Review of Superman II (1980) by Chris S — 02 Jul 2013

The theatrical Richard Lester version is what I ended up watching. That means the one from which Marlon Brando is absent. You can find good side by side comparisons of this and the Richard Donner cut online.

Let's not forget that the first Superman movie directed by Donner was plenty campy, so I don't understand the reviewers who say that Lester was responsible for making this sequel funny. Hackman, as Luthor, whose scenes were saved from Donner's work, drops several sarcastic wisecracks.

Beatty and Perrine share only short scenes with him. It would have been a long movie, but maybe this would have been better if the plots from Superman and Superman II were combined, rather than the Salkinds trying to get two for the price of one.

That is basically what the new Man of Steel succeeds in doing. Kidder, as Lois Lane, shows she knows a little French when she goes to investigate terrorists in Paris. Of course this is the movie where she sees through Clark's disguise and Superman and Lois express their love for each other.

The romance didn't really move me, but at least it wasn't quite so sickening as in the first flick. Stamp, Douglas, and O'Halloran (not to mention York appearing more as Superman's mother) give this cast a heavier British vibe.

It is weird that back in the 60s and 70s all superheroes and super-villains look like they are wearing pajamas. Sarah Douglas is dominatrix-y as General Zod's right-hand woman. O'Halloran is a cliche big dumb mute.

And Stamp, as the invading alien General, is grim and forbidding, but he soon lost my interest. The effects, especially the in air fighting, have not aged well. Superman uses his brains and not just brute force to stop the Kryptonian criminals, which was good.

I did not like the kiss at the end.