Rating:  -
Superman II is considered to be the best Superman film by many. I have always enjoyed it not only because of the story but for the action and adventure. The producers/director knew that they would have to give the audience some even more spectacular than what had been seen in Superman: The Movie. They succeeded!!!
Superman II is filled with fun, action, a nice love story and great specail effects. This DVD release contains some unreleased documentaries which give us a unique behind the scenes look at Superman and the film Superman II. Also, the film is presented in 5.1 Surround which adds better definition than the 2.0 Surround of the 2001 DVD release.
If you are a fan of Superman you will love this film!
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You can probably count on your fingers the number of movie series (comic book or not) where the second movie holds up completely to the original. (Star Trek II, T2, Spider-man 2, X2, The Rescuers Down Under, etc.) It can be debated as to whether Superman II outshines the original, but what can't be debated is the fact that it is at least in the same league as the original, whichever one you may personally feel is above the other. That's something that can't be said of the third movie. And it's just insulting to try to compare Superman IV to any of the others at all.
Of course, even if you do feel, as many do, that this one is a better movie than Superman: The Movie, you have to acknowledge that it wouldn't be that way without the first one. It relies too heavily on the first movie, as a continuation of certain plot points introduced there. Not the least of which is the introduction and imprisonment of the Zod Squad.
In fact, both scripts were developed at the same time and the movies were being shot concurrently. In fact, after the first movie came out and Richard Donner was fired as director (long story) and they brought in Richard Lester to finish up (and reshoot a few scenes) Gene Hackman never actually worked with Richard Lester. All of his scenes were shot before Donner was booted.
Terrence Stamp is perfect as Zod. He creates a wonderfully ominous air about him. You can easily see how tiring it is to Zod to have to reassert his superiority every time these piddly little humans try to fight back. His restraint makes the character forebodingly threatening, since you never know just when he will snap and show his full power. That's refreshing to see in an age of so many over-the-top villains.
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Superman II is directed by Richard Lester. The film stars Christopher Reeve and co-stars Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Valerie Perrine, Marc McClure, Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, Jack O'Halloran, Susannah York, Clifton James, and E.G. Marshall. Ken Thorne contributes the musical score, which incorporates themes John Williams created for the first film.
Prior to the destruction of Krypton, the distant world on which Superman was born, three terrorists of that world were sealed in the Phantom Zone, an unescapable zone whose gateway would wander the reaches of space for all eternity. And that's where things go horribly wrong. Following a hostage situation in Paris, Superman takes the bomb they were using and heaves it into space, where it safely detonates, not harming anyone on Earth. But this blast is significant enough to destroy the Phantom Zone gate - freeing three evil warriors, each with the same strength and powers of Superman! As if things weren't bad enough, Superman's old nemesis Lex Luthor has escaped from prison - and he's eager to share vital information about Superman with these new villains.
It's rare that a sequel surpasses its original film, but Superman II is one of those movies. It improves on nearly every aspect of the excellent-in-its-own-right first film. The acting and characters are great, and the action scenes are terrific as well. To put it simply, the film has very few faults. It's a superhero sequel done right.
As excellent as the final result of this film was, there was plenty of history and controversy that went on behind the scenes. Richard Donner, producer of the first film, was producer of the second - at first, that is. He was ultimately fired and removed from the project, and Richard Lester, an uncredited producer on the original film, took his place. Lester reshot and reworked a good deal of the film. However, a separate Richard Donner version of the film was later created from the old footage. I won't get too in depth with the story on here - This is a review, after all, and there are plenty of books and websites that cover the story in more detail.
Christopher Reeve once again steals the show as Superman/Clark Kent. The first two films were shot simultaneously, and as such his acting is just as impressive here as it was the first time around. He's still excellent in his mild-mannered Clark Kent scenes, and his more serious scenes as Superman, battling the forces of evil. This film gets more in depth with his character, as he faces an identity crisis of sorts. And all the while, Reeve still makes this role all his own. There will never be a better portrayal of the Man of Steel.
And, just like the first time around, the supporting cast is brilliant. Margot Kidder returns as Lois Lane, and due to her character becoming a more integral part of the storyline here, you'll feel for the character even more than you did the first time around. Gene Hackman returns as Lex Luthor, this time reduced to a coward whose main purpose is to assist the new central villains. There's more of a comedy to his role here than there was in the first film due to his position as the main villain being usurped, but Hackman still makes the best of the role. Sadly, his bumbling subordinates get far less screen time the second time around. Some of the most impressive scenes in the film come from the three Kryptonian villains, played excellently here by Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, and Jack O'Halloran. This is easily the best performance we could have asked for by villains who are equal in strength to the Man of Steel. Some comic relief comes in the form of a brief but memorable role by Clifton James, playing a small-town sheriff, not at all unlike the character he played in two James Bond films. Overall this is an extremely impressive cast, which does not fail to please.
