The superhero film by which all those that followed are measured and rightly so. It is also no surprise that introducing a new Superman in the modern era has proved so difficult with such a perfect origin story already committed to film, as the split opinion over Man of Steel proves. From the opening moments, it is quite clear that this film is supremely confident in its story and characters and that the audience will invest their time in it too - hell, Superman doesn't even appear properly until well over an hour has passed. Pitch perfect casting throughout helps and whilst Reeve earns all the plaudits for his portrayal of Clark Kent and Superman, let's not forget some great work by Jeff East who plays Clark as a teenager. Both imbue Clark and Superman with such humanity and belief in what he represents that the audience is swept along with them. Verisimilitude was Donner's watchword when making the film, but he didn't just convince us that a man could fly, he convinced us that Superman's ideals and belief in humanity were possible and worth fighting for. There is a surprising lack of action sequences, which is worth noting given the clamour for action in the modern franchise and whilst the effects may have dated it really makes little difference as the audience is so invested in the characters. The helicopter rescue still thrills, the missile chase is still exciting and whilst the final resolution from a story point of view is a little cheap, it brings two key moments in Superman's story full circle as he refuses to accept a loss and Reeve's performance here is enough to render such quibbles moot. And then there is William's score...in the film it's enough to bring goosebumps at the mere anticipation of the anthem. Is it any wonder the filmmakers decided they needed a 5 minute opening credit sequence to show it off ? Still the best!!