Yesterday, I saw Superman The Movie for the first time. The Richard Donner one with Christopher Reeves as Superman. I know, SHOCKER. Considering I'm such a big movie guy here. I've seen Superman 2 (whole), Superman 4: Quest for Peace (whole), and Superman 3 (pieces of it). But, never saw the movie that started it all. So, I rented it via iTunes and then watched it for the first time. And then watched Man of Steel, so it's time for a comparison.

Which movie is better.

For editing and pacing. I say Superman The Movie does pretty well with. Man of Steel has some problems with that. But, Superman The Movie is pretty much a storytelling movie and not an action superhero movie. Man of Steel is a action superhero movie. It does have a story, but it's trying to tell it in a way to make you feel and relate to Superman as a character. While Superman The Movie is just telling you the idea of Superman and nothing else.

Storytelling. Superman The Movie is better in terms of storytelling. You can tell that Superman The Movie is telling you the origins of Superman and how he became the idea. While Man of Steel doesn't do well in storytelling, but it's there. It's telling you Superman the person. Not the idea. There were a few choices in Man of Steel that seems questionable, but if you look pass it. You can clearly see what Zack Snyder is trying tell you.

Action scenes and special effects. Clearly, Man of Steel wins this. Especially with the usage of CGI. It's one of the reasons why I prefer Man of Steel than Superman the Movie. We finally have the tech to create a great Superman fight. There wasn't much for Superman the Movie, but it was made in the 70's. So, it was limited then and had to work with what they had at the time. The effects for Superman The Movie is still ok by today's standards, but you can tell what they used. But, in terms of action and such. Man of Steel offers more than Superman the Movie. Granted, Zod wasn't in fully in the first one and is only used fully in the second one, but when you see a superhero movie. You expect to see at least one action scene. And clearly Superman the Movie is lacking that.

My final thoughts for either. While I did like seeing Superman the Movie. I like the storytelling of the idea of Superman and it did made me believe that Christopher Reeves is Superman. But, that's the movie of that time. It won't work today. The idea of superheroes has changed in the last 40 years. Which is why if I have to choose. It's Man of Steel. I can understand why many people prefer Superman the Movie, but me. I prefer Man of Steel. I like to see Superman as a person rather than the idea and the action scenes in that movie is top notched. It's something I wanted to see in a Superman movie in a long time and when I finally saw it. It gotten me to give Man of Steel a higher ranking than Superman the Movie.

Now, not saying Superman the Movie is bad. It's good, but it's good at it's own time. It was made in the 1970's. A time when the Silver Age of comics is still going strong. The movie itself is very cheezy. Especially if you look at it today. If you're younger and seeing it for the first time, you would enjoy it more. But, seeing it as an adult. It doesn't hold up. The effects are cheesy, the dialogue is cheesy, but it's quite enjoyable for what it is.

To me, Man of Steel is the Superman movie I've always wanted to see. And that's my two cents