Review of Superman II (1980) by Michael C — 17 Jun 2013
When I was younger I thought this movie was good. But now that I am older and have such a love for Superman and Superman 1, I can't bear to even watch it. Richard Donner did a wonderful job at making Superman 1 and he clearly had a love and appreciation for the character as did the Tom Mankiewicz and it shows.
The movie is serious and action driven but also has a lot of great dramatic moments along with superb acting that made it an epic masterpiece. The same can't be said for Superman 2. The biggest mistake was when the Salkinds fired Donner and hired Richard Lester to finish the movie that was being filmed simultaneously with the first movie.
After shooting about 75% of footage, Donner was gone and Lester had reshot many scenes and used some of Donner's footage. The result, in my opinion is a film far inferior than its predecessor. Lester added nothing but camp to the film adding silly scenes and failing to capture what made Donner's film great.
Among the most campy scenes was when General Zod, Ursa and Nod take over Metropolis and uses their super breath to reek havoc on the city. For a few minutes( the approximate time I am unsure of) in the scene there is nothing but schtick like a woman's wig flying off, a guy being knocked over in a phone booth and still talking etc.
If Lester was trying to make us laugh, he failed. He clearly did not have any appreciation for Superman and wanted this film to be more or less a comedy when it should have been taken seriously. If you want a better Superman 2, check out the Richard Donner Cut.
You'll find a movie that is more serious and in line with the first and the best part; no camp.
This review of Superman II (1980) was written by Michael C on 17 Jun 2013.
Superman II has generally received positive reviews.
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