Superman II: Allein gegen alle

In my opinion this movie is still not quite as good as the first movie, it still manages to keep the flavour and charm of the original.

For me what really stood out about this movie was the villains, which are Zod and his gang and Lex Luthor. Terrance Stamp stole the show as General Zod and really sold me on the character's arrogance in relation to Earth. This arrogance was best depicted during the whitehouse scene when upon learning that superman would challenge him, he merely retorts "Who is this imbecile?". What I liked about the Kryptonians in this movie was that all 3 of them were their own character with differing personalities, something which I felt was lacking in Man of Steel (No disrespect to Michael Shannon). Gene Hackman once again is brilliant as Lex Luthor, although for me he was overshadowed by Zod (Which is OK as Zod is the main villain of the movie).

Ken Thorne's score is great and manages to hold up next to the John Williams score of the original.

The special effects, while appearing dated by todays standards are very good for the time and still look very believable. These effects stood out during Superman's fight with Zodd in Metropolis and with the depiction of the Phantom Zone at the beginning of the movie.

Unfortunately this is the last of the Christopher Reeve Superman movies that was of high quality. If you're planning on watching these movies I would recommend that you watch all 4 at least once, but for every subsequent viewing just watch the first 2.

Also RIP Mr Snake, all he wanted to do was say hi

After the rushing into pre-production of Superman, Superman II footage remained in vaults in Pinewood Studios for the time being. This was where the cast and crew were supposed to pick up filming of Superman II in early February of 1979. However a new order was called in by producer Ilya Salkind. A new director to be exact, and that was the dellima of Superman II. In 1977-78, Richard Donner shot a near estimate of 80 % of Superman II simultaneously with Superman, but that is not the point. The point is that his version was a much more subtle version, which followed the characters emotions from the blockbuster first film, and had an exciting plot of Lois and Superman falling in love, villains killing earth beings, and Superman almost having to risk it all for the world...or the woman he loves! But when director Richard Lester came in to do reshoots and shoot all new scenes, he had a different vision in mind. His version was simple. Make the villains look like dumb butts, while Lois and Superman enjoy an unequal relationship where Lois is given the back seat treatment to mediocre looks and a Superman that would rather make the metropolis people laugh than save the world! As that is what so wrongly happens, we shall go over the facts. Superman and Lois are supposed to have the kind of love that EVERY American dreams of having. Donner insured this in never seen love scenes which would have garnered the film an R-rating. Lester's love scenes are cheap and tacky with hilarious dialogue and no wit to back it up. The villains scenes in the Donner version are cruel, ruthless, and downright evil. In Lester's scenes, the villains pronounce names wrong, look at eachother in stupidity, and act like imbeciles. The film had a good premise going for it: Superman has just saved the world from nuclear destruction and then the villains arrive and start destruction. Meanwhile, Lois and Superman fall in love. That was still the plot, but the myth and mystique which made the original film such a classic are nowhere to be seen here. Instead we get NASA jerks talking about a "curl" in space! Lester was really trashing the mythology with this peice of junk. America had thought that the second Superman film would be a film that they would remember. No such luck as one would have guessed. The film is basically two unfinished films sloppily put together in this turkey! Superman II is NOT without interest. In fact, alot of the scenes are fun to watch because of the action sequences. But it is true what others say, that it seems like Lester was trying at a Beatles/Superman film. Clumsy comedy and stupid chaos ensues as the villains blow through metropolis. Another thing that gets on this writer's nerves is when the townspeople are rooting for Superman in the battle sequence! This villains are trying to kill these people and what do they do? They don't run in fear as they should, but root for Superman when he beats the villains up, calling out rediculous dialogue such as "C'mon! Get 'em Superman!" as if they are present at a high school football match! Too much stupid writing and directing. I will always have respect for Superman II because the whole Superman series has been a part of my better memories in life for a long time. We have yet to see if the true version of Superman will ever be released on DVD, in the form of the Richard Donner cut, as so many fans like to call it. IT is really Ilya Salkinds cut, as he has the contract to the rights of ALL the films(including Supergirl) and their footage. All in all, Superman II fails on a lot of top levels but has the interest for lower levels. Only if Richard Donner's version gets released, will we as an audience and appreciative film viewers get the true experience of Superman II: The Adventure Continues!

Superman II stars Gene Hackman, Christopher Reeve, Terence Stamp, Ned Beatty, Sarah Douglas, Margot Kidder, and Jack O'Halloran. It was to be a troubled shoot that saw two directors involved with the project. Richard Donner had completed about three quarters of the film before being taken off the project, so Richard Lester then came in to finish the film. Because of the back stage problems there are a host of writers credited on the film and both Robert Paynter & Geoffrey Unsworth were involved with the cinematography. Filmed using the Megasound system the score is a reworking of John Williams original score by Ken Thorne.

