Superman II (1980) | First Time Watching Movie Reaction
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- Опубліковано 10 лют 2025
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The Target Audience watch Superman II (1980) for the first time as we journey through all Superman solo films leading up to Superman (2025) this July!
Become a Crew Member! - / @targetaudience
Special thanks to @OpenMawProductions for his graphics, backgrounds, overlays & much more!
I love how Zod is just perpetually bemused and bored, and acutely aware of the fact that his companions are idiots.
To sum it all up, back in the theater when this film was released THIS WAS THE TRUEST COMIC BOOK MOVIE EVER MADE! It was such a great time at the movies. Loved it!
At 7:59, as the bomb releases the Phantom Zone villains, Josh asks, “Were they that close? Had they made it to the Milky Way?” This question is answered in both of the longer cuts of the first film, which I don’t think either of you have seen. Kal-El’s spacecraft, bound for Earth, sweeps by the phantom zone mirror and pull it into its wake, changing its trajectory towards Earth.
The theatrical release of the first film is 143 minutes, the special edition from 2000 is 151 minutes and the extra extended edit (newly released to blu-ray in 2017) is 188 minutes, some 45 minutes longer!
Hope you guys check out these alternate cuts, in addition to the Donner version of Superman 2.
Also, please consider watching 1984’s Supergirl between Superman 3 & 4, if you have time, very much part of the same franchise. 🙏
As with Rocky….. the reason why the open is a recap of what has happened is because this was in the infancy of Cable stations like HBO and just before the Home Movie market started , so if you wanted a sequel to succeed you had to catch up your audience that had forgotten the previous installment, or had never seen it
No one who was born much later will ever believe it's good, but the old "Adventures of Superman" from the 50s is one my my favorite TV shows of all time. It was made on a shoe string budget and the writing was naive, but they never made a bad episode.
I don't know about "never". I was never a fan of the one in which he leaves those crooks on a mountain...
The Superman doc is great too, not gonna lie I may have shed a tear watching it
You should give Supergirl a watch. The next film was to introduce her so the cousins could fight Brainiac. But once Richard Pryor said he wanted to be in a Superman movie the studio fast tracked a new script for him to play a huge part. Supergirl became a solo project, but it had so many changes made eventually Reeve backed out of the project.
My dad and I quote this movie so much! Whenever I invite him out to dinner, he says "I cant go anywhere where I'm expected to eat fish." and I say "They have a wide selection!"
😂 I can't eat beans! I come out in a rash if I eat beans!
To give ursa more of a villain edge, there was a scene where non had thrown the police siren at the boy from the town. When it killed him, his mother cried out, " he was just a boy," ursa then said, " Who'll never be a man ! ".
It was cut from the film, but it's a call back to the beginning of the 1st movie where jor-el said she was a danger to the people of krypton, including the children.
The excitement for this when it came out was off the charts. The special effects obviously don't hold up but back in the day they were considered 😲by we teens. It also subverted expectations because he beat them not with brawn but brains.
The extended cut shown in 1984 on ABC included the scene where the Arctic Patrol cops arrest Zod, Ursa, Non & Luthor, and take them away. To prevent further tampering, Superman blows up the Fortress of Solitude before flying off with Lois.
*Josh and Alex immediately identify the difference: Richard Lester's contribution is nothing but stupid gags and slap-stick.* Definitely much better than having Brando in the film... There are several plot points that make little sense until one sees The Donner Cut and how the same scenes were _supposed_ to play out. Anyway, in sum, the Salkinds were such hacks. The ideas that Donner talked them out of were sheer cringe, including a cameo by Telly Savalas as Kojak saying to Superman "Who loves you, Baby!" That would have aged real well.
The Salkinds were grubby foreigners, running from country to country running a giant pyramid scheme. They were essentially criminals and not only did they not understand Superman not being North American, but as criminals they didn't grasp the morality of Superman either.
21:55 Fun Fact: Rocky is played Canadian-American actor and professional wrestler, Howard "Pepper Martin". Born in my hometown of Hamilton, Ontario.
The ABC version is the BEST - still have it on vhs - fleshes things out a little more, shows the ruthlessness of the villains - the boy rides off on the horse, Zod snaps his finger and Non whips the cop light a mile or so away, blows the kid up - old woman: “he was only a boy!” Ursa with glee:“and will never become a man!” Brutal. Also an epic shot of Superman flying past the Concorde.
