Sunday, January 25, 2009

What'll it be, mac.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut - 7/10. In brief: Richard Donner made Superman I and II back-to-back, but was taken off after the release of Superman I for whatever reason and was replaced by Richard Lester, when little of the film remained to be filmed, making it campier, which the original director derided.

It's been a long time since I've seen the original release as anything more than wallpaper, so forgive me if I'm mistaken. On the whole, the movie seemed to be neutered, to lack the comedy and camp that made Superman II better than Superman I in the first place. It's fantastic being able to see more footage of Christopher Reeve's Clark Kent, whom I adore, and Margot Kidder's Lois Lane becomes sort of adorable, which isn't a word I would have used to describe Margot Kidder's Lois Lane. Having Brando there is better than not, and the movie makes a stab at the end for a more dramatic conclusion to the Superman and Lois Lane relationship, but then bites itself in the ass by trying to erase that with what remains the campiest aspect of the Superman movies. Between the two versions of the movie, both of which are great in their own right, there's probably one that's only slightly better.

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