Superman II
Directed by Richard Lester (theatrical release); Richard Donner (Director’s Cut)
Written by Mario Puzo and David and Leslie Newman from a character created by Jerry Siegel and Joe Shuster
1980/US
IMBd page
Repeat viewing/Amazon Prime rental
General Zod: [as somebody pulls a gun on him] These humans are beginning to bore me.
When I saw this way back when at the movies, I preferred the sequel to the original. Donner’s cut took so much of the fun out of it that it is now much worse than the original.
Most of the cast of the first film is back in this one. Kryptonian villains General Zod (Terence Stamp, Lara (Susannah York) and Non (Jack O’Halloran) escape the Phantom Zone and sow chaos on Earth. In the meantime Superman (Christopher Reeve) is distracted by his new romance with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) who had discovered his identity. Will love interfere with Superman’s duties?
The romance was not given as much prominence as in the Lester version. And Lester captured the comic book campiness of the original. To add to its demerits, there is not nearly enough Gene Hackman.
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