The first ever live action Superman. For whatever reason, whether it be Batman or Superman, incarnations in other media seem to start strong and then stumble backwards. In this instance, Alyn’s Superman is only a step backward in that he drops any real distinguishing factors between Superman and Clark Kent other than a change of appearance. Speaking of which, can only take place when Alyn runs off screen momentarily to change into the alternate outfit desired.
This raises an eyebrow only because the character will run off screen, the shot will cut away to something else, and then cut back to Superman/Clark Kent running back into the original shot in the changed costume. Not entirely Alyn’s fault, but regardless, it’s a negative mark against the character’s thought process and portrayal.
Further more, this showing of Superman in live action let a lot of fans down when it came to a dream that most share – being able to fly. Instead, Superman would position himself for take off and then morph into a cartoon and take off into the sky, resembling the animation style of the Bud Collyer cartoons. In some of the alternate in-flight shots Superman would be filmed sideways with his arms raised and a fog machine blowing towards him while a projection of the sky played behind him. Not exactly the most mind blowing special effects.
All production and film making issues aside, the real fault in this adaptation comes in the performance of voice and tone from Alyn. The lack of pitch change, body language and emotional resonance is what hurts.
He’s very much the same character the whole time, which makes it even more cringe worthy when Lois and Jimmy are questioning the differences between him and Superman. Adding to this, is the lack of the physical dominance Alyn shows. He’s not muscular in the slightest and that really makes it look like a nerd in spandex.
At least when he’s in Clark Kent mode they buff out his shoulders a little bit. One could argue that it added to his secret identity and that Superman is naturally strong and doesn’t need a muscular physique to be super strong. To this I say – poppycock. He’s an idealistic hero, the man in the spandex needs to be ripped. The bumbling reporter should look like the slim jim.
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KIRK ALYN SUPERMAN
