Superman II
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 "Come to me, son of Jor-El! Kneel before Zod!"
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Superman II is a 1980 superhero blockbuster sequel to the 1978 box office smash Superman. The film stars Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper, Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Terence Stamp, Jack O’Halloran, and Sarah Douglas.
Plot
Before the destruction of Krypton, three criminals are banished into the Phantom Zone for insurrection and murder, amongst all other crimes. Years after the planet Krypton exploded and after Superman came to Earth, Superman foils the plot of terrorists by hurtling their nuclear device into outer space, but the bomb's shock waves free the Kryptonian villain General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his henchmen Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O'Halloran) from their imprisonment. Traveling to Earth, they threaten the planet with destruction at the same time that Superman decides to renounce his superpowers to live a normal life as Clark Kent with his new love, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder).
Why It Rocks
- It is the greatest follow-up to the original film and takes place almost exactly where the previous film left off.
- The original cast returns, except for Glenn Ford since his character died in the previous film.
- Good superhero action and good special effects.
- Christopher Reeve's performance as Superman is still perfect, and his performance is still entertaining in the Superman franchise.
- Flashbacks from the first film are shown which keeps the film in good continuity (especially the opening scene from the first film, but that was in the Donner cut).
- The cinematography is well improved over the predecessor.
- The screenplay is well done.
- The whole story is an impressive improvement over the predecessor and the story introduces the audience to one of the greatest villains to date, as well the two main villains in the Superman movie that was:
- General Zod: Zod is a very threatening and intimidating supervillain in both the comic books and this movie. In the movie, he is a power-hungry Kryptonian criminal who has powers comparable to Superman himself but maliciously uses them. His evil plans to make the Son of Jor-El kneel before he even kills Superman and taking over Planet Earth.
- Ursa who like General Zod is intimidating, homicidal, poses a threat to people, and has a grudge against Superman.
- Non, despite being a mute villain, he has super strength and uses it to hurt people (eg. When he breaks a person's neck).
- The film has a lot more action than in the first film. (eg. When Superman does battle against Zod, Non, and Ursa in Metropolis, foiling a terrorist attack while on vacation with Lois Lane in Paris and the battle at the Fortress of Solitude.)
- Superman returns the American flag to the White House and states to the President of the United States that he won't let him down again making it a rather patriotic film.
- When Zod takes over the Daily Planet, Superman asks, "General, would you care to step outside?".
Bad Qualities
- Superman killing Zod in cold blood is an out-of-character moment for him, as it violates his no-killing code. While he kills Zod in Man of Steel as well, it was more justified there, because Zod was about to kill a group of people. In this film, however, Zod had his powers taken away, and thus could have been put in a regular prison, making the killing unnecessary.
- Despite their roles as Lex Luthor's henchmen in the previous film, Eve Tessmacher, and Otis are really underused. Eve simply disappears after arriving at the Fortress of Solitude without any explanations and Otis fails to escape with Luthor from prison. Though this may have been done so Zod, Non and Ursa could be the main threat, one can wonder why Valerie Perrine and Ned Beatty even bothered to reprise their roles.
- The silent sex scene between Superman and Lois is really unnecessary because it doesn't contribute to the plot and can be seen as inappropriate for younger viewers.
- Like the first film, the flight and heat vision effects haven't aged well.
- Weird parts like Superman pulling his S shield to nearly trap Non.
- Richard Lester's cut wasn't as great as Richard Donner envisioned.
- Some unlikeable characters like Rocky, the bully trucker.
Reception
Superman II currently holds an 87% “Certified Fresh” on Rotten Tomatoes with a critic consensus that reads "The humor occasionally stumbles into slapstick territory, and the special effects are dated, but Superman II meets, if not exceeds, the standard set by its predecessor." Film critic Roger Ebert of The Chicago Sun-Times gave the film a four out of four stars and stated "Superman II begins in midstream, and never looks back..."[1]
Richard Donner Cut
On November 28, 2006, Warner Brothers released a Special Edition DVD of Superman II titled Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut, which had more extended scenes in contrast to the standard edition DVD which only has the theatrical version. Richard Donner, the director of the first film shot several scenes for the second film but had been fired.