Review of Superman II (1980) by Madiha H — 23 Nov 2010

Superman The Movie wasn't perfect. Too long, too short on plot and lacking any strong characters, it's memorable pretty much for its special effects. The sequel is widely preferred, and it scores points straight off by not having to wade through Superman's history before getting to the point. And with the origin story out of the way, Superman II is free to... um... also take quite a long time setting up the plot, actually.

With three evil Kryptonians arriving on Earth, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) escaping from prison and Clark (Christopher Reeve) finally revealing his secret to Lois (Margot Kidder), there's plenty going on. Unfortunately, it doesn't gel all that well into a single, coherent story, and it takes a while to gel into anything at all.

Don't get me wrong - General Zod (Terrence Stamp) and co. make formidable baddies, and their fight with Superman is well worth the wait. Clark and Lois seem to get along better in this movie than the last one, so their scenes are often very enjoyable. And it must be stressed that in a movie all about Christopher Reeve's Superman, it's great to spend the duration of the film actually with him on screen, rather than waiting most of an hour for him to show up. Superman II succeeds in many ways. It's just that fundamentally, where the first movie didn't work, this one doesn't work either.

It's the characters, most problematically Superman himself. Who is he? One assumes he grew up with the Kents for, what, twenty years? Yet on finding out he was from another planet, all that apparently went out the window, leaving an unapproachable Adonis who fakes his humanity. Gee, fascinating.

You might hope Superman II would be all about the man under the cape, as this is the one where he decides to give up his powers. Moments after Lois finds out his secret, he gives up being Superman forever. There is no consideration of whether this is a good idea, and Lois doesn't say a word to deter him. The very idea pops up out of nowhere, and the only point it illustrates is that without his powers, Superman is completely worthless. There's seriously no point in his existence if he isn't able to leap tall buildings in a single bound, etc. There's absolutely no attempt to solve problems without his powers: he just scurries off to restore his powers (even though it's been firmly established that he cannot do this, so um...) as fast as possible. The guy is as relatable as a rock, and about as interesting. At least Batman's angry.

And not to go on about it, but the whole gives-up-his-powers plot doesn't even work on a romantic level. It's meant to be a grand gesture for Lois, but the two of them barely have a relationship to begin with, and she's only this minute learned the truth. Shouldn't they talk about it first? Or date a few times, to see if it's worth leaving the Earth completely helpless? Oh, and in a delightful twist, Superman simply doesn't notice his three evil countrymen arriving on Earth. Just as he is totally unaware that Lex Luthor has successfully found, entered and operated his Fortress Of Solitude while he was out. Jeez. He's not exactly Mr Competent, and this is while he's still super-powered.

Most of the enjoyment to be had here comes from watching General Zod and co. wreaking havoc. It's all a little bit broad, comedy-wise, thanks to the awkward change-over of directors during the production. Other casualties of the film's infamous behind-the-scenes problems include Lex Luthor, who is generally Gene Hackman, but sometimes a body double with some anonymous guy dubbing the voice. These little differences don't wreck the film, and it's worth pointing out that the first Superman movie had a tone that wobbled all over the place as well. But Superman II does at times seem like it's not sure what to make of itself.

It's more enjoyable in parts, although it makes some of the same mistakes. Superman II is definitely overrated, along with the first one, but there's fun to be had watching Superman go at it with super-powered baddies. Try to ignore the plot-holes, the inconsistencies and the fact that you're being asked to understand a God who can't even relate to other people from his home-planet, and Superman II ought to win you over. More so than Superman Returns, anyway.