After watching this movie I got into all the Superman media. And now he's one of my favorite superhero characters.
I used to like this movie until I realized its lack of diversity. Diversity is what makes us strong. That's why Japan is so weak. Same with China.
What did you think of Man of Steel and Superman Returns ????
Lois had already pointed out in the first movie that Clark was never around when Superman but she just waved it away, The Donner Cut is so much better. The Lester cut feels like a comedy.
This is a definitely the best superman movie ever ..so far anyway
All of Brando's scenes for _Superman II_ were shot. By omitting them, they saved millions.
Every scene with Gene Hackman in it was shot by Richard Donner. He refused to come back to shoot anything with Richard Lester.
Richard Donner was originally the director of Superman II, but was replaced by Richard Lester due to conflicts with the producers.
Explanation
Donner was originally hired to direct Superman II after the success of Superman: The Movie. However, tensions arose between Donner and the producers, Alexander and Ilya Salkind, and Pierre Spengler.
Donner and his crew were forced to stop filming Superman II before it was finished to meet the release date.
When filming resumed, Lester was brought in to "co-produce" the film. Lester completed the remaining 25% of the film after Donner had already shot around 75%.
The 1980 release of Superman II included many reshot scenes and a significant number of Donner's original scenes were removed.
In 2006, a re-edited version of Superman II called Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released. This version used footage directed by both Donner and Lester to create a complete story.
From Google A.I...
1:50 Don't forget The Adventures of Superman from the 1950s.
6:08 "Climbing the Eiffel tower by Stairs." I did! I'm glad I did. I'm no athlete. I had to take a breather up 3/4 of the way up. But it was a good memory. Me and my boss both gasping for air,, while small children passed us going up without a problem. lol.
COOL and funny story,amigo,I enjoyed hearing it. God bless
I climbed the CN Tower stairs once. They allow people to do it twice a year for Charity. I raised money for the WWF (World Wildlife fund, not for Hulk Hogan). I am definitely no athlete. Took me about 30 minutes. I saw fit people rush past me, only for me to walk past them 10 flights up.
I was just about 10 years old when the first Christopher Reeve Superman released Christmas of 1979. Before that, every day after school, I would get home to watch reruns of the George Reeves Adventures of Superman television series from the 1950s. There’s still a lot of love out there for George Reeves. He was a great representation of Clark Kent and Superman.
The 9 year old me absolutely loved this film at the cinema, and you know why, because it's a kids movie aimed at kids.
I can't wait for Superman 3. It'll be like watching a bad TNG episode.
So they are going to love it?
@@miller-joel Superman 3 should be called "Richard Pryor 1". It's a Richard Pryor movie with Superman as a guest star. Having said that, it's got some classic moments in it.
Reeve does some excellent work in it though. "Whattcha lookin' at, huh!?!"
Man this was fun to watch with you guys! Nice choice!
If you look closely, the ending is different. Superman moves his left arm forward as he flies off. At the end of the first film, he keeps them both by his side.
Can confirm Ursa was a major crush for young me back than. The actress was also in a bunch of sword and sorcery B movies in the 80s too... I mean I hear, didn't spend a lot of time rewinding VHS tapes...
People who say the Theatrical Cut is superior to the Donner Cut are demonstrably wrong because they don't actually understand Mario Puzo's defining theme and primary arc of a single, long film as written. Removing Brando was a crime. The overarching arc of the two films as written as a religious parable akin to Jesus; the son becoming the father, and the father the son. It's Jor-El's unimpeachable moral compass that helps Clark understand why he must fight Zod, and it is *Jor-El's final sacrifice after receiving Clark's promise to never marry, that symbolizes the final, demonstrative ascension of Superman in his final form as completely selfless and always putting the needs of humanity first.* _Saying that the aforementioned arc is less important than 30 minutes of inserted Dick Lester slapstick garbage is iron-clad proof of insanity and poor taste._
My favourite of all the Superman movies, mainly thanks to Zod and the trio of villains….. Was always terrified as a kid of them, especially the brutal moon scene. Imagine at 9:40 to 9:45 having your safety suit ripped open and then balls crushed while dying an agonising death already. Some sadistic sh*t right there.
This version is so much better than the other cut.
The other cut does have a great Ursa scene, though!
I completely disagree. This Lester cut is too silly.
