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Superman II

Superman II

List Price: $19.96
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Product Info Reviews

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Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Not as good as the first moive, but entertaining
Review: I liked the performances overall and there were some very daunting special effects for this movie, but the charm of the first is not evident. When we see the characters fly, we do not believe it quite like the first one. For instance, when Superman flies through Lex Luthor's lair and up into the sky after the missile, I really believed that was him flying. There is such a great suspension of disbelief permeating that movie. With this one, however, the atmosphere is one of comic relief and its okay in that regard. The music is not nearly as good as Superman, either. Its part of the same but different. Overall, a very entertaining movie. The best were Reeve, Hackman and the three supervillains. THey all gave great performances. Although Hackman didnt sound like himself in some parts of the movie. Its almost like they hired someone to do his voice in parts. I dont know but thats what it sounded like. Definitely not as good as Superman the Movie.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: What? Not 5 stars?
Review: I completely love Superman II, I do.

But as I have gotten older, I still must contend with some of the pitfalls in the story.

Superman unaware of imminent nuclear catastrophe in Paris? Good thing he works at the Daily Planet or everything would have went kablooey! and he would have read it in the paper the next morning!

Not to mention flying around in space...I'm still having trouble with that, but I'll allow artistic license there.

The human element of the story, however, is touching and having Superman give up his powers for the power that love held on him was quite endearing. Bad timing, though, as you soon find out. The loophole of the green crystal is a wonderful "deus ex machina!"

Ignore some minor story flaws and you have a first rate adventure. Sure the sets aren't that great and yes, the kid sounds British, but just enjoy the ride. Superman is back...too bad that II wasn't the final time!

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: 1/3 GREAT, 2/3 JUST OK
Review: Much of Superman II was filmed simultaneously with the first movie. The original plan was to have Superman I end with a cliffhanger: The nuclear missile that Lex Luthor set for Hackensack New Jersey, which Superman diverted into outer space, explodes, shattering the Phantom Zone and setting the three Kryptonian criminals free. Then the action would freeze-frame, and the screen would flash with "Next Year, Superman II."

Time constraints and studio politics put an end to that scenario. As the first movie was hastily completed to meet the release date, Superman II was put on hold. Then, director Richard Donner was fired, and replaced with Richard Lester. Even though 70% of the second film was complete, much of Donner's footage was reshot by Lester. In the final film, about one-third of the remaining footage is Donner's. All scenes with Gene Hackman, Valerie Perrine, Ned Beatty, or E. G. Marshall were shot by Donner. In addition, the scene at the diner where Clark gets attacked was shot by Donner. As sequences for Superman II were filmed as much as two years apart from each other, there are glaring continuity problems in the film. Lester set a different tone than Donner, opting for slapstick humor over the verisimilitude of the first movie. Also, because of legal difficulties, all footage with Marlon Brando was removed, including a moving scene where Jor-El sacrifices his remaining spirit to return Superman's powers (rather like God touching the hand of Adam). Anyone who has seen the original script for Superman II knows it would have been a better film if Donner had remained at the helm.

So, how is Lester's Superman II? Pretty impressive overall. There is ample character development, particularly in the Lois/Clark/Superman love triangle, and plenty of action to keep the viewer satisfied. The visuals are mostly on the same level as the first movie, although the destruction of the Phantom Zone and the defacing of Mount Rushmore look pretty cheap. John Williams' excellent score is cannibalized by Ken Thorne, conducting what sounds like a high school orchestra. So, overall, while entertaining, the movie lacks the epic scope of the first film, and is far less memorable.

The letterboxed DVD looks fine is unspectacular. The sound is flat and unimpressive. Warner has packaged the DVD in their usual cheap snapper case.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: By far the BEST of the 4 Superman movies!
Review: Superman II was definitely the best of the series. It took what the original movie had already established and carried to a higher level. There are many places on the net where you can read a detailed plot of the movie, so in short: 3 Kryptonian villians have escaped the Phantom Zone and are reeking havoc on earth and only Superman can come to the rescue. Unfortunately though, in a matter of bad timing, Superman has confessed his love to Lois Lane and revealed his secret identity. In the Fortress of Solitude, Superman is told "if you wish to live with a mortal, you must live AS one. You shall lose your powers." So Superman's powers are taken away and Clark becomes just an ordinary man just as the Phantom Zone villians are destroying the earth. In the end, Clark gets his powers back and Superman of course saves the day. In the end, a confused Lois is having a breakdown because she can't accept knowing that Clark and Superman are the same person. Clark kisses Lois and somehow she forgets ever finding out his identity.

The movie is entertaining to everyone, whether you're a Superman fan or not. This has action, special effects, romance, comedy, and more. If you never buy the other movies in the series, get this one. In my own opinion, it's far better than the original "Superman: The Movie".

