman Returns (2005) - Nice idea to pretend that parts III and IV didn't happen. The two major issues with the film are that it leans too heavily on its love of the Richard Donner material and that the casting of Superman and Lois skews wayyyy too young. I still really enjoyed it for what it was.