Superman II Review

MPAA Rating: PG
Released: 1980

Superman II was steeped in controversy largely because Richard Donner, the director of the original Superman movie, was pulled from this project and replaced with Richard Lester. Due to the change in directors midway through the filming, Superman II reflects influences from both directors: the sincerity of Donner's work as well as forced attempts at humor from Lester.

But while it's true that Superman II doesn't reach the heights of the original, the solid casting and Donner's partial participation ensures that most viewers will find more than enough to satisfy their entertainment needs.

When terrorists threaten to unleash a hydrogen bomb on the Eiffel Tower, Superman aka Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) is quick to arrive on the scene and save the day by detonating the explosive package in outer space.

Little does he know, three notorious villains from his home planet of Krypton were imprisoned within a shard of glass, condemned to float aimlessly through space until the end of time. Alas, the shockwaves from the hydrogen bomb explosion shatters the glass, thereby releasing the criminals from their prison.

General Zod (Terrence Stamp), Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and the dimwitted Non (Jack O'Halloran) find that due to Earth's atmosphere and proximity to the sun, they have super powers beyond comprehension. The bulletproof trio harbors visions of reigning supreme over the people of Earth, and after tearing up an American country town the entire planet seems to crumble like a house of cards.

Who can save the planet from these invincible foes? Superman of course! Actually… strike that… there's a problem. You see, he's fallen in love with everyone's favorite inquisitive reporter, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), and while his fellow Kryptonians were rampaging throughout the United States he was sharing some quality time with his new flame in a secret cave located at the North Pole. During their romantic night on the iceberg, Superman forsakes his powers so that he can grow old together with Lois.

Naturally when he discovers Krypton's three most notorious criminals are on the loose and he now has the strength of a limp noodle, Superman comes to regret his hasty decision to ditch his super powers.

As if Superman didn't face enough of a problem already, it seems his old nemesis Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) has broken free from his maximum-security prison and has teamed up with the anger-prone Kryptonians.

The original Superman movie was for the most part a serious film that treated the subject matter with sincerity. While this still holds true for the most part with this sequel, it's clear that the new director didn't hold the same reverence for the source material. Instead it attempts to inject humor throughout the film. Some of it works, some of it doesn't.

Superman II is still a delight to watch due to the strength of the actors. The late Christopher Reeve was positively magnetic and Margot Kidder managed to make her feisty news reporter rather likeable despite her frenetic nature. But it's not just the main actors that deserve credit for this film's success, because the secondary actors certainly held their own. One example of this was Jackie Cooper who played Perry White – Clark and Lois' boss. While his scenes were minimal, he stole the show each time he appeared.

Modern moviegoers might wince a bit at some of the special effects in this film, but comparing the effects of a film made in 1980 with the computer CGI wizardry of today would be completely unfair. Yes, the flying scenes and such might look a bit hokey by today's standards, but they're perfectly serviceable for the film.

Many consider Superman II to be the last of the good Superman films since it paved the way towards the sheer cheesiness that would pervade the third film while still holding true to some of the strengths of the original. I concur with this opinion. Although I always enjoyed watching Reeve play Superman, few would argue that the original was the best and that the first sequel's mild introduction of humor and camp would significantly lead the series astray in future entries.

Movie rating: 7 stars

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Christopher Reeve as Superman
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Superman II IMDb Page

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