It has better production values than the Donner cut as they had to use incomplete scenes to fill that out, but the Lester silliness is a bit much. It's far worse than the extended cut because leaving out the scene showing the cops carting off Zod and crew at the end leads to it still being cited by people who don't get Superman at all (so much so that they think he'd smirk and murder a powerless opponent) as a time he killed.
SPOILERS
Overall I think this is the best version, though the Donner Cut does have some aspects I think are better, like the removal of Superman’s extra powers and the Brando stuff.
I wish WB would take the best bits from each version and make a “Super” cut of SII.
20:10 I read an article from a physicist that if Superman "finished" inside of Lois, it would shoot through her like a bullet.
Larry Niven, Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex.
..See MallRats
Among other things.
The implications of Superman's invulnerability for his gametes are horrifying. Earth's atmosphere suffused with immortal flying sperm.
@@jaybirdjargon Who's a sci-fi author, not a physicist.
The change in tone, and drop in quality, from Superman to Superman 2, can be attributed to Richard Lester. Donner was fired by the producers after Superman 1, even though he had shot something like 70% of Superman 2's footage by then. Lester had a different idea of Superman. Whereas Donner respected the source material, Lester thought it was kids stuff and that Donner took it all too seriously. So Lester played up the humor and, in order to get credit from the Director's Guild, he had to reshoot a lot of scenes that had already been shot by Donner. (That's one reason we have a Donner Cut of Superman 2 now.) He also brought in other writers to script new scenes and punch up the humor. The result was, while not a mess, something much less than it could have been (once you eventually watch the Donner Cut, the tonal shift will surprise you, especially during the fight scenes.) A bit of trivia: Margot Kidder was brought back to reshoot some scenes she had already shot with Donner, and by then Kidder had lost weight and it altered her appearance noticeably; her face looks very different. You can notice the difference from scene to scene as the movie switched between Donner footage and Lester footage.
The biggest loss in the two versions is the loss of Brando and the completion of the moral narrative arc about sons becoming the father, and the sacrifice of fathers for their sons. The green crystal bit is a poor substitute for Jor-El using his remaining life force to give Clark his powers back.
The prison guard that discovers Luthor's projection in his cell at about 10:30 is Angus MacInnes...aka: Gold Leader from Star Wars..."LOOSEN UP!"
My understanding of why he had to give up his powers was because Superman is essentially immortal. It's not just his strength, but if he wants to live a mortal life with Lois, he has to give up his powers otherwise he's going to outlive her. The chamber doesn't just take his powers it changes him on a molecular level, presumably so he longer absorbs sun rays allowing him to age naturally. Maybe that's head canon, but I don't think they had to overly explain this as this was my understanding and I think that's how most people interpret it. Correct me if I'm wrong in that.
A big part of the goofiness of this movie was to reflect the 1950-60's Superman stories the 70's generation grew up with.
Comics at the time were bound by The Comics Code censorship that kept all the stories very nonviolent and young kid friendly.
The silliness of Superman having a new power each time is straight from that era as well.
That smile Superman has at the end: "Still got laid."
The actor playing the Sheriff was also Sheriff Pepper in 2 Roger Moore James Bond films... "Live and Let Die" And The Man with the Golden Gun".
“Kneel before Zod!”
*Both* films were written by Mario Puzo (the Godfather), and were filmed back-to-back.
This second film was roughly 75% complete under Richard Donner's direction when he had his falling out with the producers over creative differences. As originally planned, the missile from the first film that Superman flings into space is what would have released the villains from the Phantom Zone, and spinning the world backwards (actually Superman exceeding the speed of light and going back in time according to the rules of Relativity) would have occurred at the end of the second film as the way Superman erases Lois' memory of learning Superman and Clark are the same person.
When Richard Lester was brought in by the Salkinds to complete the second film, some scenes had to be re-shot in order to get the minimum percent of used footage to credit Lester as the director. It was Lester that added all the screwball comedy to what would have been a more serious film, including the entire scene with the southern Sheriff (played by Clifton James, who played almost the exact same character in two of the James Bond films in the early-1970's) and a lot of the 'wind' reactions in Times Square during the city battle between Superman and the super-villains.
Yes. It'll be very interesting to see their reaction to the Donner Cut. I personally will never watch the Lester cut again.
That is a kind way to say the Salkinds are crooks and fraudsters. They are the reason there is a rule that actors must be paid for each released film because they tried to cheat the cast of the Three Musketeers by releasing footage shot at the same time as a sequel. And they *DID* cheat Dick Lester of his salary for Four Musketeers. He agreed to take over from Donner, which he had reservations over, because they finally agreed to pay him for the past work.
