Mini Review - Superman II

When I decided to review the Superman movies, I decided to vow not to have them as far apart as I did with the Batman ones. So, yes, this sequel got arranged for April, I’ll be covering III in August and I intend to have IV by year’s end, with Superman Returns in 2018. Batman Begins I’ll be reviewing as part of Neeson month in July and I’ll review the Dark Knight at some point too, Batman vs Superman will be reviewed as part of sequel month in June and I’ll review Suicide Squad in August, which will bring me more or less up to date with the DC movies. I know I’ve barely reviewed any Marvel ones aside from Age of Ultron and Iron Man 3, bear with me, is all I ask with that.

But today we’re looking at Superman II, released in 1980 after the success of the original Superman movie. It enjoyed somewhat financial success making $190m on a $54m budget and is widely regarded as the best Superman movie, or that might just be me, I can never tell. Production wise, Richard Donner was replaced after filming a large proportion of the movie owing to poor relationship with the producer and was replaced by Richard Lester, who conducted vigorous reshoots so he could gain director’s credit. Complicating that was Gene Hackman’s refusal to return for reshoots. Does this patchwork of directors result in a patchwork movie?

We open with a terrorist attack in France.

Too soon? Yeah. Anyway, it’s a standoff happening so slowly that Lois Lane had time to take a Concorde over to France and be on the scene. Ze French authoro-teas, zey are cr*p, no? Anyway, Superman sends the bomb into space, and because it was nuclear, go figure, it sends out a wave of radiation that frees General Zod and co from the phantom zone, they were sent there for killing a guy in a cr*p costume and smashing a crystal.

Anyway, Lois figures out Clark is Superman and he’s prepared to give up his double life for her. But when Zod and his two accomplices arrive on Earth, he’s the only one that can stand in their way. Also, Lex Luthor is in the movie.

Yeah… here’s the problem with the two directors. Lex Luthor is largely inconsequential in this movie. He finds the fortress, somehow, and has a talk with Zod about helping him, for some reason. OK, I know this is pre-crisis Luthor, before he became the business mogul but it just bugs me to see him working with Zod. At least with Brainiac he got something out of the bargain other than land.

But if you took Luthor out of the story, it wouldn’t change much at all. Zod would just have to find the fortress another way and Superman could “accidentally” reveal the power-removal chamber, sorry, spoilers

The tone is somewhat odd with this movie. The arrival of very serious villains has a slightly comedic tone to it as the idiots that try to stop him meat with almost karmic ends. Meanwhile the scenes with Lois and Clark, where the last movie focused the comedy was played mostly very straight including the arrival of a stereotypical bully to hammer in the point some more that Clark doesn’t have any powers.

I love this movie; the story is the strongest of the Superman movies, features decent acting, cinematography, the effects are very good and the action well-paced for the most part. It’s easier to talk at length about criticisms just because there are a lot of smaller things wrong with this movie

Speaking of which, random powers. Zod and his crew seem to have finger beam telekinesis, not something I’m aware they had ever. And of-course there’s the infamous memory erasing kiss. Apparently, he had this for a time in the comics too, it’s stupid and giving Superman any form of telepathic power seems redundant in comics.

Also, I think it was a little too easy for Superman to gain his powers back after losing them.

But overall, this movie had me smiling, join me August as that smile begins to fade.

Rating 75/100