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In the last film, we briefly seen the trial of General Zod and his cohorts before they were squished into a polaroid -- I mean sentenced to the Phantom Zone.
That film didn't really follow up on that thread, instead focusing entirely on Kal-El's origin story.It always seemed a bit odd they included it at all.
Here, we're once again treated do a truncated version of the trial, the destruction of Kypton, and the arrival of Superman. We're watching the Richard Donner Cut tonight, so I'm guessing there will be minor differences from my recollections.
One of those differences is Zod's line of "And one day...your heirs!" In the first film, we get an uncomfortably tight closeup of his mouth yelling this line. Here, we're spared with a more distant shoulder-level shot, possibly a B-roll from the original film. The different shot is more reserved, and as such, it feels like it lacks the emotional punch of the original by leveraging our discomfort.
We also revisit Superman disposing of one of the warheads in the previous film. Sent off into space it sputters as the fuel runs out, then explodes in near proximity to our film's foes. This frees them from the Phantom Zone, allowing the movie to finally begin.
The setup takes almost 9 minutes before we get to the opening credits. It feels rather odd for an 1980 film to have such a lengthy set up like this, giving it an episodic feel rather than a standalone film. Granted, this was before pervasive home video, so the lengthy cold open was important for its time and place.
Let's watch!
A particular treat of this film is improved sense of pacing over the first film. The following three scenes introduce us to the three concurrent plotlines which make up the film.
The first is Lois and Clark. Clark needing to maintain his secret identity.The next is Lex Luthor and his continuing machinations. And finally, General Zod. Three plots is a lot for a television episode, but perfect for a film. My intercutting between each plot, the film maintains a great sense of pacing and keeps your interest.
Once again, it's delightful to see Hackman again as Luthor. That gruff, self-assured swagger walks the knife edge of being over the top, which is an excellent match for the film.
"Houston"!? "To Rule"!?
Well....no, you'd probably be an improvement at this point.
Actually, the lengthy space sequence with our trio of antagonists greatly suggests why I found this film much more interesting as a little kid. I did -- and still do -- love spacy shit. The intersection of the 1980's space program with Apollo era moon missions must have felt like predicting the future.
Then Regan happened.
I know, I know... We keep coming back to this. Regan and the beginning of the Greed is Good era of USian politics continues to be a running theme in so many of the films we've watched here. It stands as an inflection point, one that we're very much seeing the continence today. In that light, Luthor's arrival at the Fortress of Solitude and examining the education crystals almost feels like a crossroads of cultural metaphors. Luthor, representing that new spirit of the 80s. Jo-El and his moral prognostications feeling like dying relics of kinder era. I doubt this was intentional, and I'm likely over reading here given current political anxieties. Still, we see again and again that fascism is *not* new.
Sups, do yourself a favor. Stay in Canada. They'll be less likely to deport you there.
Damn. Lois is *dangerous*.
Breaking the stalemate of Clark trying to enforce his identity she pulls....a snubnose revolver on him.
And fires.
The game lost, Kal-El gives up and reveals everything to Lane. And then she admits she used a blank.
One thing I find myself thinking about repeatedly watching both this film and the last is, "Who is the real person?" In the Batman mythos, many have written how it's Wayne which is the fiction, and Batman the real person. With Superman, the distinction doesn't feel so clear cut. Both Clark and Superman feel genuine, but not separate. If anything, they feel like different facets of the same person. Clark being the aspiration, the desire to be just another mundane person. Superman, on the other hand, feels like the weight of responsibility.
We see this in how the Clark and Lane subplot plays out. Having revealed his identity, he wishes to renounce his powers and indeed, his responsibility. There's a part of this which feels selfish, almost whiny.
"After all I've done for them?"
This line falls a bit flat for me, given the previous film felt like all the acts of saviorism were so small. Yes, yes, the bit about California falling into the sea, but it's hard to take that bit as real.
The most unreal thing about Superman II?
An American president who cares about saving lives or showing deference.
Unintentional metaphors seem to a running theme in this watch through. General Zod occupying the White House, and issuing pronouncements while Luthor pulls the strings is...
Yeah. I wouldn't call it prescient, but it certainly feels eerily familiar at least.
I've often said that while the film may not change when you rewatch it, it's never the experience. Why? Because *you're* not the same. Today, beset by worries and anxieties, a darkening future, it's hard not to find yourself scrying anything for signs and portents. The human mind longs to make sense of the chaos.
Yet, it's hard to not see the parallels as Zod leverages Superman's empathy as a weapon against him.
As the third act closes, Superman is apparently killed in the battle with Zod and Ursa while trying to save those a thrown bus.The people briefly try to rise up, unplanned, uncoordinated, and in too small a number against the trio's combined power.
While Sups isn't dead, he does flee...and the people...just go on with their lives, disappointed. In the film, it's a small, unimportant moment, but it stands out in relief in 2025. That embodiment of empathy and ideal just....leaves. And Metropolis just accepts it's fate.
Keep your head down.
Look after your own.
Do not resist.
There's something to be said about the USian tendency to "leave it to the heroes" instead of realizing, we're all we've got.
I have to admit, as a film, the final confrontation between the trio, Luthor, and Superman is a bit anticlimatic. Granted, it does rely on a neat visual callback. Invoking the lurid red lighting of the destruction of Krypton, the crystal chamber renders a Kryptonian powerless. Superman uses this himself in the second act to renounce his powers. In the fourth act, he reverses it, using it on the trio to render them powerless while he remains protected.
The disappointment in the ending doesn't stop there. Like the last film, he reverses time to undo all the damage and death wrought by Zod. It's briefer here, and lacking the emotion brought about by Lois' death in the first film. As a result, it feels more contrived and corny.
So that's #supermanii and that's #wenchwaches .
Superman II (1980) feels like a redo of the first film, while dropping the origin story and focusing on superpowered beings duking it out. While the pacing is far improved over the first film, the total result feels more like a popcorn flick; there's less emotional payoff. In many ways, it feels *worse* than the first film as a result.
While Zod and the rest of the three could have been more threatening, the result never feels believable. Even Luthor remarks on this at The Daily Planet. Yes, Lex, it does indeed "get old".
Take it or leave it, Fedi.
@socketwench I always thought Clark Kent vs Kal-El vs Superman was a more interesting identity crisis than Batman's. Ol' Bruce, his folks die and basically Bruce dies too. He's Batman now. Everything else is masking.
Supes was born Kal-El, raised as Clark, and then didn't really get to be either. He doesn't know who he is, so he's gotta appease, wrap himself in a flag, and tell the cops he's on the same side as them. A very immigrant story.
Superman II was interesting. Worse but also directly addressed relatively real-world concerns about a world with superhumans. We just had Empire so maybe the studio greenlit something a little darker but then got confused.