Superman (1987)
5/10
The Indian non-musical Superman
31 March 2016
Still technically inept, and ridiculously overlong, but this second (at least) Indian adaptation of Superman is kind of amusing in its derivativeness.

At times note-for-note copy of Christopher Reeve's first Superman film, even lifts the bulk of its special effects and flying footage from that film. When it does, and when we see this bloated, blubbery Superman in action, this is kind of fun, in a zany, slapstick, nearly satirical way. Sadly though, the filmmakers felt the need to drag this out to two hours, padding the runtime with mindless, pointless shenanigans, and bathroom toilet jokes.

We see Superman telepathically unwraps loaves of bread, and moves plates and sets the dinner table, again, all telepathically, in an oddly Dada-inspired moment, reminding me of something Hans Richter might have done, but filmed in colour.

Some footage of him flying is achieved by spinning the came in a complete 360-degree turn, while a still photo of him is placed in the centre of the screen. Even worse (or, funnier) some of the special effects scenes really look as though the camera was filming a television set playing the 1978 Superman, when Superman flies round the Earth to run time backward!

Nutty, zany, zero-budget ripoff, but it has a few more laughs than the 1980 Indian musical Superman, however, like that film, this just goes on and on forever.
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