This year marks the 20th anniversary of the passing of Christopher Reeve, the actor who portrayed DC’s iconic superhero in Superman and its three sequels. There were other actors who played the role before Reeve, and even more followed after him. But Reeve embodied Superman and his alter ego Clark Kent in ways that no other live-action performer has been able to match since he hung up his cape after Superman IV: The Quest for Peace in 1987.
Reeve was also widely known for the horse-riding accident that left him paralyzed for the last nine years of his life. But it wasn’t the accident or his iconic role that made Reeve a hero — it was everything he did after suffering that life-changing tragedy. Earlier this year, Warner Bros. released Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story in theaters, and it’s our pick for the one (HBO) Max movie that you need to watch in December. Now, it’s time to go over the reasons why you should take the time to do so.
We also have guides to the best movies on Netflix, the best movies on Hulu, the best movies on Amazon Prime Video, the best movies on Max, and the best movies on Disney+.
You’ll believe a man can cry
A lot of Reeve’s personal history was on the public record and it played out in front of the media. This film goes deeper, and with the support and participation of Reeve’s children, it explores his childhood and the difficult relationship he had with his own father. That emotional wound never fully healed during Reeve’s life, and it loomed over his personal decisions decades later.
The film also goes into detail about the despair that Reeve felt after his accident, to the point where he admits to contemplating suicide. The narrative of the movie gets very emotional when it reaches that point, and you may find that the tears that come out are your own. It’s a life-changing time for Reeve, and it’s almost impossible to not be moved by what he went through.
The man behind the Man of Steel
Super/Man would have been incomplete if it didn’t touch upon how Reeve got his landmark role and how being Superman changed his life. Not everyone could handle that kind of pressure, and even Reeve felt the enormity of it. This documentary acknowledges the toll that it extracted from Reeve, even though it was a rare privilege as well.
The late Robin Williams pops in and out of the film’s narrative because he and Reeve knew each other from college and became lifelong friends. Their bond played a role in helping Reeve find hope after his accident. Reeve’s children, Matthew, Will, and Alexandra, also share their memories of their father and what he went through during these different stages of his life. They don’t present Reeve as someone without faults, but in their eyes, he was ultimately a good man and a good father.
Triumph over tragedy
This film may be called The Christopher Reeve Story, but it’s not just his story. It also belongs to his wife, Dana Reeve, who stood by him during the darkest hours of his life and helped him discover a new purpose. Without Dana, Reeve wouldn’t have had the support he needed to reinvent himself as an advocate for the disabled. Reeve and his wife founded a charitable foundation dedicated to treatment of paralysis and the search for a cure.
That’s why this documentary isn’t simply a tragedy to be mourned, but a triumph of the human spirit. Christopher and Dana Reeve were truly dedicated to their shared cause, and their work continues to this day through the Christopher & Dana Reeve Foundation. Together, they built something special that has endured decades after their passing. And that’s a more inspiring feat than anything a comic book superhero can do in the real world.
Watch Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story on Max.
