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Rating:  -
In the beginning of the original Superman we see Jor-el trap Zod and his followers in the Phantom Zone. In this one Superman stops a nuclear war-head from going off by throwing it into the sun. The explosion is enough to free Zod and his followers from the Phantom Zone. Which is bad timing since Lois finds out that Clark is Superman and he decides to become human and setlle down with her. While Zod is causing chaos all over the world, Clark can't even handle a bully truck driver in a diner. So he has to decide what's more important, his relationship with Lois Lane or becoming Superman again to save the world. What a clever plot!!
Superman 2 is a true classic with Terrance Stamp as a truly awesome Zod. He gives one of the best villian performances ever. In Smallville recently, they had Zod go in Lex's body. It bugged me that they had him kiss Lana. I knocked that part in a forum. I had people writing back saying that he was in the Phantom Zone for a long time and they didn't blame him for kissing Lana. But come on, the Zod here was also stuck in the Phantom Zone and all he cared about was ruling Earth and kicking Superman's butt. You don't see him kissing every woman he sees because he didn't get any action in the Phantom Zone lol. This Zod would've just thrown Lana off the roof or just make her bow down to him. He's a truly ruthless and scary villian.
Rating: -
Terrorists have planted an atomic bomb on the Eiffel Tower. Superman arrives in the nick of time and flings it into orbit, where it explodes. The detonation, however, sets free three Kryptonian criminals who have been languishing in the Phantom Zone, these renegades having been put there years ago by Jor-El, the father of Superman. Landing on Earth, the Kryptonians discover that the earth's sun grants them super powers. Immediately, they begin to enslave the planet. To make things worse, mastermind Lex Luthor escapes from prison and vows vengeance on Supes and joins the supervillains. Meanwhile, Daily Planet reporters Lois Lane & Clark Kent are on assignment on Niagara Falls, where Lois comes to suspect Clark of being the Man of Steel. Through a freak accident, Lois finds out she is right. Now, face to face, Lois & Clark own up to their feelings for each other. To be with Lois, Clark decides to relinquish his powers. It's not until afterwards that he becomes aware of the three supervillains from his home planet, but it's too late...With no Superman to protect our planet, it looks grim for Earthkind.
This is one of those rare instances where the sequel actually is as good as the first movie. What's even more amazing is that they got it right despite all the behind-the-scenes wrangling and in-fighting that went on between producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind, director Richard Donner and actor Marlon Brando. The Salkinds had early on decided to have Superman I & II shot simultaneously. However, the filming of Superman I proved to be troublesome. Things got worse when Marlon Brando filed suit against the producers for failure to pay up on his profits from Superman I. Then, with about two thirds of Superman II having been filmed, Donner, who had issues with the Salkinds, was fired and replaced with Richard Lester. Yet, somehow, Superman II rises above its makers and succeeds as a worthy sequel and a great movie in its own right.
This time, there isn't an opening half hour of foreplay with the overbearing Marlon Brando and scenes of sterile Krypton; we get right into the pertinent storyline: the release of General Zod & co. and a powerless Clark Kent in love with Lois Lane. Not as episodic as the first one, II is more consistently plot driven. Reeve and Kidder are again SUPERB in their iconic roles. The scene where Lois finds out Supe's real identity is still one of my favorite cinematic denouements. The supporting cast, with Terence Stamp (Zod), Sarah Douglas (Ursa) and Gene Hackman (Luthor) as standouts, plays it real. The only downside with the acting for me is Jack O'Halloran's Non, who is played too much for laughs.
The special effects are even better than in the first Superman. While certainly not up to the standards of today's technology, they still hold up well. Remember, these effects are a quarter of a century old! Special mention goes out to the fantastic and devastating battle royale of super powers between Superman and the Phantom Zone fugitives. Also satisfying is Clark Kent's revenge on a mortal bully at the finale.
The special features are utter diddly-squat, consisting of a "cast & crew" breakdown and a theatrical trailer. You'd think there'd be at least some feature commentary or one "making of" segment. Ah, well.
For those who yet don't know, the new Superman Returns picks up after Superman II, totally discounting Superman III & IV (which is fine by me). For great comic book action and more than a touch of romance, watch this one. It's really good.
Rating:  -
Even for such a troubled filled production, Superman II turned out rather well. The villains are excelent but you'll enjoy the fate of the mean truck driver even more.
That said this is the worst looking DVD I've ever seen by a long shot. The image is incredibly dull and the sound not much better. Had I only known a new edition which includes Richard Donner's original cut was going to come out late 2006 I would have surely waited. Now I'll have to but this movie again and throw my first copy straight into the garbage.
Rating: -
Superman II is perhaps the only decent attempt at realistically adapting a super hero to the big-screen. From a brilliant opening sequence, the continuous run of action sequences that follows are conducted with some aplomb by director Richard Donner, which some exellent special effects for 1980 and unnumerable edge-of-your-seat moments.
The film is not overly-serious (Gene Hackman is in fact a great comedy actor too) and the storyline is, for once, excellent. The mid-air battle sequence over Metropolis between Superman and the three Krypton criminals (ie, 3 x Superpeople) makes for genuinely exciting viewing.
I am certainly not a fan of this film genre, as they usually decend into dumbed-down, cartoon-esque movies designed for audiences with the attention span of a goldfish. However, Superman II is a clear exception to the rule that super hero movies cannot be well-photographed, have a half-decent storyline and be genuinely riveting for their audiences.
Superman II thus stands as a classic of its kind (albeit because no other such movie in this genre comes close), so Sam Raimi, look no further for references as to how to make a great super hero flick.
Highly recommended, but please don't watch the god-awful sequels !
Rating:  -
Most of you know by now Richard Donner was to of shot Superman and Superman II back to back. Production delays and other things happened why this HUGE event was being filmed. You see movies are shot out of sequence. Superman was no exception. When production fell WAY behind and Richard Donnre stoped shooting Superman II and only filmed Superman I. Well when it came time to finish Superman II Richard Donner was fired. On top of that Marlon Brando filed a law suite against the producers. This ment that the Marlon Brando footage that was already filmed for Superman II was edited out. Gene Hackman ( whose scenes were already filmed) was called back for re-shoots. He refused! Any way read more about on the net. This is a review of what the audience ended up with. Wel I must say I was 14 when this was released. When I saw it I loved it. When I just saw it again i loved it just as much. The love story is great. The action scenes hold up. If you have never seen this or "Superman The Movie" you are in for a treat. You do not have to be a comic book fans to fall in love with "Superman - The movie" or "Superman II". In 2006 Warner Brother is to release on DVD the long awaited Richard Donner Version of "Superman II". I for one will be the first in line!
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