VHS : Superman II

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- Best of the sequels!
After the events of the original Superman, the Man of Steel ( Christopher Reeve) just saved Lois Lane from terrorists in Paris as he throws their thermonuclear divoce into space that accidently breaks the three evil Kryptonian criminals " Zod, Ursa and Non" ( Terrence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Holloren) out of their space prison to enslave the Earth with the help of "Lex Luthor" ( Gene Hackman) as only Superman must stop them. But unfortunately for Clark Kent, he wants to give up his superpowers for good so he can be with Lois ( Margot Kidder) as she finally figured out who Clark really and is now a mortal without no mere strength or power. However, the country and the world are in mortal danger from the fearsome four but can Clark Kent change back to Superman or will the world be doom?

Excellent second part that proves that a sequel can work as much as "X-Men 2", "Spider-Man 2", "Godfather 2", "Empire Strikes Back", "Dawn of the Dead ( 1978)", "Evil Dead 2" and some others can do. The acting is top notch, The villians are preety belivable including the sexy Sarah Douglas as Ursa! there's also some good special effects for it's time, E.G. Marshall does an appearence as the president and there's plenty of action to satisfy the viewer's taste.

The DVD has only two features which is a trailer and bios, but the picture and sound are good but not great! i hear there's going to be 2-disc special editions of all 4 movies coming out on DVD this summer to cash-in on "Superman Returns".

A recommended sequel!

Rating:

- Great Movie, But Wait For The Special Edition, June 2006
Fantastic movie, but wait for the two-disc special edition being released in June to coincide with the theatrical debut of the new Superman Returns movie. The theatrical version of Superman II on one disc, along with option to play deleted footage shot by Richard Lester, and two different commentary tracks, Lester on one, various actors including Margot Kidder, Sarah Douglas, and Gene Hackman on the other. The second disc has the long-awaited restored Richard Donner version, along with commentary by Donner. Plus, loads of other extras. Hold out for that one; it'll be worth the wait.

Rating:

- A super sequel
Most every movie buff and/or Superman fan knows the story of "Superman II". It was filmed back-to-back with "Superman" by the director of that film, Richard Donner. For some reason, when "Superman" was released, the producers fired Richard Donner. He'd already shot 2/3 of "Superman II", but for some reason, they wanted him gone. So The Powers That Be brought in Richard Lester, director of the Beatles documentary "A Hard Day's Night". Lester re-shot almost all of Donner's footage and completed the film. In 1980, the film that was released to theaters was Richard Lester's "Superman II".

"Superman II" isn't so much a sequel as it is a continuation, a la "The Godfather: Part II". It picks up almost exactly where "Superman" left off. Clark Kent/Superman (Christopher Reeve) still loves Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), and Lois Lane still loves Superman. Well, remember those three nasty bad guys from the first movie? When Superman throws a bomb into space, the waves from the bomb release those three Kryptonian badguys, led by General Zod (Terence Stamp). But Earth didn't fear - Superman can take 'em, right?

Wrong. Superman has agreed to sacrifice his powers to be with the woman he loves, Lois Lane. It's hard to fight three super-evildoers with the same powers as Superman - when Superman has no powers. How will Krypton's Last Son defeat these alien invaders?

I loved "Superman", and I loved "Superman II" very much as well. Though it's nowhere near as epic as "Superman", it's still a fine film. Richard Lester does a fine job as director, though he doesn't compare to Richard Donner. Ken Thorne's score is very good. The cast is great - all three Kryptonian badguys are terrific, which includes Sarah Douglas as Ursa and Jack O'Halloran as Non. Clifton James appears playing the same sort of redneck sheriff he played in the James Bond movies. The highlight of the film, cast-wise, is Gene Hackman, who is absolutely fantastic as Lex Luthor.