@@blanetalk Lester tanked the series. Superman 3 is all him, and after its disappointing box office, the Salkinds sold the rights to Cannon films.
@@blanetalk I haven't watched the theatrical cut in ages. I had actually forgotten how terrible the replaced scenes are and even the score sucks in comparison.
@@markwarren9200 Lester does suck ass. All cringe slapstick crap. Neither he nor the Salkinds understood the character. Dick Donner, not the grifting Salkinds, made superhero films possible.
Oh man i recall the Superman theme getting me so pumped up when i was a young lad
The Donner Cut is a lot less comedy and Lois proves her Clark theory by shooting him in the face with a .38 Special. The "tame for kids" version Clark trips as you saw.
Both 1 & 2 were filmed at-once but was cut in half for 2 film releases.
Clark: "That was an awful risk. What if you were wrong?"
Lois: "They're blanks."
The "Of course he's Jewish" line is an homage to Superman creators, two Jewish American students: Writer Jerry Siegel and artist Joe Shuster in 1933 and he made his official comic-book debut in Action Comics #1 (published by DC Comics) in 1938. For a better Lois/Superman reveal and less stupid humor watch Superman II: The Director's Cut, by Richard Donner (that directed the first movie.
So many people suggesting “The Adventures of Superman” from 1952-58, but no recommendations for “Superboy,” which has some of the same production team as the Reeve movies, music by Kevin Kiner (Clone Wars), and aired from 1988-1992.
"What other famous films do a recap at the beginning?"
Hmmm, something that rhymes with Car Wreck Tree: The Lurch For Rock.
If the effects seem less consistent in the second movie there's a reason. The approach of studios to sequels was dramatically different in the 70s and 80s. More often than not each sequel to a successful movie had a smaller and smaller budget. If anything, a successful franchise these days can see the budget for each sequel swell ridiculously.
3 is different and worth the watch. 4 is only good to roast.
You probably should look at the Donner cut BEFORE moving on to the others at this point. It took those of us that grew up with these decades to get to see the Donner version. Also, you definitely want to look into the BTS stuff about what went on after you watch the film. Context definitely helps.
Also, this film generated a mini controversy at the time about product placement in movies. The Marlboro truck in the street fight was a big deal. The Coke sign was a big deal. There was even a segment on the TV News Show 20/20 in the year this came out discussing product placement and how it’s impacting filmmaking.
Spider-man 2 did the same kind of recap using Alex Ross paintings. I felt it was a call back to this.
My most heartfelt recommendation is All-Star Superman, an animated movie.
"Donner and the Salkinds just loathed each other. Donner had called them a**holes in print. Alexander Salkind had paid the government of Costa Rica money to make him the cultural attaché to Switzerland, giving him a diplomatic passport which made him immune from arrest because he was wanted on lots of fraud charges. He couldn't attend any of the openings in the United States because there was a warrant for his arrest. The FBI said, 'I’m sorry, cultural attaché from Costa Rica to Switzerland doesn’t cut it with us. That’s not a diplomatic passport as far as we’re concerned.' So he couldn’t show up for any of the openings. In the meantime, another parallel story was going on.
Richard Lester was owed several million dollars by the Salkinds because of his share of the profits from directing The Three and Four Musketeers. Lester sued them and he won the lawsuit except he won it against a Bahamian corporation which was a company that was broke. So he couldn’t get any money. In essence the Salkinds did two things when the first Superman opened. They fired Donner immediately because they hated him and they said to Lester 'If you finish Superman II we’ll pay you the money we owe you.'
Of course, their other absolutely inexcusable thing that they did was they took Brando out of the second movie. They read in the contract that he had a piece of the gross and if he didn’t appear in the film they didn’t have to pay him so they just cut him out."
- Margot Kidder
It often amazes me how many creative works spilling over with genuine goodness can grow from thorn bushes. Something a lot of folk now have been conditioned to dismiss movies or shows or records that had any involvement with terrible people. This is so wrong for the world. Not all productions are art or worthwhile to society, but works of any kind of art are something beyond all the individuals involved. Chris Reeve and Richard Donner did a lot of the work that resulted in this genuine love and humanity shining through in Superman The Movie, but plenty of other artists and craftspeople worked on it with such love and passion that it shows, and love always shows even in technically dated productions.
