Director Richard Donner was hired to direct parts 1 and 2
simultaneously, but once he had all the footage necessary to complete the first
film production was stopped in order to get Superman
ready for release. That film proved to be a huge hit, but Donner had rubbed the
producers, the somewhat unsavory father/son duo Alexander and Ilya Salkind
(they had a habit of not paying their crews), the wrong way and they fired him
in order to put someone more controllable in the director’s chair, Richard
Lester, who had helmed The Three
Musketeers and The Four Musketeers
for the Salkinds a few years earlier. In order to get credit for directing the
film Lester had to have worked on at least 51% of it, so he ended up rewriting
most of the script and reshooting a number of scenes. Gene Hackman refused to
return for the reshoots due to the treatment Donner received, and Margot Kidder
was very vocal about the producers’ sleazy business practices. All the footage
of Marlon Brando that was shot was scrapped so they wouldn’t have to pay him
his exorbitant fee and John Williams was not asked to come back in order to
hire a cheaper composer, Ken Thorne. All the money that Superman raked in made the producers greedy and they cut back on
spending in order to line their pockets with more cash.
Superman II should
have been a complete fiasco. The strange thing is that it ended up being a
better film than its predecessor.
Three Kryptonian criminals (Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas,
Jack O’Halloran) escape the Phantom Zone and travel to Earth. Once they learn
that the son of their jailer, Superman (Christopher Reeve), inhabits the same
world they plan to exact their revenge upon not only him, but the entire
planet.
This flick is pure, unadulterated zippy fun. It moves at a
constant clip, never really slowing down en route its immensely entertaining conclusion.
While the campy humor does rear its head now and then due to the changes made
by Lester, it’s never overbearing and only seems to enliven events all the
more. The audience gets to see the Superman/Lois Lane relationship taken to the
next level and beyond when the Man of Steel gives up his powers to be with his
one true love. Also the fight scenes between Supes and the Kryptonians are
about as epic as anything you could ever hope to see in 1980. There’s suspense,
romance, action, humor and every comic book trope imaginable perfectly combined
into one movie.
Christopher Reeve once again owns the role of Clark
Kent/Superman, giving Clark just the right amount of nerdy earnestness and Superman
a courageous spirit that you can stand up and root for. Margot Kidder goes into
overdrive as Lois Lane and gives a tour de force performance. Her arc is the
emotional highlight of the film, going from a reckless reporter to someone
whose heart has been ripped to shreds. Terence Stamp gleefully chews the
scenery as General Zod and makes for a villain that easily eclipses the
semi-comical approach taken with Gene Hackman’s Lex Luthor. Every actor
performs above and beyond what would normally be expected from a film of this
type. I will admit that I had a slight crush on Sarah Douglas’ gothed up evil
temptress, Ursa. She’s awesomely hot in black vinyl.
The bi-polar nature of the film works to even itself out.
There are just as many serious scenes as lightly comic ones and not one takes
anything away from the other. You can definitely tell, however, what was shot
during Donner’s turn when compared to Lester’s. Each character looks slightly
different, be it Christopher Reeve not being as bulked up during the fight
scenes, Margot Kidder’s weight loss between reshoots and hairstyle/make-up
changes for characters. It’s also plainly obvious that many actors who did not
return for the reshoots are doubled and/or dubbed over, Gene Hackman
especially.
There is one thing that always bugged me about this movie,
and that is the ultimate resolution to the Lois Lane relationship with
Superman. In order to keep his lover from harm he breaks up with her, but she
can never forget the perfect moment they shared together and that has broken
her heart. So what’s a guy to do? Give her a magic kiss to wipe her memory
clean, that’s what! Out of all the ludicrous Deus ex machina ways the writers
could have solved this dilemma, they chose that one?! It’s dumber than the “Can
you read my mind” scene from the first film. And what’s worse is that the folks
at DC comics decided to officially make it one of Superman’s powers, albeit a
very rarely used one.
How Superman II
ended up being more entertaining than the original is beyond me. It just is.
It’s a rollercoaster ride of awesome that is just as enjoyable now as it was
when I first saw it in the theater back in 1980. The silly spandex supersuit
aside, Superman was here to stay and he was kicking ass and talking names.
Sadly, that wouldn’t last for very long.
But I always did wonder what the original Richard Donner version would have been like…
But I always did wonder what the original Richard Donner version would have been like…
4 out of 5
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