Superman II

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Jackie Cooper, Margot Kidder, Terence Stamp
Directed by: Richard Lester
Rating: PG
Genre: Action, Adventure, Science Fiction
1981

Times Seen:
Tim: 3

Summary: Three imprisoned outlaws from Krypton are accidentally set free, and end up on Earth. They have the same powers as Superman (Christopher Reeve). When they team up with Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman), the Man of Steel faces his greatest challenge yet.

Review:

Tim: This is one of the most beloved superhero sequels, at least throughout the 80s and 90s. I though that it represented a drop in quality from the original, but not by that much. There is a great deal to like in this sequel. I should clarify that I watched the original film, not the Richard Donner cut.

One of the film’s strengths here is that Superman has worthy adversaries to battle. Lex Luthor is definitely a criminal mastermind, but there is something so much fun about watching the Man of Steel battle people with the same powers as he has. This ups the excitement and the thrills.

This movie also has a number of really good scenes. I loved the Niagara Falls “rescue” of Lois Lane. The major battle between the three supervillains and Superman is impressive as well. I also absolutely loved the final confrontation, and how Superman used his intellect to get the upper hand. My favorite scenes might have to be Clark and Lois in the diner and Clark’s return to the diner later. These are just terrific movie moments. However, there are also some silly scenes. The whole Eiffel Tower terrorist plot was very hard to believe. The odd mind-erasing ability was a bit much, too.

Despite its iffy resolution, I really liked the subplot about Lois finding out Clark Kent is Superman (I apologize if I just spoiled part of the movie, but this film was released in 1981—what’s taken you so long??). These scenes allowed the Clark-Lois relationship to take on some new meaning and life, and I really enjoyed them. This subplot’s conclusion happened just as it needed to, and was surprisingly touching.

Once again, Christopher Reeve does an outstanding job as Superman. I just can’t think of another actor giving a better or more convincing performance. Margot Kidder was decent as Lois Lane, but she started to get on my nerves a bit here. Still, she had some great moments with Reeves. It was great to see Gene Hackman back, but he had far too little to do. He never really inspired too much interest in me, because he always seemed too cartoonish a villain. Still, I enjoyed the few scenes he had.

Superman II fixes some of the issues of the original (thank God there’s no time travel in this one), increases the action, and accounts for some pretty heartfelt dramatic moments. However, there are some scenes that just appear too weak or silly. Almost all of Lois’ actions at the Eiffel Tower were ridiculous and incredibly hard to believe. Luckily, there are enough great scenes for this movie to work very well.



Rating 1-10
Tim's Rating: 7.5



If You Enjoyed This Movie, We Recommend:
Superman, Superman III, Superman IV: The Quest for Peace