Removing Brando was a crime. The overarching arc of the two films as written was the parable with Jesus and the son becoming the father, and the father the son. It's Jor-El's impeachable moral compass that helps Clark understand why he must fight Zod, and it is Jor-El's final sacrifice after receiving Clark's promise to never marry, that symbolizes the final, demonstrative ascension of Superman in his final form. People who say the Donner Cut is inferior are morons who don't actually understand the themes and arc of the film.
Everyone who has ever worked for the Salkinds loathes them. They are criminals with poor taste. *_Take me to my director. Take me to Donner._*
I liked most of this Released version and Donner version as well as some deleted scenes. So I made my own version using all of these.
How about the George Reeve Superman series? That would be kind of cool.
I love that the sheriff is the same actor as the sheriff in the James Bond movies. In my head canon it’s the same character too.
“Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex” by Larry Niven was the seminal treatise on Superman having …. relations.
And Supes is a wimp without powers, and bully with them.
The issue with the Donner Cut was that he worked with what they had, many scenes didn't get filmed... so it's... different than this, not necessarily better, not worse.
If you guys like this so much, you should visit metropolis, Illinois. The city dedicated to superman
As a kid I loved this so much!
Man of steel is my next fave.
Supergirl and Arrowverse are really good as well!
Just so you know... the series Smallville is Buffy the Vampire Slayer meets Dawson's Creek with Superman lore thrown in. 50% of the time, it's all about THE LORE! And that's when I love the show. It's what kept me watching. The other 50% of the time when it's about the other teen drama BS I hated it.
Just want to taper your expectations. No matter when you get to it, whether it's on your own time or for the channel, I don't want it to be something you are build up for and are dismayed it's not your cup of tea.
Also the first couple of seasons of Smallville are mostly just "monster of the week" episodes. It takes a while to get more serialized.
I really would like to see you guys react to the substantially different Donner cut.
@@Justin.Franks That's when it reminds me of early Buffy the most.
Thr Huston, yes that's the spelling, is in Idaho. It's only about 20 minutes away but the town has kinda died. The buildings were there about ten years ago but I haven't been back in awhile. Being a huge Superman fan, it's cool that this was filmed there.
Richard Lester's The Three Musketeers is quite good. Everybody should watch it.
You should check out some of the animated ones. All-Star Superman and Superman vs The Elite are top tier
Superman II is an incomplete film, there are a lot of cut out scenes which you will see in the Donner Cut that answers a lot of questions you two had, including what happened to Lex Luthor. The best scene in the Donner Cut is the missing scene that shows Superman getting his powers back, so it’s important to the story that he loses his powers. Oh, and Josh I have a terrifying fear of hot air balloons as well! The next two are still worth watching no matter what everyone says here, 3 has some cool scenes, but is a missed opportunity and devolves into more comedy with Richard Pryor. The villain in 3 should have been Brainiac, Superman’s second biggest villain after Luthor, but no Brainiac which still annoys me to this day.
Love the part where she shoots Clark with a pistol in there room to prove he’s superman ……. Forgot that’s a removed scene 😂
Zod, Terrance Stamp, is Chancellor Velorum in Star Wars Episode I. Kneel before Zod (quoted in Clerks).
He's also Jor-El in Smallville
Unlike alot of tv shows, the 1st episode of SMALLVILLE is a 10/10. No reason to watch any other episode first. I've watched the whole series multiple times.
Always figured "Superman II" writers were TOS fans since Clark erases Lois's memory of Superman's identity like Spock erases Kirk's memory of Rayna (in "Requiem for Methuselah").
The reason the first one was so good is that the screenplay was written by Mario Puzzo who also wrote the Godfather movies.
It was extensively rewritten by Donner's writer, Tom Mankiewicz. It was essentially Mankiewicz's script, but he couldn't take credit because of Writer's Guild rules, so he was credited as a "creative consultant".
