Movie Review – Superman II (1980)

Back in 1978, the audience was blown away with Superman.

But the story of Superman was simply too great for one film alone.  The production and filming of Superman II was well under way while the teams were finishing the first film.  In fact, about 75% of the sequel was filmed before original director Richard Donner was removed from the project, and Richard Lester was signed to finishing directing the film, a move that required an extensive amount of re-filming and several key changes to the plot.

Superman II follows hot on the heels of 1978′s Superman.  The film focuses on the three Kryptonian villains that we briefly encountered in the beginning of the first film.  Those villains are freed from their imprisonment in the Phantom Zone, and they fly to Earth to rule the planet.  When they learn about Superman, the son of Jor-El, it turns into a conquest of revenge.  The film climaxes with a massive battle as Superman has to fight three evil doers, all of them with the same super powers.

The theatrical edition of Superman II, the version that most people are familiar, was directed by Richard Lester.  The film was written by Mario Puzo, and Ken Throne conducted the soundtrack based on John Williams’ main theme.  Christopher Reeve returns for the title role of Clark Kent / Superman.  Margot Kidder reprises her role as Lois Lane, the love interest of both Clark Kent and Superman.  Gene Hackman returns as the evil genius Lex Luthor, though he’s not the primary villain in this film.  Terence Stamp plays the role of super villain General Zod.

Supporting them are Ned Beatty as Otis, Valerie Perrine as Eve Teschmacher, Jackie Cooper as Perry White, Sarah Douglas as Ursa, and Jack O’Halloran as Non, a mute but fearsome villain from Krypton.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Superman II begins on planet Krypton.  General Zod (Terence Stamp) and his evil companions Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and Non (Jack O’Halloran) are caught in the act of committing a crime.  The Council votes unanimously to imprison the three criminals in something called the Phantom Zone, a prison that flies throughout outer space.  We see the prison capture the criminals and carry them out into space.

After that follows about five minutes of scenes from Superman.  We see all the highlights as young Clark Kent crash lands in Kansas and then most of his heroics as Superman.  We see Superman do everything from taking over the place of a missing jet engine on Air Force One to rescuing children in a school bus to using his own body as a rail to save a speeding train from crashing down a mountain.

The main plot in Superman II resumes when Clark Kent (Christopher Reeve) arrives at the Daily Planet.  His boss, chief editor Perry White (Jackie Cooper) informs him of a group of terrorists at the Eiffel Tower in Paris, France.  They claim to have a hydrogen bomb and are ready to level the entire city.  Perry mentions that Lois Lane was booked on the first Concorde flight to Paris once news of the terrorists broke the airwaves.  Clark runs outside, transitions into his Superman costume, and then flies to Paris.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

In Paris, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) manages to sneak her way past a French police officer and climbs part of the Eiffel Tower.  She nears the small group of terrorists and climbs onto the underside of an elevator so that she can hear them more clearly.  Unfortunately for her, the terrorists use the elevator to transport themselves and their nuclear bomb to the upper part of the tower, taking Lois with them.

The French police watch the scene from below with binoculars.  They wait until the three terrorists are out of the elevator before they detonate some explosives and send the elevator plummeting to the ground.  Unfortunately, doing so yanks out a safety cable and the hydrogen bomb is armed.  Sixty seconds from now the bomb will explode, killing millions in the nuclear explosion and radioactive fallout.

Superman flies into the open structure of the Eiffel Tower and stops it from falling, saving Lois Lane.  She climbs out and gives him a hug before Superman flies up, pushing the elevator and nuclear bomb out of the tower and high into the sky.  He keeps flying higher and higher until he reaches outer space.  Superman lets go and the elevator continues going further and further until it finally detonates.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

The blast from the nuclear explosion sends pressure waves through the galaxy.  Those waves hit the Phantom Zone and the space prison shatters.  General Zod, Ursa and Non are free!  They orient themselves and begin flying towards the Moon.

