Superman II (DC Comics Movie Review)

Plot
Three criminals from the planet Krypton are released from the Phantom Zone by an explosion in space. They descend upon Earth where they could finally rule. Superman, meanwhile, is in love with Lois Lane, who finds out who he really is. Lex Luthor escapes from prison and is determined to destroy Superman by joining forces with the three criminals.

Jason's Thoughts
Out of all of the Superman movies made, this is the one I remember watching the most as a kid.  After watching it again as an adult, and in comparison to the first movie, I feel that Superman II doesn't quite hold up to it predecessor.

I still enjoyed Superman II and felt that the one major flaw from the original movie was addressed, which was that Superman had a villain, or villains in this movie, that were on equal ground with the Man of Steel.  General Zod, Ursa and Non possessed the same powers as Superman and added a touch of suspense that was lacking from Superman.  

Even though Superman had powerful adversaries in Superman II, there were a lot of other flaws in the film that I couldn't look past.  

For example, Superman flies Lois Lane to the Fortress of Solitude, which is somewhere around the North Pole.  There, Superman decides to have his powers taken away and become a mortal.  Shortly after you see the two of them driving a car and heading to a diner.  I'm not sure where the car came from or how they drove out of the Fortress of Solitude, but it was just there.  

Not to mention the fact that Superman was warned that the process of turning into a mere mortal was irreversible, yet he was able to turn back into Superman.

That was just a couple of the flaws, as there were others.  The one major flaw in this film, however, were the campy touches added into this movie, such as Lex Luthor escaping from prison in a hot air balloon.  In my review of the original Superman movie, I commended the fact that the camp was toned down to make a more serious film and set a standard for superhero movies.  Obviously, the creators of Superman II didn't feel the same, although it didn't have to be that way.

I did some research into why the film turned out the way it did and found out that the original director, Richard Donner, who also directed Superman, was removed from the film due to creative differences over the seriousness of the movie.  Richard Lester was brought in the finish the film and added his own cheesy touches in the form of bad jokes and sight gags to the finished product.

While working at a video store, I remember seeing a Richard Donner Director's Cut of Superman II was released.  After watching Superman II again and reading about what happened when this movie was being made has me wanting to see that version, which is probably the version that should have been released instead of the one that was.

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