I’m watching the Richard Donner cut of SUPERMAN II for the first time and, with allowances for the fact that they had to use test footage to fill in some moments (and there are still some gaps), it allows a fascinating glimpse at the MUCH better film it could’ve been.
The pacing is brisker, the tone feels more in line with the first film, and more importantly, the character decisions make more sense. Lois is allowed to be smarter and more capable. Clark doesn’t actively nearly kill her for the sake of hiding his identity.
And when the truth does come out, it’s due to Lois’ tenacity and smarts, not him just so happening to accidentally trip into an open fireplace at a narratively convenient moment.
I’ve never been a huge fan of the Clark-gives-up-his-powers sequence, and it still isn’t perfect here, but it gets a fuller explanation and resolution as well.
The only major fault with this cut is the rewind ending which seems to copy the end of the first film. It doesn’t in its original conception. Donner had planned on using the climax of the first film on the second. But I actually don’t think it works as well here for many reasons.
When rewatching the film again, this is the version I’ll likely return to. Tho maybe I’ll skip to the Lester version for the last 5 minutes.
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