Back on Earth, Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) and Otis (Ned Beatty) are now convicted of their terrorist actions and both serving life sentences.  Lex Luthor clearly is not content with spending his time behind bars, something far too containing for a genius like himself.  He reveals to Otis that he made a mistake when he tried to fight Superman, but now he’s ready for another shot.  Lex knows that Superman always flies to the north, but none of the military radar seems to be able to track him and find out where the Man of Steel lives.  He’s about to solve that mystery.  Lex has been constructing a special black box that can track Superman’s “alpha waves,” and he’s convinced that he can follow those waves and learn Superman’s secrets and his weakness.  But first he has to break out of jail.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

On the Moon there’s a joint American-Soviet lunar mission currently in operation.  General Zod, Ursa and Non arrive and, one by one, they kill the astronauts while marveling at the astronauts’ apparent weakness.  The three villains do notice that as they fly closer and closer to the planet that orbits the yellow sun, their powers seem to increase in strength.  They heard one of the astronauts calling to Houston on the radio, so the three of them set out to “planet Houston” where they will rule as gods!

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

That night Lex Luthor and Otis make their escape from jail.  They use a holograph of themselves playing chess inside of their jail cell to distract the guards.  It works until one of the guards discovers the ploy and sounds the alarm.  Outside, Lex and Otis are sneaking past a wall when Otis discovers a rope ladder.  At the top of the ladder is Eve Teschmacher (Valerie Perrine) in a small hot air balloon.  Lex climbs the ladder and joins Eve in the balloon.  When it’s Otis’s turn to escape, he’s too heavy and as he climbs the ladder the balloon begins descending.  Lex cuts the rope ladder and flies away as Otis is recaptured by the prison’s guards.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

After returning from Paris, France, the Daily Planet sends Lois Lane and Clark Kent on assignment to Niagara Falls.  They’re posing as a married couple and trying to find evidence of hotels running scams and taking advantage of honeymooners.  While walking near the falls, a young boy slips and drops into the massive waterfall.  Lois and the horrified onlookers call for help and Clark Kent quickly changes into Superman.  He flies into the waterfall and catches the boy at the last second.  Superman returns the boy to safety, but as Lois tries to talk to him, he flies away.

Lois then pauses for a moment and wonders about Superman.  Here she is at Niagara Falls, so is Superman, and her co-worker, Clark Kent, is nowhere to be found.  There’s a pattern developing.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Meanwhile, Lex Luthor and Eve Teschmacher are continuing their trek to the north.  Their journey began in a hot air balloon and finished with a snowmobile.  Lex’s black box works and they discover Superman’s Fortress of Solitude.  They explore the Fortress and discover the crystals that hold critical information.  This time it’s Lara (Susannah York), Kal-El’s biological mother, who speaks the lessons.  One of the lessons warns Kal-El of three villains who were imprisoned in the Phantom Zone prior to the destruction of Krypton.  The shock waves of a nuclear bomb are powerful enough to break the prison and free the villains.  Lex and Eve head back to Metropolis, and Lex is eager to meet the super villains should they arrive on Earth.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Back at Niagara Falls, Lois Lane is more convinced than ever that Clark Kent is really Superman.  She tries to confront him but he just denies it.  Lois then risks her life and intentionally jumps into the river upstream from the falls.  If she’s correct with her theory then Clark will change into Superman and save her.  If she’s wrong, then Clark will have one hell of a story to write about a crazy and suicidal co-worker who died at Niagara Falls.

Clark does not change into Superman but still manages to help save Lois.  He uses his laser eyes to cut off a massive tree limb which Lois grabs and is able to use it to swim to shore.  Clark falls into the water while helping her to her feet, and Lois just feels humiliated by her actions.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

While Lois and Clark are at Niagara, General Zod, Ursa and Non arrive on Earth.  They land out west in Idaho and quickly notice that their powers have increased.  General Zod is able to levitate and allow himself to walk on water.  After a snake bites Ursa, she discovers that she can kill it with her laser eyes.  Non tries to use his laser eyes as well, but his skill isn’t quite proficient yet.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

In their hotel room at Niagara Falls, Lois still feels ashamed of herself.  She asks Clark to hand her her brush across the room, but when walking Clark accidentally trips on the fake bear rug and his hand lands in the fireplace.  He tries to hide his burned hand from Lois, but she sees it and is shocked.  There’s not a mark on it anywhere.  Clark really is Superman!  Frustrated, Clark stands and removes his fake eyeglasses.  Lois pledges her love to him and Clark decides that it’s time for her to know everything.  He changes into Superman and flies Lois to his Fortress of Solitude.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Out west, General Zod, Ursa and Non cause trouble in a small town.  They humiliate the local police officers and General Zod tortures one of the town’s residents.  It seems there is nobody who can challenge any of the Kryptonian villains.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

The next morning a news reporter is reporting live from the small town in Idaho when the U.S. army tries to stop the super villains.  Their efforts are useless as the villains fend off the attacks.  Non uses his laser eyes to stop a jeep carrying some soldiers. General Zod uses his strong breath to avoid an attack by a flamethrower.  Non easily catches a rocket launched at him.  And Ursa uses her strong breath to knock a helicopter out of the air.  The rest of the soldiers surrender themselves to General Zod.

