In 1978, Richard Donner made the world believe a man could fly with the film ‘Superman’. Audiences fell in love with this adaptation of our favourite Man of Steel but who was the man behind the cape and how did he try his best to overcome one of the hardest challenges life had thrown his way?
‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ is a love letter to the life of Christopher Reeve and the legacy that he left behind after his passing in 2004.
The film begins with outlining who Christopher Reeve was, what his hobbies were, what his personal life was like and why he got into acting. It was incredibly fascinating to take in so much information about the actor. Some of it is information a large variety of people may be knowledgeable about but there is a lot with this film that may leave fans surprised that they didn’t know before.
This film is celebrating Christopher Reeve as an actor, as a Dad and as a friend. It perfectly captures who he was outside of being Superman and it was great to see him as an ordinary person with the same struggles that many people face in life and also seeing him as a family man and being the best Dad he could be to his 3 kids.
The audience is met with the tragedy that changed Christopher’s life forever. The film explains in detail just how his life was changed after the accident and it’s incredibly emotional to see how something like this doesn’t just affect the individual’s life but the lives of those around them.
It was an incredibly empowering thing to see Christopher Reeve fight for his health and also fight to still be a father, husband and friend to those around him.
The film itself is very well edited and has a great flow to it. Nothing is ever too much or too dull, it has great momentum throughout. There’s moments where the audience sees a 3D rendered stone sculpture of Chris as Superman and this comes on screen numerous times during the film. It was a very well done effect and was always enjoyable to see.
‘Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story’ is the perfect representation of who a modern day hero is and is incredibly empowering and motivating.
Any and all Superman fans should try to see this on the big screen while they can.
