‘Come to me, son of Jor-El, kneel before Zod!‘
I enjoyed Richard Donner’s iteration of Superman when I checked it out a couple of weeks ago, and so I went into this sequel with higher expectations than I would have done beforehand. That being said, Superman II was a troubled production. Donner was fired halfway through and replaced with A Hard Day’s Night director Richard Lester, both the cinematographer and the set designer died in between the making of the two films and contract disputes with Christopher Reeve meant that he almost didn’t return as the titular protagonist. Add to this that rather than shooting on location in New York for the scenes in Metropolis, they shot on the back lot at Pinewood, plus the fact that the two-year gap in filming for some scenes led to noticeable continuity errors, and it’s amazing this thing was ever released at all. What’s even more amazing is that it’s pretty good…
There is a lot going on here. Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) jumps deliberately jumps into Niagara Falls. Superman (Reeve) voluntarily gives up his powers. A new antagonist emerges in the shape of iconic supervillain General Zod (Terence Stamp) while Lux Luther (Gene Hackman) is still lurking in the shadows as well.While the messy production history is often clear to see onscreen, it also adds a pleasing idiosyncrasy and playfulness that makes Superman II a compelling experience even with all its weirdness and eccentricities. There is a Richard Donner recut floating about which I might watch in the coming weeks, but the uneasy melding together of two very different directorial styles actually works as a strength for much of the film, even if the narrative threads often don’t connect consistently the whole time. The cast is also disjointed. Marlon Brando doesn’t return due to contractual obligations and just generally being a belligerent asshat, Hackman also refused to return for reshoots and so appears sparingly (although he makes his mark when he does appear), but, Reeve and Kidder are as compelling as ever, with both actors delivering some of their finest work in this disjointed sequel.
Superman II lacks much of the grandiosity of the film that preceded it, and it occasionally succumbs to tedium, but there is enough worthwhile stuff here to justify its existence. Also, the Eiffel Tower scene is wonderful. We’ll always have Paris.