After the soldiers surrender, General Zod interrogates the commanding general.  He learns that the next person higher in the chain of command is the President of the United States.  Knowing this, General Zod, Ursa and Non fly across the country to Washington, D.C.  While flying they deface Mount Rushmore, removing the presidents and imposing their portraits instead on the mountainous monument.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

In the Fortress of Solitude, Superman consults with the holographic image of his mother.  He asks her about becoming mortal so that he can live a normal life with Lois Lane.  Lois is in the background overhearing the conversation, impressed that Superman would sacrifice his powers to be with her.  Kal-El’s mother pleads for him not to undergo the transformation into a mortal, but he insists on doing so.  Superman goes into a crystal chamber and is exposed to the red Kryptonian sunlight.  His powers are removed and Clark Kent steps out as a regular, mortal man.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Meanwhile, General Zod, Ursa and Non arrive at the White House in Washington, D.C.  They break through the roof and enter the prestigious Oval Office.  There they quickly overwhelm the security force and demand to speak with the president.  The president steps forward and quickly kneels in front of the general as he demands, but General Zod is annoyed because the man is a fake as such a powerful man would never kneel so quickly.  The real president steps forward and informs General Zod that he will only kneel in front of him if it’ll save lives.  The general assures him that it will, so the President of the United States kneels in front of General Zod, symbolically surrendering his country to the Kryptonian villain.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

After spending a night together in bed, Lois and Clark begin making their way south and back to Metropolis.  As Clark notes, traveling this way takes much longer than flying.  The two of them stop in at a diner in a small town.  In the diner, a local bully named Rocky takes Clark’s seat as he’s in the restroom.  When Clark returns he politely asks the man to leave his seat, but Rocky refuses.  Clark then asks the man to step outside so they can settle their differences, at which point Rocky laughs at him and agrees to go outside.  Rocky hits Clark with a cheap shot, sending him into a wall of glass.  Clark is shocked that he was injured so easily and is now bleeding.  He manages to stand up and go back to Rocky, but the bully truck driver continues beating up Clark.  He eventually stops and Lois helps Clark tend to his wounds.

After the fight, Lois and Clark see the president and General Zod on the diner’s television set.  Since Lois and Clark have been away for the past couple of days, they didn’t know anything about the arrival of the three super villains from planet Krypton.  Clark realizes his grave mistake of becoming a mortal, so he makes his way back to the Fortress of Solitude while Lois returns to Metropolis.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

In the White House, General Zod and his companions seem rather bored.  They’ve conquered the planet, but the one man who can supposedly stand up to them and offer a real challenge has yet to appear.  Into the Oval Office walks Lex Luthor.  Lex claims to know where to find the man they call Superman.  He also reveals that Superman is also known as Kal-El, the son of Jor-El, the man who cast his vote to imprison the three Kryptonian villains in the Phantom Zone.  Now knowing Superman’s true identity, General Zod and his companions are set on their conquest for revenge.  But they still need to find him.  Lex Luthor knows that secret, but he’s not talking until he’s granted his wish of becoming the leader and governor of Australia.

Lex Luthor takes the three Kryptonians to the Daily Planet in Metropolis.  They smash their way into Perry White’s office and hold Lois Lane hostage.  Lex Luthor knows that she’s the person who writes the newspaper articles about Superman, and if they hold her then the Man of Steel will eventually appear.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Superman appears outside of Perry White’s office windows.  We see that Clark Kent not only made it back to the Fortress of Solitude, but he successfully changed back into Superman with his powers restored.  He asks for General Zod to step outside, and when he, Ursa and Non do so, a massive fight takes place on the streets of Metropolis.  Not only is Superman outnumbered and fighting a hopelessly outmatched battle, but in addition to fighting the three villains he’s also saving the people of Metropolis whenever large items are tossed their way.  General Zod is rather amused seeing Superman saving the people that he could easily crush with all of his powers.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

At one point in the fight, Ursa and Non pick up a bus full of people.  Superman pleads with them not to throw it, but they still toss it at him, ignoring all of the innocent people who could easily be killed.  Superman catches the bus, but it has too much momentum and it pushes Superman into a cigarette delivery truck, crushing him.  People rush to the scene of the crash but the news is grim.  They claim that he’s dead.  Superman is dead.  Angered by the death of their hero, the people of Metropolis rise up and try to battle the three super villains.  Their efforts are unproductive though as the three Kryptonians use their super breath and blow everybody away.

