Superman 2 (1980)

	Also Known As: -
	Year of first release: 1980
	Director: Richard Lester, Richard Donner (Lethal Weapon 1-4)
	Actors: Gene Hackman (Enemy of the State), Christopher Reeve (Superman), Margot Kidder
	Country: USA, GB, CDN
	Genre: Fantasy, Adventure
	Conditions of visioning: 17.09.2020, VOD, 10" tablet screen.

Synopsis: Superman (Reeve) decides to sacrifice his powers to start a relationship with Lois Lane (Kidder), unaware that three Kryptonian criminals he inadvertently released are conquering Earth. Review: The relationship between Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman in this movie is even more confusing than in the first Superman, and this confusion hurts even more that their relationship is at the heart of the story. It looks like she is engaged with Kent while both know she is in love with Superman, but you have to know comic books to guess that, or have seen several seasons of the TV-series Lois and Clark which had more time and took it to slowly develop their story before and after she discovers the secret. When I think of it, and after watching the poorly aged 80's movies, the series might have been the best Superman thing until Superman Returns (arguable) and the recent Zack Snyder reboot Man of Steel. Note that I watched the so-called "Richard Donner cut" of this movie so this review is only valid for it. It is apparently quite different from the theatrical cut so one should watch both go get a better idea of their respective qualities. This one was re-edited based on incomplete material which may explain some ellipses. But on the other hand it spends an exaggerated amount of time following discussions of a not very sexy couple, while during this time the three Kryptonians wreck havoc on Earth. This makes me think to mention that Man of Steel is in fact a remade mix of the original Superman 1 and 2, minus Lex Luthor who comes in only later. Talking about recent Superman adventures, the current big fuss about a Snyder Cut to Justice League highlights a recurring pattern in DC-adapted movies in the past 40 years. They still don't know what they are doing with their material and cinema adaptations. It is interesting that as in Sam Raimi's Spiderman 2, here also the hero doesn't want to be one anymore in the second movie already. The motivation is even similar but more far fetched. I was expecting an increase in quality with respect to the first movie but in fact the special effects are as bad, and the physics make even less sense. Lex Luthor is along for the ride but doesn't bring much. One of the worst things in the movie, apart from the bad love story, are the opening and closing scenes, apparently specific to the Donner cut, in which Superman respectively is responsible for the release of the bad guys, and uses the same cheap trick as at the end of the first movie to revert his actions. This was really unnecessary.   Rating: 3 /10