The only bad things at all that I can say about this movie are plot gaps. You'd have to see the movie to know what I'm talking about, but there are so many gaps in the plot like: when Superman loses his powers in the fortress, he is told "it is permanent and you can never regain your powers", and yet somehow he finds a little green crystal later on and regains his powers without any explanation! Also, Superman is given some new powers never seen before. He rips the S off of his chest and throws it and it turns into a net of some kind. The villians have powers never documented before. And Clark possesses some sort of new super-kiss that makes Lois forget that Clark and Superman are the same person. To make that more bizzare, in Superman IV there is a brief scene with Lois and Clark where she says something to the effect of "I know you're Superman, Clark" and he's like "how do you know" and she says "I remembered everything". So he kisses her again, and again she forgets. Also, when you watch this movie it makes the viewer believe that Superman has killed the phantom zone villians. But in the old televised version from the 1980s, there is footage of the villians being arrested by Arctic police after the battle at the fortress. This footage wasn't left in this video and it should have been because Superman never kills.

Other than a few slight flaws in the storyline, it's the greatest movie ever! If you're a Superman fan, buy it! If you're not a Superman fan, buy it anyway because it's worth every cent. I only hope one day they restore this movie and add the deleted footage.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: Why treated like a RED HEADED STEPCHILD?
Review: Why didn't Warner treat this highly regarded sequel with the same respect as SUPERMAN THE MOVIE? Many[and I'm one of them] think this is just as good as the first one. But all we get is a trailer as a specail feature. It being common knowledge that there are tons of outtakes, why didn't we get any, or the expanded version that has shown up on television? I hope Warners rethink their decision and re-release this with the treatment it deserves.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: Great Movie
Review: I first saw this movie when I was a little kid. I loved it then and I still love this movie today.

The story is great and the action is awesome! The scene where Superman is fighting the three evil supercriminals in downtown New York was intense! One of my favorite scenes is the one where Superman picks up General Zod, swings him around and around, and launches Zod into the huge Coke sign.

Also, the ending was great!

Rating: 3 stars
Summary: Wait for a possible Special Edition if you can
Review: Well it seems like we've been waiting forever for this movie to hit the DVD format along with the other three films. Unfortunately, this film wasn't given half the attention for the transfer to DVD that Superman: The Movie was given. Superman II has approximately 28 minutes of additional footage (not including the scenes with Marlon Brando, which no one will ever see due to legal actions taken by the actor). The additional scenes (the ones without Brando) greatly expanded the love story between Lois Lane and Superman (particularly a very emotional scene where Superman and Lois breakup immediately after he destroys the Fortress of Solitude). The extra scenes also show how truly evil the three villains from Krypton were, particularly Ursa and the mute Non, who kills the little boy from East Houston, Idaho. If you've seen the televised broadcasts of Superman II in the mid-80s, then you may have been fortunate enough to see most of these scenes re-edited back into the film.

With the restored footage, this film is as much of an epic that the first one was. Who knows, maybe the studio couldn't put an end to the Donner vs. Lester argument of which director shot what footage, in time for this year's DVD release. Richard Donner (who directed the first Superman movie) shot most of the Superman II footage before being fired and replaced by Richard Lester, who had to re-shoot roughly half of the film so that Donner would not have to be credited. Instead of giving Superman fans the best possible Superman II, Warner opted to release this "no frills" DVD version of the film for 2001. This was a sad decision because it is now the fans who must suffer with this mediocre edit of this classic adventure. Rumor has it that a possible Special Edition may be out on DVD sometime next year. Keep your fingers crossed Superman fans, I know that I certainly will.

Rating: 4 stars
Summary: A pretty decent sequel compared to its predecessor.
Review: "Superman II" is not the best film compared to the first one, but still worth watching. Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, and Margot Kidder did a pretty okay job in this one, but not as good as their performances in the first Superman film, which also starred Marlon Brando. You see Gene Hackman's Lex Luthor character in league with the three outcasts from Krypton to find a way to destroy Superman. But you also see a little bit of a repeat from the first film, where Lois Lane is still falling for Superman. But still, this is one of the best sequels around, with action and romance, etc.

Rating: 5 stars
Summary: You'll beleive a DVD can fly!
Review: I love the Superman movies and cannot wait till it comes out on DVD, May 1st. This happens to be one of my favorite Superman movies of all time. It is better than the first one because in the first one of the beginning it runs a little slow because of the Krypton scene. I hate that scene but the scenary is pretty nice. Do not see the third and fourth one because those are the worse ones. Stick with one and two they are great! The only thing bad about Superman on DVD is that they don't have the new scenes during the movie I thought they will. They only have them with the features of the deleted scenes which makes me a little disappointed but I'll deal with it. Because I have all Superman movies on video and I am selling them all to get the collection on DVD. Even though if I only like the first two I would like to own them all on DVD so it can be a collection. Thanks to the DVD industry and Warner Bros. As I said stick with one and two do not see three and four they suck!

Rating: 2 stars
Summary: Doesn't hold up
Review: I saw this film recently, and it just didn't hold up over time. The story is still great, and general Zod rules...but a lot of the movie came across as...cheesey. The scene where Zod and gang terrorize New York was just plane silly, and New York looked like a sound stage. It's too bad, because this was one of my favorite films as a child. Maybe your kids will like it, but as a previous fan...the magic was gone.

On a positive note, I saw the Wrath of Khan recently as well, and that movie did hold up!


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