Out of the bus wreckage crawls Superman.  He’s still alive!  However, Superman knows that he cannot fight the villains here as too many innocent lives are at stake.  He’ll have to fight them on his own turf.  People watch in horror as Superman flees the city and flies away.  General Zod accepts this as a sign of Superman’s weakness, and he claims that next time they encounter him they’ll kill him.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

However, Lex Luthor isn’t contempt with this.  As long as Superman is still alive then there’s always a chance that he’ll return and defeat the Kryptonian villains and send Lex back to jail.  He convinces General Zod to seek out Superman as he knows where they can find the Fortress of Solitude.  The general agrees, and they take Lex Luthor and Lois Lane with them as they fly north to Superman’s home.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

In the Fortress of Solitude, General Zod, Ursa and Non fight Superman again.  This time the Man of Steel seems to have the upper hand though he’s still outnumbered.  At one point Superman creates several holographic images of himself.  When General Zod incorrectly guesses which one is real, Superman grabs him and puts him in a choke hold.  Ursa and Non respond by grabbing Lois Lane and threaten to rip her in half.  Knowing that they can and will gladly hurt the woman he loves, Superman releases General Zod.

The fight is finished and General Zod declares himself the winner with Superman as his personal slave.  If he refuses then millions of innocent people will start dying.  When Lex Luthor interferes the general declares that Lex has outlived his usefulness and it’s time to kill him.  Superman talks to Lex and convinces him to get the three Kryptonians into the crystal chamber.  If they can get inside of there he can remove their powers.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Lex Luthor turns around and tells General Zod Superman’s plan.  Superman accuses Lex of being a “poisonous snake.”  Superman is forced to go into the crystal chamber and everybody watches as Lex Luthor, the future ruler of Australia, activates the controls to remove Superman’s powers.  The machine finishes and Superman walks out looking defeated.  He kneels before General Zod and takes his hand, showing defeat.  And then he crushes General Zod’s hand, breaking his bones.  Superman rises to his feet and triumphantly throws the general across the room, causing him to fall to his death into a deep crevice.

Non tries to fly across the room and attack Superman, but his powers are also gone.  The large man loses his balance and also falls to his death.  Lois Lane turns around and punches Ursa, knocking her into a crevice as well.  Lex Luthor quickly figures out that Superman had tricked him into telling General Zod about the crystal chamber.  Superman was really safe from the Kryptonian rays while inside of the chamber as instead everybody outside of it were affected, thus removing the super powers from the super villains.

They leave the Fortress of Solitude and Superman flies Lois Lane back to her home in Metropolis, presumably returning Lex Luthor back to jail.  Lois promises that she’ll never tell anybody Superman’s alternate identity, but she knows that it’s going to be impossible to stay in a relationship with him.  As long as she’s around then she’ll always be a target for future villains, putting the man she loves at a constant disadvantage.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

The next day Lois Lane is a wreck at the Daily Planet.  She’s been wrestling with her emotions all night.  Clark Kent gives her a “super-kiss” that erases her recent memories about him and the Fortress of Solitude.  When she comes to she’s back to her normal self and Clark Kent is just a co-worker and good friend.

Clark Kent returns to the diner and has another encounter with Rocky.  This time he has his powers and easily humiliates and defeats the bully.  When asked about it by the diner’s owner, Clark tells him that he’s been working out at the gym.

Superman II (1980) – (c) Warner Bros.

Superman II ends with Superman flying a new American flag to be placed on top of the White House.  He promises the president to never let him down again.  Superman then flies above the Earth and awaits his next challenge.

So is this version of Superman II a good movie?

Superman II is a mixture of the best being with the worst, though the better moments and overall story and theme make this a fantastic superhero movie.

There’s no doubt that the story between Lois Lane and Clark Kent / Superman, with him accidentally revealing his identity and then choosing to live as a mortal, giving up his super powers for a woman, is powerful.  I mean, he’s Superman for cryin’ out loud.  He incredibly strong, he can fly, he’s practically invincible, and he gave up all of that to live with a woman.  What more could a superhero sacrifice to show his love and affection?

