“Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story” Review

Even after the tsunami of superhero films that have swarmed the cinema of the 21st century, my favorite of the sub-genre still remains 1978’s Superman. Beyond its retro wholesomeness and delivering on its promise of believing a man can fly, there’s an invigorating sensation of mankind’s greatest qualities in the comic book icon. Part of its appeal was Richard Donner’s skillful direction and John Williams’s mesmerizing score, but Christopher Reeve was the star. It wasn’t just that he looked like Superman with his tall stature and spit curl. It was the genuine nature of Reeve playing a character that could warm your heart as much as heat vision could melt steel.

The Christopher Reeve Story delves into the background behind the iconic actor, surging beyond his time playing Superman. The lead is not buried as the film addresses the horse accident that left Christopher paralyzed in the mid-1990s. It’s a sobering moment not just for the public, who viewed him as the most powerful superhero, but also for the actor, who felt conflicted about his life. As the film details, Reeve had a rocky view of marriage and an acting career that struggled when he wasn’t wearing the red cape. There’s a bitter realization of how much he took life for granted, especially since one of his last pre-accident roles was playing a disabled character.

Family, friends, co-workers, and fellow advocates speak fondly of Reeve in this film but don’t hold back on the internal problems. Christopher’s decisions were constantly in question, from pursuing a comic book movie to his advocacy for curing his paralysis. When accepting the role of Superman, Reeve’s peers told him he was selling out. When working towards a cure, the disabled community reacted negatively to the implications of a cure, meaning they were diseased. This was made all the more provocative with a commercial which digitally rendered Reeve getting up from his chair and walking again.

But Reeve always had his heart in the right place. When he stumbled with his fight for disability rights and research, he sought out other disabled individuals for better insight. He started learning after feeling at his worst. In the early days of his accident, Reeve would divulge his anger and sadness for the accident that had hindered his life, his mind drifting back to all the things he’d never do again. He’d eventually break from this darkness and it’s hard to deny a part of that recovery was the friendship with Robin Williams. Reeve smiled when Robin, hidden behind a surgical mask, tried to disguise himself as a doctor and made silly comments. Their bond was so strong that Glenn Close believes that Robin wouldn’t have committed suicide if Chris was still around.

The framing of the film is deeply personal. Chris’s children describe in tearful details about how they remember their father, from the last time they saw him on his feet to the final conversations they’d ever have. These important stories paint a more complete picture of Reeve as a man bound by as many worries and flaws as there was heart and devotion. His love only endured after his accident, where hope became plentiful. The film makes a reasonably wise choice in depicting Chris’s bodily changes through a stone statue of Superman with computer graphics. There is talk of Reeve’s work on the first two Superman movies, including some lovely words by Richard Donner on how Chris was essential for making the film’s flying sequences believable. But when it came to the failures of Superman III and Superman IV: The Quest For Peace, not much time is spent harping on the productions. Audiences knew they were bad and Chris did as well. He fully understood the concept of sequalitis and that his character was going down this path.

There’s great humanity within Super/Man as it earnestly and lovingly presents a strong tribute to Christopher Reeve. The film serves as a beautiful reminder that Reeve was a hero in and out of his blue suit. It makes sense that the film includes one of Reeve’s best descriptions of why Superman is a great superhero. He spoke of how the world can feel lonely for a multitude of reasons and we need people in our lives to have the presence of Superman. We need heroes to improve our lives, and it’s undeniable that Christopher Reeve was one of those essential people, whether saving cats from trees or fighting for rights from his wheelchair.