Search - Superman II on DVD

A flawed, but ultimately enjoyable sequel to a classic

Justin | Orlando, FL USA | 07/30/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Well, I've finally seen the controversial second chapter in the Superman movie series, and I have to say I was pleasantly surprised. For a movie whose production is the subject of possibly the most notoriety in recent film history it really pulled through for me. That's not to say that I did not see the flaws, but most of them were less obvious than I had expected.

We'll start with the negatives so I can close on a high note, as this is an over-all positive review. First of all, if you've recently watched the first movie you can just start the movie from chapter 3. The pre-credits scene does not really tell you anything new, it only shows you why the three Kryptonian traitors were banished with an additional 30 seconds or so of flashback footage. Then the credits go on for about five minutes or more here, recapping most of the major events of the first film (and some of the trivial ones) in between names.

I'll get the most annoying part out of the way. To paraphrase Roger Ebert in his review of Pirates of the Caribbean, forgive me for interjecting logic where it clearly is not wanted, but I do have a problem with some of the science in this movie. Obviously for a superhero movie, you're going to have to suspend a little disbelief, and I'm quite willing to accept that Kryptonians gain near limitless powers from the yellow sun (and even that they all speak fluent English), but how does that allow them to breath and speak while in the vacuum of space? Even if their molecular structure is made denser by our solar system, that still wouldn't allow them to create matter where matter does not exist. Okay, I'm done.

With science out of the way, I'll move on to the movie's problems. First of all, the editing could use some guidance. Perhaps it is because so much of Richard Donner's original footage was left out of the picture, but there seems to be a lot of holes in the middle section of the film. There are quite a few moments in this movie where a scene will cut away to another, and when it returns something is completely different, without ever really explaining how or why. Also characters without the benefit of superspeed travel across the globe in unnaturally little time.

My final major issue is that Richard Lester really doesn't know when to use comedy and when to lay off of it. There are a few funny moments when General Zod, Ursa and Non, the Kryptonian traitors banished in the first film, first arrive on Earth and they're still learning about the planet, but once they start attacking people the comedy should have ended there. It didn't. Non continues to be a mostly threatless comic relief, and there are spatterings of humor, even in the most desparate moments. During the final battle scene between Superman and the traitors, while innocent civilian are being tossed around, used as weapons or bait, and generally in harm's way, they seem to have complete disregard for their own safety. One guy refuses to end his phone conversation while the traitors blow hurricane force winds down the street. Another couple is more concerned with their hair (or rather, her hair and his tupee) than the terrible things happening around them. These moments could have been funny in a comedy movie, but here they feel very inappropriate. At least when Donner gave us comedy it was only at the expense of Clark's awkwardness, Luthor's arrogance, or Otis' incompetence, never of innocent people caught in a crossfire.

That said, this movie does have quite a few inherent high points. Once the movie gets started, it picks up fluidly where the last one left off. It still feels like a sequel, but it doesn't feel forced (because it wasn't - I and II were actually written as one movie at one point). While at its worst points it feels like Batman Forever (it never quite reaches the depths of atrocity that Batman & Robin dives head-first into), at its best it feels like Spiderman 2. The characters introduced in the first film are fleshed-out well in this one. The relationship between Superman and Lois Lane is carried quite a bit futher, leaving Superman even more vulnerable, in more ways than one (though the way he overcomes this vulnerability is left unexplained, and comes a little too quickly in storytelling terms).

Despite some of the issues during the production, everyone delivers great performances along the way. Gene Hackman is back and in rare form as Lex Luthor, though this time he spends much of the movie without his half-hearted (but always entertaining) cohorts, Otis and Ms. Teschmacher. He even gets some screen time without his tongue-in-cheek hairpiece. Christopher Reeve is charming as always as both Superman and Clark Kent. Margot Kidder gets to do more in this movie than just be Superman's damsel in distress. All three of the Kryptonian traitors put in memorable performances, but Terrence Stamp truly steals any scene he appears in.

This movie also set the standard for all superhero sequels to follow, upping the stakes for all of the characters. Superman now faces enemies who are his physical equal, which makes the finale more of a confrontation than the beat the clock (or would it be reset the clock?) situation at the end of the first movie. Also, as mentioned before, the relationship between Lois and Superman raises the emotional impact even higher. The character development throughout the movie was surprisingly deep, despite the occasional feeling that the puzzle was missing a few vital pieces. I really got the feeling that Superman could be a real person with real feelings, and not just an icon who's impervious to harm, physical or emotional.

Had Donner been allowed to finish this movie the way he wanted, it could have surpassed the original. Unfortunately, the Salkinds (producers of the Superman films) were not fond of Donner's direction and dropped him in favor of Lester, who clearly had no respect for the character or what he represents. Lester was not familiar with American comic books and took the term "comic" a little too literally, resulting in jokes in all the wrong places. Fortunately, Lester's misdirection was still guided by a strong script with its emphasis on its characters, resulting in a sequel that is not without its flaws, but still a classic to be viewed alongside its predecessor. If I could give it three-and-a-half stars (* * * 1/2) I would, but since I can only give whole stars it gets a mild four stars

Anyone who is interested in owning this film should note that a Richard Donner cut of the movie using most of Donner's original footage (the movie was about 80% completed when Donner was fired and Lester took over, reshooting much of what Donner had already finished) is available, as well as a two-disc special edition of this version, neither of which were available at the time I originally wrote this review. I highly recommend the Richard Donner cut and will hopefully review it when I have the time."