THE ULTIMATE LEX

It was sad to hear about the strange circumstances surrounding Gene Hackman, his wife, and their pet dog's death. If I didn't know any better, I might suspect some comic book villain’s foul play was involved—someone like Lex Luthor, perhaps?

And given that Superman (Christopher Reeve) is dead, to paraphrase Nietzsche, we no longer have someone available to reverse the orbit of the world when needed to right any possible wrongdoing here.

So, we’re left to revisit Hackman's performances preserved on film, reminding us why he was the last of the ‘old school’ Hollywood actors—one who could have just as easily fit into both the pre-1960s Studio System era as the decades that followed. Hackman had the kind of hangdog face that looked as if it had been around since the time of the first pioneers in the Old West—perhaps why he was always so effective in Westerns, especially in Clint Eastwood’s Unforgiven (1992).

I've already written about my favourite Hackman movie, Scarecrow (1973), which I only discovered a few years ago, so there’s no need to revisit that outside of providing a link to my short review here: Movie of the Week - Scarecrow.

Thinking back, the first time Hackman made an impression on me at the movies was most likely his famous turn as Lex Luthor in Richard Donner’s Superman (1978), which I first watched on TV as a kid.

What I love about his performance as Superman’s nemesis is how deliberately mortal he is in contrast to Krypton's Jesus Christ figure. By playing Luthor so overtly, with all the foibles of human nature on display, we essentially see humanity in its most greedy and megalomaniacal form being challenged by a being of pure virtue. Hackman clearly understood this and had fun with it—being obnoxious yet somehow charming all at once—redefining the more one-dimensional portrayals of villains in the genre. Later, when Kevin Spacey played the same role in Bryan Singer's Superman Returns (2006), it felt less fleshed out and more one-note.

Hackman was clearly a hard act to follow—a testament to his natural ability as a performer on screen.

Now that he has joined Superman beyond the stars, we on Earth will continue to watch his work, much like Lex Luthor observes the holographic AI consciousness of Jor-El, projected on the icy walls inside the Fortress of Solitude.

Rest in peace, Gene.