Those of you who have faithfully read this blog from the beginning (both of you) will remember my original review of Superman II, where I complained that replacement director Richard Lester had diminished Richard Donner's mythical treatment of the Superman story with cartoonish camp, mostly played for laughs. You will also note that I explained the complicated production history of the film- that Superman I and II were supposed to be shot simulatanously, but II was abandodned in order to get I finished. When it came to complete the unfinished scenes for sequel, Donner was fired and Marlon Brando was completly cut out of the movie (his scenes were reshot with Susannah York) among many other changes.
Due to a fan internet campaign and renewed interest in the series caused by the release of Superman Returns, Warner Brothers allowed Donner comeback and complete his version of the film. And you have to give them credit: they spared no expense in the restoration, with new special effects, cleaning up the print, and even bringing back John Williams to write a new score.
If Donner had been allowed shoot the whole thing, this would easily be a four star film a long side the original, but there are inevitable problems with the reconstuction. First, some of the Richard Lester scenes that couldn't be replaced (such as most of the Niagra Falls subplot and the initial appearance of the three villians in Texas) are cheesy and standout from the rest of the footage. Second, there are some structural and continunity problems, particuarly in the first half of the film (Donner cuts Lester's footage to the bare minimum so Superman rarely appears in this part of his own story).
But that's little comparison to what is added by this reconstruction. The film is a lot more intelligent and becomes- and I mean this seriously- a sort of spirtual experince. The cut scenes between Brando and Christopher Reeve clearly establish a Christ metaphor. I had never thought about it this way, but Superman must be a very lonley guy- he exists to help everyone but can have no life himself- what he wants most is just to be normal. The film's interesting idea is that Superman has no right to a normal life- because he can do what no one else can, he must. There is a lot of dialouge about the Father sacrificing his spirit to reedeem the sings of the Son's humanity and, well you see where it's going. The fact that Jor-El looks a lot like the traditional Western image of God and General Zod (Terrence Stamp) looks to a degree like the Devil adds creedence to this. I am not hallucinating.
The new ending is also much better than Lester's lame resolution and kind of sad, but it connects the films togethr so that they seem like one work, instead of two different stories.
But the movie still makes a mistake towards the end- there's a long action sequence, set in New York that isn't very thrilling in either version. The movie is about spiritual conflict, not an intergalatic wresting match. But the rest of the film so good that the flaws are minor problems. Taken together, this and its precessor form the best superhero movie ever made, heads and tails above nearest competitor. The movie trancesends the boundries comic books and actions films and enters the realm of conciousness shared by modern myth.
Superman II (1980)