Superman II (1981)

Featured Audience Ratings

• Alexander D

  
  I have not yet seen the original 1978 SUPERMAN film, but this sequel, SUPERMAN II, is fantastic. It's anti-violent, which is almost unheard of for a superhero movie, but it's cool and amazing anyway.

• xGary X

  
  Lois Lane puts two and two together and (finally!) works out that Clark and Superman are one and the same, leading to his renouncing his powers to live his life as an ordinary man not counting on the appearance of three Kryptonian super-criminals. Even as a teenager, I always prefered… More
  Lois Lane puts two and two together and (finally!) works out that Clark and Superman are one and the same, leading to his renouncing his powers to live his life as an ordinary man not counting on the appearance of three Kryptonian super-criminals. Even as a teenager, I always prefered my superheroes with a darker streak meaning that the whiter than white Superman never really appealed to me. This story written by Mario (The Godfather) Puzo has some intriguing ideas but it all falls apart somewhat in the execution. Terence Stamp makes an amusingly camp supervillain and it's nice to see Superman meet his match which means that mercifully there is no mention of the ubiquitous Kryptonite in the story at all. Gene Hackman is also as reliable as always as Lex Luthor, but the rest of the supporting cast are character less and dull and the attempts at humour that are not delivered by Stamp or Hackman are weak and immature. Director Richard Lester is also far more comfortable with the period slapstick of the Musketeers than this type of action sci-fi, which combined with some very poor visual effects make for some uninspired and unexciting set pieces. I loved this film as a kid, but its bad moments outnumber the good and as a whole it has not dated very well at all.

• AJ V

  
  My favourite Superman movie, it's not just action, it's funny too. The story is good and exciting. I really liked this movie, and I highly recommend it to Superman fans.

• Richard C

  
  B+

• Conner R

  
  A great sequel that in many ways matches up to the first. The plot is even more interesting and dares to challenge the need for superheroes. This also re-introduced three of the coolest villains, led by Zod the Conqueror. While it can be campy and odd at times, it's all good… More
  A great sequel that in many ways matches up to the first. The plot is even more interesting and dares to challenge the need for superheroes. This also re-introduced three of the coolest villains, led by Zod the Conqueror. While it can be campy and odd at times, it's all good natured and in the spirit of Superman's source material. I think had Richard Donner been able to finish the film he set out to, this would be like the Godfather Pt. II.

• Chris W

  
  Wonderful sequel featuring great performances, exciting action, good special effects, and some strong character development. Greta fun all around.

• Anthony L

  
  A brilliant follow up film, I personally have to watch them both back to back and consider them the same film, although I do prefer the original. Terrance Stamp as Zod is brilliant. I always wondered what the Richard Donner cut would have been like though.....

• Jason O

  
  It's been years since I've seen any of the Superman movies so I didn't really remember any of them. Me and my uncle watched "Superman 2" while I was visiting in Texas and I thought it was a good movie. My aunt said she hated that show and wanted us to turn it,… More
  It's been years since I've seen any of the Superman movies so I didn't really remember any of them. Me and my uncle watched "Superman 2" while I was visiting in Texas and I thought it was a good movie. My aunt said she hated that show and wanted us to turn it, but luckily we didn't. Clark Kent finds a woman named Lois Lane that likes him and begins to think he's Superman. Once he goes to his home and quits being Superman altogether, some trouble arises and everybody calls on Superman's help. If you haven't ever seen this movie, I recommend seeing it so you can find out what happens. If you like Superman movies, you should like this one. The special effects and the storyline are the best parts of it. Now that I've seen "Superman 2," it's got me wanting to see the rest of the Superman movies. NOTE: That was my Amazon review from the year 2000. Still the best Superman movie ever and one of the best if not the best superhero movies ever. A favorite.

• Chris G

  
  1981's follow-up to the successful Superman sees Supes identity being revealed to Lois and his decision to become mortal and be with her for all time thwarted by the Phantom Zone criminals from the first film. The first thing you'll notice is that Richard Lester directed… More
  1981's follow-up to the successful Superman sees Supes identity being revealed to Lois and his decision to become mortal and be with her for all time thwarted by the Phantom Zone criminals from the first film. The first thing you'll notice is that Richard Lester directed this film. Well, over 50% of it because of the Salkind's anger with Richard Donner actually making a good film instead of a cash cow (could you imagine if these morons had gotten their hands on Batman like they wanted). Most of this film was complete when Lester took over, but in order to get Donner's name off the credits he had to shoot at least 51% of the film. Ironically Richard Donner's cameo (in front of the diner) remained in Lester's cut of the film. Overall this is still a very solid action film given its rocky history. All the principals are here and the story is still solid. The film falls flat on it's face during the ending when Superman uses saran wrap, Krypton's master use of force lightning, and teleportation becomes a standard addition to being under a yellow sun. Other than that Superman II is a great action film that (official) continued the Superman franchise (what till we get to III and IV).

• Dean !

  
  Probably my favourite of the original four Superman films.

• Derek D

  
  A decent version, but Donner's was far far superior to this thrown-together piece of trash.

• Ken S

  
  So campy...can you read my mind? Richard Lester is a tool...

• Lenny M

  
  I liked it better than the first, great villains.

• Jason S

  
  The series starts to get a little weak from here though there are strong elements in this movie. Superman is finally given people that he can go toe to toe with in the form of General Zod and his lackeys. The fight at the end is good but it would be great to see it done with todays… More
  The series starts to get a little weak from here though there are strong elements in this movie. Superman is finally given people that he can go toe to toe with in the form of General Zod and his lackeys. The fight at the end is good but it would be great to see it done with todays tech and if we let them just go all out instead of each character taking turns and using one super power at a time. The ending leaves us with something to be desired but in the end it was still a good movie but with the flaws that come with changing directors mid shoot.

• Lady D

  
  Much more action than the first and it was quite funny to the see the tree bad guys again, as a child they used to scare me (well I was only 5 at the time) Gene Hackman was great again as Lex Luthor. VERDICT: A fun nostalgic viewing

• Curtis L

  
  Eh.

• Lafe F

  
  Superman II offers more comic book action and less character-building than the original film. I actually liked Superman II because the plot kept moving along; rarely was I bored. Christopher Reeve reprises the role of Superman, and finds himself battling three super-criminals who… More
  Superman II offers more comic book action and less character-building than the original film. I actually liked Superman II because the plot kept moving along; rarely was I bored. Christopher Reeve reprises the role of Superman, and finds himself battling three super-criminals who escaped from his destroyed home world of Krypton. It's a massive showdown in various prominent locales like the surface of the Earth's moon, smalltown USA, Washington D.C., downtown Metropolis and Superman's crystalline Fortress of Solitude. In the midst of the crisis Superman shares a new relationship with Lois Lane (Margot Kidder), and must make an important choice. It's funny how the opening credits show such a long re-cap of the first Superman movie. I loved the super-badness of the three villains. They are assisted by Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman). There are lots of memorable scenes in this movie; it is considered a classic from our childhood.

• Flutie A

  
  One of the best of the older ones, but check out the Richard Donner Cut, because it gets rid of a lot of the crappy stuff Lester put in. You won't regret it...This one still holds up well too.

• Jose Z

  
  it is good but not as the first one, the story didn't convince me at all, but still interesting. Again the cast is good with Reeve and Hackman repeating as Superman and Lex Luthor respectively

• James A

  
  Cheesy and filled with flaws, yet its one of my favorites.

Read all 20 featured audience ratings