THE STORY OF CHRISTOPHER REEVE takes flight on Rotten Tomatoes with 100%

The first official trailer for Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story was released last month and the review embargo has now been lifted, ahead of its cinema premiere next week.

With 22 reviews counted so far, the first film released under the DC Studios banner currently sits at a perfect 100% Rotten tomatoes.

Directed by McQueen The documentary, made by filmmakers Ian Bonhôte and Peter Ettedgui, focuses on the extraordinary life and career of the legendary actor, who is still considered our best big-screen (or small-screen, for that matter) version of the Man of Steel.

Reeve played Clarke Kent/Superman in four films, and his performances remain just as influential and inspiring today. The actor also appeared in numerous other films after hanging up his cape, before suffering a fatal injury in a near-fatal horse riding accident in 1995 that left him paralyzed from the neck down.

After his accident, Reeve became a tireless activist in the quest for a cure for spinal cord injuries, as well as a passionate advocate for disability rights and care – while continuing his career in film, in front of and behind the camera.

“It’s a gift. We’re so lucky,” Reeve’s son Matthew told Variety in a recent interview. “We not only have his films to watch, but a collection of home movies to dig up and go through, and YouTube interviews of him to retrieve. Seeing things I hadn’t seen before didn’t change my perception of him, it enhanced it… like a rare Australian interview from 1977 that was uploaded that I didn’t know existed. It was really cool to see that and discover a lot more material than we knew.”

“A nuanced and inspiring account of the life-changing legacy of the leading disability activist and man Christopher Reeve.

Reeve rose to fame in the 1970s as Hollywood’s era-defining Superman, but his life changed forever when he was left paralyzed from the neck down following a spinal cord injury in 1995. From his beginnings as a stage actor to his global superstardom to his life of advocacy following an accident, this gorgeous, candid portrait weaves a warming cinematic quilt of archival footage, home movies, interviews with friends and family, the recurring presence of old friend Robin Williams, and Reeve himself, narrating from his 1999 autobiography Still Me.

This emotional film portrait, which earned a standing ovation when it premiered at Sundance, is as complex and at times conflicted as Reeve himself. While chronicling the struggles and controversies Reeve faced after 1995, directors Ian Bonhôte (McQueen, MIFF 2018) and Peter Ettedgui also position the actor as a figure who explores disability advocacy and under-reported struggles within the disability community. Both Super/Man and the title character are potent vehicles of empathy and humanity.”

Super/Man: The Christopher Reeve Story premieres in the US on Saturday, September 21, with a rerun on September 25, Reeve’s birthday. Fans in the UK can see the film in theaters from November 1.