TO GENERATIONS of fans the world over, Christopher Reeve simply was Superman. His look, his manner, his commitment to the dual role of lovable oaf Clark Kent of Smallville and Kal-El of Krypton defined the character and set the bar, perhaps impossibly high, for all who dared follow. And while these movies might not have always achieved that same high standard, Reeve et. al. have left a substantial cinematic legacy, commemorated in Warner’s Superman 5-Film Collection.
The saga begins with a richly realized retelling of Kal’s and have their share of laughs certainly, but they were never comedies: is supposed to be funny I guess, as Supes butts heads with a computer-enabled mega-lomaniac, but the “humor” has aged terribly. And the nonsensical which introduces the nemesis Nuclear Man, created from sunlight and a strand of Superman’s hair, aspires to do little more than fill its mercifully short runtime.