You should definitely check out at least a few episodes of the original Superman TV show, "The Adventures of Superman" (1952-1958), with George Reeves as Superman (Yes, funny that their names were similar Reeves and Reeve). Used to watch the show a lot as a kid in the 70s on re-runs. It's a bit silly (made for kids), but still a lot fun. Noel Neill, who famously played Lois Lane on the 50s TV show, had cameos in both the 1978 Superman movie and the 2006 Superman Returns movie. There was also a brilliant Superman animated series from the 1940s that you might want to check out (seventeen 10-minute reel cartoons that were made to be played at the movie theaters before the main film). Could do some quick videos, like you did with the Star Trek animated series. The animation is soooooo good in that series...well worth the watch. Also, it really gives you a feel of the initial depiction of Superman (as the first episode in the series was licensed and made just three years after Superman first appeared in comics). Also, this animated series is why Superman can fly. In the comic books at that time, Superman kind of was just able to make big leaps from place to place (i.e., "able to leap tall buildings in a single bound"). But the animators thought the leaping looked funny in live-action, so they asked Action Comics (later DC) if they could have him fly instead. So, Superman actually flies in the animated series before he does in the comic books.
The Donner Cut is great, but any scene with Gene Hackman in 2 is a Donner scene. He refused to do reshoots after Donner was fired.
Since you both enjoyed Margot Kidder's performance. If you haven't seen it, check out the original Amityville Horror - 1979.
Buckaroo Pinball would be worth anywhere from about $2700 to $4500. That's only if you don't smash a stunt man into it.
Ah, yes. Larry Niven's "Man of Steel - Woman of Kleenex" theory.
Whether for the channel or not, sample these two Superman properties. From "Adventures of Superman" 1950's TV show, try the first episodes and/or the episode Panic in the Sky. Also, the very famous, and progressive for the time, "Clan of the Fiery Cross" episodes of the Superman radio show. Both are snapshots into the past, in slightly different ways.
In the first movie, he didn't reverse time; he went back in time and made changes. In the comic books, in an era where he had all these ridiculous powers, the comic book writers had these ways of showing him going back in time, so the first movie was a play on that.
The first movie literally shows events reversing in time, so I'm pretty sure it showed him reversing time. He didn't just travel to a previous point in time.
@@paulonius42 Yes, because he was looking at those events trying to figure out where he wanted to go. Shoots pass it and then swings loops around to get to the right spots. Those events you see going backwards wasn't him undoing it those events, just him passing points when they happen.
@Boxkerp Nope. I think you've got this completely wrong.
@@paulonius42 No, I don't. He didn't reverse the wall by just past it. He went back and changed events.
Almost everyone who watched Superman: The Movie misunderstood the ending. Superman didn't reverse time. He didn't reverse the Earth's rotation. If you read the comics, flying “backwards” around the planet was one of the most common ways for Superman to go back in time.
I was 12 when this movie came out, and, yes, I DID have a crush on Ursa. Also, although a lot of the SFX look cheesy today, especially the flying, back in 1980 our young minds were literally blown, especially during the big Metropolis fight scene. We came out of that first two Superman movies truly believing a man could fly!
So glad you did 4k! The 2006 blu-ray had ugly color alterations.
I wish the TV extended version was in the 4k set, where they added deleted scenes - and some of them make Ursa and Zod even more compelling villains.
Superman's mother stepped in because they got rid of Marlon Brando, hence "Father!!" Not being fixed.
Due to issues, Richard Donner was fired and films re-edited. The back in time thing was to be at the end of II, but that was not to be.
Lester's cut had some new additions that really help a lot. Looking forward to your takes on III and the Donner Cut of II!
The Richard Donner cut is MUCH better
As far as I'm concerned, Christopher Reeve is Superman.
I'm sure you've heard lots of stuff on this by now, but Donner was fired immediately after the 1st movie for budget over-runs. The Salkinds decided to film Superman 1 and 2 at the same time; they did a similar thing while filming the Three Musketeers/Four Musketeers. They finally told Donner to wrap it up with about 2/3rds of the second film in the can, finish the first film, and then brought in a new director to reshoot so Donner's credit could be cut entirely out of the second film. Some of the movie was also re-written and Marlon Brando's parts were switched for Superman's mom (another cost-saving measure). Richard Lester went for laughs in his reshoots. Because the 2nd film was reshot and the Salkinds reigned in the budget, the resulting film suffered in the effects. The third film is even worse.
Also, do watch the Donner Cut, as it is interesting to see the contrast, but remember that it was completed MUCH later (Donner had been away from the Superman franchise for decades by the time he went back to the original material) and is a glimpse into what Superman 2 *could have been.* There are fanedits that attempt to merge the 2 films ("The Hybrid Cut," for example).