Something of a miracle in itself that Superman II, in spite of all the behind the scenes shenanigans, is a very fine sequel to the massively successful Superman from 78. Sure there's some odd tonal shifts, a couple of things don't quite add up (to be corrected later on down the line with the release of the Richard Donner cut), while the villains are badly under written, but this has enough comic book adaptation savvy to please most comic book lovers.

This time around sees Superman pitted against three villains who have been released from their prison due to Superman himself detonating a hydrogen bomb in space. The big kicker here being that the three convicts, General Zod, Ursa and Non, are from his home planet of Krypton and had been imprisoned by his father Jor-El. Now they are free they are hell bent on revenge against the son of Jor-El and the planet that worships him. If that was not enough for Superman to contend with, he also has affairs of the heart to deal with as his love for Lois Lane grows ever stronger by the day. While a certain Lex Luthor is plotting his escape from prison...

Pic nicely fuses a humanistic heart with exciting set pieces, to make Superman II a worthy sequel to the wonderful template that is the first film. Ultimately we should embrace both cuts of Superman II or it would go downhill from here... 7/10

This is the best of the Superman movies because of the three villains, played by Terrence Stamp, Sarah Douglas and Jack O'Halloran.

Those three are so good, particularly Stamp, that they make this easily the most memorable of the four films. The scenes with them on the moon, their first encounter on earth and their climactic fight against Superman in the skies above Metropolis are all outstanding.

Once again, Superman goes a little overboard in his romance to Lois Lane (do you believe some reviewers are upset there weren't explicit sex scenes in the film?) Hey, folks, it's just a comic book and it's supposed to be innocent, clean fun. Sorry that turns you off. For the rest of us, this is generally very enjoyable film from start to finish, with no real lulls.

I have a confession to make. I love Superman II. Such innocent, almost niave, filmmaking, it personifies the term "family entertainment" and is, simply, great fun to watch.

Other superheroes have floundered at the box office, and maybe this is to do with lack of affinity between the makers and the source material. Certainly, the Superman films are tongue-in-cheek but never so that they're disrespectful to their content or their audience. The Crow was a good example of the "graphic novel" set, and the Batman series did well under the underrated Michael Keaton, but floundered under the flat Val Kilmer and increasingly childish set-pieces. The less said about "Batman and Robin" the better.

Of course, Superman had his own "Batman and Robin" in the guise of "Superman VI: The Quest For Peace", a movie made four years after the third and with seemingly a fraction of the budget. But Superman II was the series at its' peak. The theme music, a startling Star Wars sound-a-like by John Williams, fades to edited recaps of the previous film. These involve Superman as a baby being sent from the destruction of his home planet and are cleverly spliced together so as to avoid having to pay Marlon Brando any more royalties. (Yet we do see Brando's hand. Surely that's worth half a million?). 20% of this movie was shot alongside the 1978 vehicle and so we get reminded in this sequence of the three Kryptonian villains, about to be accidentally released by Superman in a h-bomb explosion.

This was still in the days when films were properly constructed to allow for a genuine build-up, a fully-formed middle and a proper end. Even minor players, such as Perry White (Jackie Cooper) have great lines and characterisation thrusted upon them. This may be just a "fun" movie, but it is lovingly put together, not "thrown together" as many films are. All the actors are wonderful, Christopher Reeve is just right as Superman, Margot Kidder is the definitive Lois Lane (despite almost drowning in soft focus for her close-ups) and Gene Hackman is, of course, absolutely hilarious as Lex Luthor.

But my favourite player in this sequel is Terence Camp as General Zod. Terence plays Zod exactly the same as he plays Bernadette in "The Adventures of Priscilla, Queen of the Desert" and makes great work of the lead villain that must be, in Hollywood circles, always English. "Why do you say these things when you know I will kill you for it?" he minces to Hackman with great effect.

Of course, now twenty years old, this film is less "You'll believe a man can fly" than "You'll believe a man can swing on wires in front of an unconvincing backdrop" but this is still wonderful entertainment. Maybe the middle section, with Clark getting cut to ribbons after being thrown through a plate glass window is a little violent, as is the confrontation between Superman and the trio of villains. There's also the nagging feeling that this section is the biggest single example of product placement ever seen on film. Or is it coincidence that a Superman who featured in a comicbook anti-smoking campaign (against "Nick O'Teen", no less) is continually thrown into a Malboro van? Even Zod gets to know "things look better with Coca-Cola" as he is unceremoniously hurled into a neon sign for the corporation.

But these are minor gripes, and how anyone can hold them against such a harmless film is beyond me. Superman II isn't Citizen Kane by any means, but I defy you to sit through this movie and not love it.