I would love to see the Richard Donner cut of the film. It's going to be released on DVD next year so as to coincide with the release of "Superman Returns", so I'll certainly pick it up then. But the Richard Lester cut of "Superman II" is far from a bad film. It's not the epic blockbuster that "Superman" was, but it's still a super sequel.

Rating:

- Holds up more poorly than expected
I loved this movie in its original release. The action sequences were hugely exciting for their time, but the effects have dated badly in parts. The majority of the flaws from a story perspective appear to be a direct result of the famous production problems.

First, the good news is that the basic story of "Superman II" is great. The idea of forcing Superman to chose between being with the woman he loves and serving the world is a excellent. Many of the scenes between Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder are worthy extensions of the material in the first film. The threat posed by the General Zod and his allies adds a lot of tension that was not present in the first film. The idea of insane super humans rampaging is a compelling one. Terrance Stamp is unforgettable as Zod.

Unfortunately, the tone of the film is very inconsistent. It can range from borderline dramatic in one scene to outright camp in the next. Many sequences are excellent, but the film does not fit as tightly together as you would hope. The fight in dowtown Metropolis is still exciting, but the climax in the Fortress of Solitude is awful. It is extremely lazy, as Superman and his rivals acquire new abilities in the middle of the fight. This is a symptom of poor fight choreography.

However, what very nearly fataly undermines the film is the cursory manner in which the central plot line is discarded. The Superman/Lois break-up is under-motivated. Two films of build up ends with a random "super-kiss" that makes the whole plot-line disappear from the memory of a major character. This is Bobby Ewing in "Dallas" level sloppiness in writting.

Overall, there are more good points than bad in "Superman II". On DVD, the chapter mode is wonderful for watching this type of film. It is easy to select the good parts and ignore the bad.

Rating:

- HOW ABOUT A COLLECTORS ED. FOR 25TH ANNIVERSARY?
Superman II, almost 25 years later remains one of the greatest superhero movies ever made and is one of the few cases where the sequel was better than the original. Superman II was actually shot at the same time as the first although I did not know this until seeing the Special Edition of the original film.

In this sequel, Clark and Lois are sent to Niagra Falls to cover a story leading to Clark being outed as Superman when he falls into a fire place and doesn't suffer a scratch. This leads to Lois expressing her love for Superman/Clark. Clark makes the ultimate sacrifice. He flies lois to the fortress of Solitude and uses a strange Kryptonian machine that takes away his power and makes him as human as the rest of use. A fact that hits home hard when Clark is beaten up by a trucker in a roadside diner.

meanwhile, the three Kryptonian criminal imprisoned in the Phantom Zone in the first film, General Zod, Ursa, and Non, have escaped and come to Earth, basically wreaking havok and forcing the president (E.G. Marshall) to surrender the White House to the trio who have all the powers of Superman. Meanwhile Lex Luthor (gene hackman) offers his services to the trio and is about to be killed until he reveals what that he knows that Superman is the son of Jor-El, the man who imprisoned them.

Once Superman learns of the trio he's shattered. He returns to the Fortress of Solitude. Now, it's never explained how Superman gets his powers back since the process was supposedly irreversible, but this of course this leads to a tremendous battle in Metropolis and dazzling, pre-CGI special effects. The fight with the trio is the highlight of the film. Especially Superman tossing Zod into a giant neon coke sign. The product placements in this film are some of the most outlandish in film history. Especially when Superman gets thrown through the Marlboro truck. The only weak effect was when the villains throw the bus which looks pretty bad.

This is what a superhero movie should be about...great action, true heroics, and evil villains. Some complain about the choppy editing and humor, but I really loved it all, especially the guy getting blown over by the villains wind and continuting his conversation on the pay phone. Hackman was great again as the scheming Lex Luthor who didn't like playing second fiddle to the trio of Kryptonian villains.

What we need now for next years 25th anniversary is a special edition with some commentary and more extras. No reason a great film like this should have to be content with an ordinary DVD release. Come on Warner Bros.!

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