@@keithbk Yeah, the Donner Cut is the actual film, it completes the narrative arc, as the two were written by Puzo as one plot. The Salkinds were not only cheap, but didn't understand the character anyway, so to them it was no loss. They were the worst.
If you check out TV shows, don't forget the Animated Series. The 1950s series and Lois and Clark are also worth a look.
The Superman & Lois tv series is a must watch for Superman fans/super-heroes.
I think Smallville is the next best thing after Superman I and II, even though technically Smallville Clark isn't Superman until...spoiler. Tom Welling is the best Superman right below Christopher Reeve.
My favourite Superman film!
If you want a less comedic cut, the Donner cut exists. Kind of feel like that should have been a conversation before going into it. Everyone knows the Lester cut is the more comedic one. There are fans of pretty much every cut though. I first saw the Lester cut and I loved it. I've seen so many cuts that I can never remember what happens in which, except for some key differences.
It's first 2 movies great, 3 & 4, yes diminished returns is the nice way of putting it (same with the Batman movies). But Superman 2 is great. Smallville is quite good, if you decide to go there. The 3 bad guys in this movie are the coolest, General Zod & Co always perk up fan interest when ever someone tries to bring them back (although, of course, these guys are the best).
All the extra comedy stuff is all Richard Lester...makes it easier to figure out what he filmed or refilmed from what Donnor did.
The comedy is the Richard Lester part of the movie. If you watch Three Musketeers and Four Musketeers you will see the same thing.
I was a young teenager when this came out, the answer is yes.
Good reaction. But as other commenters are pointing out, please do yourselves a favor and see the Donner Cut and try to blend the two movies together. It might answer some of your questions. Donner wanted a certain version and didn't get it, but Lester did it his way. Ursa and the boy on the horse for one.
These movies were shot simultaneously amd it was part of one story 75 percent was shot on 2 but , when donner and brando left they changed the story made it more comedic, also in order fir the lester. Credit they removed and reshot about 25 percent of donner footage, which is why superman 2 is two movies in one and u see it on screen. So they never completed all the donner effects
Richard Lester directed the best movie adaptation of Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers (and its sequel). I'd love for you two to do a reaction of those two movies.
Never mind Smallville or Superman & Lois. Try an episode of Lois & Clark show from the 90s
If you can stand a black and white version - see if you can find the Kirk Allyn Superman serial film from around 1940.
Or there's the excellent Fleischer animated shorts
Great movie. I am so glad you are watching this version and not the Donner Cut. I like this movie even more than the first one,
Ya'll gotta watch Smallville!! Loved that show!!❤❤❤
Sure it’s cheesy, but it sure is fun. I like this one FAR better than the first one.
Don’t skip 3, contrary to a lot of the comments on here. It’s so bad, it’s good, and it deserves your time.
"My adventures with" is a great show. Not sure about "&Lois" but at least as good as Smallville
3 has one of the scariest moments in the entire franchise.
If we're talking about the same scene, it terrified me as a kid!
And also one of the best in the entire franchise!
That one scene scared the crap out of me as a kid.
12:37 -- as a solid GenXer, I can attest to you that shit like with this kid (parents not paying attention as he does the most death-inducing shenanigans) is 100% the most legit thing you will ever see in this or any other movie, lol! It really was like that growing up from the late 60s into the 80s -- it's amazing as many of us survived as we did...
The effects and similar were good for the time -- some came up a bit short, as you note, but most of the practical effects were good/solid. (The behind-the-scenes stuff that shows how they force-perspective'd the whole bus in the city fight was really interesting, among other similar things.) As far as the comedy... yeahhhhhh... the tone-break in that was definitely unnecessary for the film and overall story; the Donner Cut is much more serious, though with a little light humor vs comedy in spots.
*HOWEVER*... when you guys watch III and especially IV.... whoooa, boy -- buckle up, cuz that shit *sucks*... lol... (There's a few scenes, here and there, that are fine, but overall they're garbage.)
EDIT: they're so bad it's why when the 2006 Singer movie came out it picked up narratively 5 years later from SM-II (obviously mildly rebooting a couple/few things because 25+ years had passed IRL, but you set that aside as a concession to reality) and completely ignored III and IV as never having happened, period. Good move on Singer's part, at least in that regard.
I dare you to watch 3.
4, double dog dare.
Yep. I issued THAT challenge. Both must be sober, NO cheating.
Why must Kal-El live as mortal?
The essay "Man of Steel, Woman of Kleenex" will provide some gruesome reasons.