Lollivan
It's the kind of movie you'll want to see a second time with someone who hasn't seen it yet, to remember what it was like to watch it for the first time.
Arianna Moses
Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.
Zandra
The movie turns out to be a little better than the average. Starting from a romantic formula often seen in the cinema, it ends in the most predictable (and somewhat bland) way.
classicsoncall
Most reviewers appear to give this serial the edge over it's forerunner, 1948's "Superman" with most of the same principals involved. Quite honestly, I found little difference between the two except for the inclusion of Superman's arch-enemy Lex Luthor, ably portrayed by Lyle Talbot, who takes on a dual role as the title character Atom Man. With his shaved head, Talbot epitomized the classic look of Luthor from the Silver Age comic book era, and just like Clark Kent and Superman, you never saw Luthor and Atom Man in the same place at the same time.But gee, wasn't Atom Man just the goofiest looking screen villain ever? I mean he was just laughably ridiculous looking with no hint of menace whatsoever to my thinking. The opening chapter had the head of Atom Man superimposed over newspaper headlines of various crimes being committed across Metropolis, along with images of atomic bomb blasts to further heighten the connection with the character.Just as in the first serial, animation is used to simulate Superman's power of flight but the film makers also used close-ups of Kirk Alyn to simulate various flying poses. What cracked me up however were some of the decisions regarding Superman's heroics in the story. In the first chapter for example, Superman prevents a bridge from swaying so a woman in her car can be rescued by the police when he could just as well have saved her himself. The bridge wound up falling down anyway.Perhaps even funnier, at least to me and it happened a couple of times, was when there would be the usual group of reporters in Perry White's (Pierre Watkin) office, and with his phone within arm's reach, Perry would ask Jimmy Olsen (Tommy Bond) to dial a number. So Jimmy would walk all the way around the desk and bystanders to make the call. You really had to wonder what the rationale was for decisions like this to be made.Moving from chapter to chapter, one would be hard pressed to make sense of any continuity in the story. The over riding concept here had to do with some type of special coin Luthor invented that allowed for the transmission of solid objects and people over short distances, a neat precursor to TV Star Trek's transporter beam a couple decades later. Atom Man himself fades from the scene well before the final chapter so the ultimate battle against the Man of Steel one might have expected never comes to pass. By then though, so much goofy stuff happened already you might not even notice.
umich918
Superman vs. Atom Man is an example of the pre-TV serials that attracted kids (including me) to the movie theaters in the 1950's. This serial stays close to the theme of the original Superman, and it's lots of fun. It is better produced and directed than the other serials I faithfully watched in the 1950's at the Broadway theater in Mt. Pleasant, Michigan, including one titled "The Monster and the Ape." Clark Kent has an interesting kind of split personality as he tries to conceal his identity as Superman by playing a meek reporter, but occasionally his strength comes out in spite of his efforts. And, Lois Lane (played by the beautiful Noel Neill) is fun to watch, remembering that she later played this role in the TV series. Jimmy Olsen is played by a guy who is quite different from the later actors, and seems to be a little old for the "cub reporter" job. Overall, it's great fun.
lodger3
I am a 29-year-old serial fan and 'Atom Man vs. Superman' is one of my all-time favorites. This serial is a big improvement over the first one, and it gives Superman many things to do to show why he is the World's Greatest Super-Hero. Much has been made over the fact that animation was used to depict Superman flying. 'Atom Man' at least tries to improve upon it's predecessor by having close-ups of Kirk Alyn in flight to off-set the animated footage used in the long shots. As for the use of animation at all, I think we as audiences can tell what is used for an effect (stop-motion, CGI, miniatures, et al), and I would say that at least the animation was used creatively. Take the scene where Superman lifts the truck out of the path of the oncoming flood; I think the creative staff did a remarkable job at giving Superman fantastic things to do, and is probably the only chapterplay hero to do as many things in one serial as he does in 'Atom Man...'.This serial gives the audience a pretty good story and is true to the characters regarding their comic-book origins. Whereas many serials (and modern films) completely change or contradict what has been told in the comic they're based on ('Captain America' for example), the Superman serials are completely faithful to their comic book origins.If you have never seen a serial, this might be a good place to start. Superman is one of the most widely-recognized characters of all time, and will only help a beginner who is entering his (or her) first serial. Just remember not to watch more than one chapter a day (it'll add to the suspense if you wait a day or two).
rotwang-6
People say George Reeves looked bad in his costume. Wait till you see the lace up boots and the abdomen that sticks out further than his chest.Noel Neill displays absolutely none of the acting ability or charm she would on TV. Tommy ("Butch" from the little rascals) makes a great Jimmy.The last chapter is by far the most fun with Superman riding astride a rocket armed with an A-Bomb.