As a whole, this film features a darker storyline than the first film, and this is one of the things that makes it a superior sequel. The first film had Lex Luthor and his incompetent henchmen as the primary villains. While effective, it was hard to take them seriously a good deal of the time - they were actually a good deal of the film's comic relief! The second installment fixes this. While the Luthor crew is still around to provide some comic relief, the new main villains are the Kryptonians, who are truly threatening and menacing. There isn't one scene these new villains appear in that isn't effective to some degree. Tying the villains in with Superman's backstory was also a smart decision on the filmmakers' behalf. With this darker feel, the film is a higher quality product than its predecessor.
Another strength is that the filmmakers weren't just out to make a comic book superhero movie - they were also trying to create a character drama. And in more ways than not, they succeeded beautifully. Here the romance between Superman and Lois Lane is given deeper exploration than in the first film. Although it does feel a bit cheesy at times, it feels largely authentic and is one of the many things that makes this film memorable.
The music for this film was composed by Ken Thorne. Although John Williams did not return to score this second installment, a number of the musical themes he composed for the first film are reprised here. Thorne's music is largely similar to the Williams score for the first Superman, and that's a good thing. It's music that always suits the mood of the scene perfectly. Regardless of what scene in the film you're watching, he always manages to create the perfect piece of music to go along with it. Ultimately, not as good as the classic Williams score, but still a valiant effort in its own right.
Superman II is a sequel done right. Sequels superior to the first movie in a series are a rarity, it seems. But this is one of them. Darker and more dramatic than the film that came before, this is big-screen Superman the way it was meant to be enjoyed. Easily Christopher Reeve's finest portrayal of the character, it's a true classic.
Thumbs up
Rating:  -
I've just watch this Superman II with the Richard Donner cut and i have a new perspective on how this movie franchise would have been.
My childhood memories of this movie was two powerfull images of the confrontation between Superman and the three Super-villains (the bus being lifted by Non and Ursa sequence mostly!) and lately i was a little distrustfull of Warner Brothers to bring this 'other cut'. I thought this move was only to please an executive or a dispicable director or whatever. But when my curiosity was won to watch this new cut, i was dazzled by what could have been an epic movie.
With that in mind, and knowing the true story about the making of the first two Superman movies at the same time, that makes me wonder about the 'official' version that made to the big screen.
When i watched it again, it felt corny, kitch and a little out of sinc with the seriousness of the first Superman (witch was almost a 100% Donner movie). The music is too light and campy (that's for copying the John Williams themes with little reverence to the source materials, i almost felt i should march with drums in hand to the Superman theme and not listen to it!), i see the reshoots everywhere and the dramatic impact is of less value.
The big decision that Superman makes to become human is really not convincing because Jor-El's not in it! The relation between father and son (almost and analogy to that of God and Jesus) is broken in this movie with the mother who is too much withhold in expression, deliberation and in tone with the gravity of this moral dilemma. And we ultimately don't know how Superman was able to get his powers back and at what price!
Of cource, there's also the Clark Kent/Lois Lane relationship and it's evolution. With this version, the hole discovery of the Kent/Superman connection is accidental and is viewed as something that could be erased (the Lester magic kiss). The other version is more in tone with the notion of 'verysimilitude' employed by Donner and used lately By Brian Singer (X-Men and Superman Returns) and the Wachowsky brothers with The Matrix trilogy.
I strongly think that the Salkinds and their choice to direct this movie (Richard Lester) unintentionally, with only short term commercial intent in mind, brought down what could have been a great franshise of movies about the greatest adaptation of a superhero to the big screen. This movie's the living example. Even if it was a commercial success (lesser than the first one), the intent of the general public was they wanted a movie in tune with the first in quality, not a campy one. How many of us got to go seeing this movie twice or three times in cinema? I didn't! I'm keeping this one because of it's historic value in movie making bizareness, not for it's story value. The other two movies that followed were artistic and commercial disasters and the second is responsible for the failures to bring credibility for the other successive movies to bring up again.
It's like the Ford Motors Conpany lately dropped the Taurus nameplate for the sake of trying something campy and new (the 500 name) instead. Big mistake! This movie is of the same type of mistake and desparation on the part of those who were in charge.
Rating:  -
Superman does it again with this sequel, which truly is a great sequel indeed. What makes the movie is the three villains, especially Zod. In this movie, Superman almost meets his match when three fellow Kryptonians arrive on Earth bent on conquest. There are a lot of scenes in this movie that are very memorable. From the big battle in Metropolis to the strange plastic "S" that Superman uses from his chest.
I give this movie four stars, probably more like four and a half. I just don't think that this film had as much emotion as the original movie. In the first movie, you felt for Superman when he has to go back in time (which I won't give away why). This movie is way different than the Donner version of the film, so buy both if you want to see the difference. This movie is the canon version, especially with the new "Superman Returns" storyline. Overall great film, but a little less than the first movie
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