On top of that there’s General Zod, a villain who is capable of being badass by just standing and leering at you.  Add in his two companions from Krypton, give them the same powers as Superman, and you pretty much have an unstoppable fighting force.  The only reason Superman couldn’t defeat them was because Superman cared for the innocent people in harms way, from the citizens of Metropolis to Lois Lane.

It’s the smaller points though in Superman II which make you cringe and lower the overall level of this otherwise fine film.

For starters, the scenario with the nuclear terrorists in Paris, France was shockingly bad.  If somebody really had a hydrogen bomb (small enough to fit inside of an oil drum, by the way), do you think the police would only surround the immediate area?  Come on!  That police barricade was also terrible and Lois Lane had no problem getting past it and into the allegedly secure Eiffel Tower.  Yeah, right.

How about the fact that the Phantom Zone’s weakness was the shock waves of a nuclear bomb?  The mighty Kryptonians with all of their advances in technology couldn’t build a structure that would survive a nuclear attack.  Really?  Were they really that stupid for such an advanced race, or was this Hollywood messing with politics and being part of the anti-nuclear campaign during the height of the Cold War?  Methinks politics was interfering with good storytelling.

Perhaps the greatest fault in Superman II are the special effects, or in this case, are their apparent lack.  It’s hard to believe the action scenes and science-fiction aspects when it looks like Superman II had the budget of a low-grade, made for TV movie.  Of course that’s not true about the budget, but some of those scenes, especially when the three Kryptonians fight the military in Idaho, just look incredibly bad.

The bad special effects seem to ruin the great evilness of General Zod and his companions.  It’s hard to take the general seriously with the plot holes and bad special effects surrounding him.

To best enjoy Superman II, you need to look beyond the cheesy special effects and plot holes.

Of course, one needs to remember that much of Superman II was originally shot in 1977 simultaneously with Superman.  The project ran into difficulties and the decision was made to stop filming Superman II and to focus on finishing and releasing Superman.  After Superman was released and hailed as a success, the movie studio switched directors and had Richard Lester finish Superman II.  Rumor has it that off-screen problems between the original director Richard Donner and the movie studio contributed greatly to his removal from the project.

This change in directors made for changes in the film and also caused tension on the movie set.  An interesting part is that for Richard Lester to receive credit as director of the film, he had to had filmed 51% of the final movie.  This meant that even though most of Superman II was filmed back in 1977 under the direction of Richard Donner, they would have to go back into production and re-shoot most of the movie.

Some of the re-shooting was to make new scenes and change parts of the plot.  Some of the re-shooting had to use body doubles as actors were either already involved in other projects, or, like Gene Hackman, they didn’t support the new director and refused to re-shoot their scenes.  In Hackman’s case, this resulted in him having a rather small part in this film, and all of his speaking scenes that we see in Superman II were actually filmed back in 1977.

The altered version of Superman II removed all traces of Marlon Brando to avoid paying him a high fee for his appearance in the film.  As a result we see Lana, Superman’s biological mother, all of a sudden in the Fortress of Solitude instead of seeing Jor-El like we did in Superman.

Superman II (1980) – movie trailer

In the end we still have a great superhero film in this version of Superman II.  It’s far from being a perfect film, and when you consider all of the problems in the project, it’s a wonder that the final version turned out this well.

Perry White – “These guys claim that if the French government doesn’t meet their demands, they’ve got a hydrogen bomb ready to level Paris.”
Clark Kent – “Well, geez Mr. White. That’s terrible!”
Perry White – “That’s why they call them ‘terrorists,’ Kent.”
———————————
Sheriff – “Dwayne, you’ve gotta learn to kick ass if you wanna be a peacemaker.”
———————————
Army Major – “Throw down your arms and surrender. This is an order!”
Ursa – “General Zod does not take orders. He gives them.”
———————————
General Zod – “I am General Zod. Your ruler. Yes, today begins a new order. Your lands, your possessions, your very lives, will gladly be given in tribute to me, General Zod! In return for your obedience you will enjoy my generous protection. In other words you will be allowed to live.”
———————————
Lara – “If you intend to live your life with a mortal, you must live *as* a mortal.”
———————————
Clark Kent [after losing a fight against Rocky] – “Looks like from now on you’ll have to have a bodyguard with you.”
Lois Lane – “I don’t want a bodyguard. I want the man I fell in love with.”
———————————
Superman – “General, would you care to step outside?”
General Zod – “Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!”