1. Reeve's Performance
The Tagline to Superman: The Movie back in 1978 was "You'll believe a man can fly", something which Reeve should surely be handed the lion's share of the credit for. The reason that audiences and critics alike hold Christoper Reeve in such a high regard, is simply down to his impeccable performance as both Superman and Clark Kent. Thanks to his formal training at Julliard (alongside classmate Robin Williams), and a respectable dedication to his craft, Reeve was able to bring one of the 20th century's most loved characters to the silver screen in a way that is hard to beat. More than play each sides of the dual role as separate characters, Reeve in fact played Clark Kent as Superman playing Clark Kent, allowing for more than just a pair of glasses to separate the two sides of Kal-El. Something later actors should have taken into account (I'm looking at you Dean Cain), but for some reason didn't. Anytime we saw Kal-El break from his mild mannered and even bumbling reporter persona, when he first proves he's faster than a speeding bullet for instance, or willing himself to tell Lois the truth, Reeve's immense talent are there for all to see when the juxtaposition between idolised hero and 9-5 suit shows us how foolish we've been to believe Clark all along. In fact 'hero' is probably the wrong word; in a way that captures Reeve's portrayal perfectly, he refers to himself instead as "a friend". In addition to this, Reeve was a qualified pilot (remember those solo Atlantic flights?) and so already had an intricate knowledge of flying, one of the characters most defining attributes. By drawing on this knowledge he was able to bring a believability not just to his characterisation, but also to the more technical aspects of his performance, banking when flying round corners being one such example. Even the most scientifically inaccurate method of time travel in cinematic history is forgivable, thanks to such a strong and iconic performance that Reeve brought to the role. So Mr Cavill, it's over to you...