DVD : Superman II

In association with Amazon.com

Rating:

- EVIL ZOD RULES.........!!!
THIS HAS TO BE "THE" BEST INSTALMENT OF THE SUPERMAN SERIES.

ALTHOUGH THE FIRST FILM WAS GOOD, IT DOES NOT HAVE THE FUN CHARACTERS OF GENERAL ZOD, URSA AND NON AS THE KRYPTONIAN BADDIES.

I FEEL IT IS THESE CHARACTERS THAT MAKE THE MOVIE ALONG WITH THE PERFECTLY CAST MARGOT KIDDER AS LOIS LANE.

STARTING WITH LOIS BEING STUCK UP THE EIFFEL TOWER AND PLUMMETING DOWNWARDS ON A LIFT, ONLY TO BE SAVED BY THE MAN HIMSELF.........SUPERMAN IN HIS TIGHTS!!!

BUT POOR SUPERMAN AT THE SAME TIME RELEASES HIS ARCH ENEMY GENERAL ZOD FROM THE PHANTOM ZONE ONLY FOR ALL HELL TO BREAK LOOSE.

ONE OF THE SCENES THAT MAKES THE FILM IS WHEN OUR BADDIES ARE IN SPACE AND CONFRONT NASA SPACEMEN. THE FILMSET LOOKS FALSE AND CHEESY AND THEN THE OH SO POWERFUL ZOD APPEARS WITH HIS MOTLEY CREW ONLY TO CAUSE MORE PROBLEMS.

THEY RIP A SPACMEN TO SHREDS AND WATCH HIM CRUMPLE UP, SNAP THE AIR SUPPLY OF ANOTHER AS HE FLOATS INTO OUTERSPACE AND CRUSH THE SPACECRAFT OF THEIR FINAL VICTIM ALONG WITH THE SPACEMAN.

MUCH ACTION FOLLOWS, BUT IF YOU WANT TO SEE IT, YOU'LL NEED TO BUY IT!!!

Rating:

- "Son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!"
After the monumental success of the first Superman film, there naturally had to be a sequel. Richard Lester was tapped to direct Superman's second big screen outting (although original Superman director Richard Donner did film some segments), which we see more thought put into the love triangle between Lois Lane, CLark Kent, and his alter ego Superman. Although this sequel didn't live up to the epic original (and was ultimately the downfall of the franchise), Superman 2 still has a lot going for it. Christopher Reeve is still fantastic, and he is so believeabley different as both Clark Kent and Superman that you will buy the glasses and suit as a disguise. Terrance Stamp is just plain terrific as Zod, one of the three Kryptonian criminals that Supes must contend with. Gene Hackman is great (again) as the sardonic Lex Luthor, and really was the perfect choice as the balding villian. All in all, Superman 2 might not be anywhere near as great as the first Superman film, but you'll most likely walk away satisfied.

Rating:

- A great 80's movie rendered choppily
(NB: This review was written for the earlier DVD release of Superman II, NOT the Richard Donner rerelease)

I recently had cause to revisit the early-80's classic that is Superman II for the first time in almost 20 years. It was, in some ways, almost as good as I remembered. The story line is better than most comic book films - with a heavy dose of irony offered by Superman's choice to renounce his powers just when his father's adversaries arrive on Earth. The performances are, generally speaking, also good - Reeve nicely separates Superman from Clark, Margo Kidder is great as Lois, and Terrence Stamp's performance as General Zod is nicely calibrated. Although the long-promised meeting between hero and villains is postponed until the last quarter of the movie, it delivers some delicious fireworks and a nice ending.

The movie is not without its weak spots, which are not hidden by the DVD. Richard Lester's direction attempted to add some painfully unfunny sequences to the storyline - most agonizing is the strained humor of the "wind" sequence. Also, the DVD preserves the choppy consistency of the film. Some of this was unavoidable, given Marlon Brando's legal antics to prevent scenes he filmed from being used, but other scenes not involving Brando were needlessly cut. There is no "deleted scenes" feature - in fact the special features offered on this DVD are pretty minimal.

This minimalistic rendering of the movie is a real disappointment. Superman II has, at a glance, roughly the same appeal as its predecessor. This DVD deserved the same care given to the special edition DVD of the original.

Still, since this is the only edition in town, as far as Superman II is concerned, it is worth having. When one considers how much misfortune dogged the filming of this one - the change of directors, Brando's usual childish behavior (one wishes that the casting director had noted Brando's earlier stunts where the Godfather series was concerned, and cast someone more reliable), and antics by the producers which included bouncing checks and driving out Richard Donner - it is remarkable that the product of all this turmoil is a very entertaining film. I'd love to see a special edition of this; until then I'll be happy with the one I have.

Rating:

- A good film but.......
This film unlike the first one failed to live up it's potential.

The plot of this film is what I really liked. Here we have three super villians against one superman and that was one of the films highpoints. So what went wrong to Superman 2 Basically this film is missing three important things.

No. 1 Marlon Brando. Why hasnt he come back for this film? Besides his scenes were COMPLETED for this movie but why removing him over some petty profit law suit (check Amazon's quote and trivia).

No. 2 Richard Donner. He was really good with the first one. Salkind should have let him finish this one off. Also why did the give this one to Lester? Lester is more into comedy and it destroyed the film. Although some comedy would not have hurt, but this was too much.

No. 3 John Williams. Here we have one of the greatest composers of our era. But sadly he did not return. He always writes new musical notes for sequels hence making the movie more refreshing. Instead we have his music from the first one recomposed from an unknown composer (they should just have just pasted his first music for this film if they wanted to save money). Then again he was busy composing for the Empire Strike Back (one of his best works).

If you love the first superman and if you are over 21. Then you will be dissapointed. But if you just want to have a good time then by all means Enjoy.

Rating:

- Superman II is a rare sequel that actually works well
Superman II is one of those rare sequels that actually matches the original film. To some people, the first film is the better film, and to others, the sequel is better than the original. The three Kryptonian criminals were indeed worthy adversaries against Superman, and the battle in Metropolis was very much right off from what would be seen in a comic book!!! I liked this sequel and found it to be just as entertaining as the first film. I would actually rate this five stars also, but knowing that this film had some problems behind-the-scenes, and to what some of the changes were made in the film's story, I rate it 4 stars.

Both Superman: The Movie and Superman II were shot at the same time, with Richard Donner directing. When problems occurred between Donner and the executive producers, Alexander & Ilya Salkind, Donner was fired. Most of the footage in Superman II belongs to Donner. Richard Lester was brought in to take over finishing Superman II. When Lester was on board some parts of the script were altered for him. Lester specialized in directing comedy, and some scenes ended up being rewritten than what Donner was to have filmed had he not be fired. What if...!

The debate rages on if Donner's original scripted version may have been more superior than the version that Lester finished doing. Hard to say. Its also unfortunate that there wasn't at least a co-directing credit to Donner and Lester. Lester got the full credit as the film's director.

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