UNCUT - Superman 2 (1980) (Theatrical)
Added 2025-01-18 23:45:24 +0000 UTCContinuing our series watching Superman films leading to Superman (2025) this July. Starting with this reaction these will be edited for YouTube as well.
Because of the movie audio, the reaction is blocked on YouTube. Apologies. We have an earbud solution again and there will only be a couple more reactions with this issue.
Comments
I know I am going to buy superman 3 now as well. I should have just bought the box set
Patrick Smith
2025-02-05 18:17:25 +0000 UTCYeah, that's what I finally decided to do so I could watch today. I have mixed feelings lol but it was still nostalgic to see it again for the first time in a long time, and of course to see how A&J react to it.
Forbidden Donut
2025-02-05 18:15:40 +0000 UTCWhile it's generally good to be comic book accurate when making a superhero movie, I think this is one good example of how sometimes doing so can just be doubling down on an original bad idea IMO.
Forbidden Donut
2025-02-05 18:13:32 +0000 UTCLoved this movie as a very young kid. I'm not sure when I last saw it, but it had been quite a long time. I didn't think it was very great this time around, although it was nostalgic and had many good moments. I agree it's messy and has too much humor / not enough 'grounded' moments. Plus, Superman's powers are apparently whatever the hell they want them to be, which I wish would be more consistent as well. I also love the Reeve, Kidder, and Hackman.
Forbidden Donut
2025-02-05 18:01:33 +0000 UTCThe movie is a bit of a mess, but it's a damn fun mess. Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman, and Terrence Stamp really make up for script deficiencies, changes in tone, and some cringe comedy moments with the strength and charisma of their performances. Is this a great movie? Nah, but it's an entertaining one that's more good than bad IMO.
Paul O'Neal
2025-01-26 09:03:22 +0000 UTCFrom the beginning, Gene Hackman was playing Lex Luthor as a Batman '66 villain. That's not a complaint, but it is a fact. Oddly enough, it works.
Owen Madden
2025-01-24 20:24:33 +0000 UTC*Reeve. You can see that he is actually bigger in 2 than in 1 and sometimes his physique fluctuates between scenes in this take of Superman 2.
Column Meanie
2025-01-20 00:53:08 +0000 UTCI don't think he gives his name in Superman 2. Therefore, I wish to throw logic out the window and say it's him.
startrekiborg
2025-01-19 22:24:32 +0000 UTCLouisiana Sheriff J.W. Pepper (Clinton James) appeared at first in Roger Moore's first Bond movie 'Live and Let Die' (1973). Although he plays similiar Sheriff characters in 'Silver Streak' (1976) and 'Superman II' (1980) these are NOT J.W. Pepper.
Sam Langanke
2025-01-19 22:20:50 +0000 UTCIf they wanted to replicate that tone they shouldn’t have hired Donner in the first place, and yet they did
Matthew McKinnon-Gray
2025-01-19 19:34:40 +0000 UTCThis. Its almost entirely a different film, and the only definitive version of this film to me.
The Ninth Doctor
2025-01-19 19:26:10 +0000 UTCBrando's sole reason for not appearing in Superman 2 was money. He expected a % of the box office receipts which he did not receive, so the Salkinds had to settle with him but after that, they were not going to work with Brando again.
Collin Freeman
2025-01-19 19:24:30 +0000 UTCI’m curious as to why they didn’t give him a name
tyranusfan
2025-01-19 18:59:58 +0000 UTCReeves managed to keep his physique for the the most part for the reshoots, but I think he had to wear a hairpiece to match his hair in this because he had just come off of filming Somewhere in Time.
Collin Freeman
2025-01-19 18:56:07 +0000 UTCWhat I found interesting is that E.G. Marshall seemed to resemble Ronald Reagan, who was elected president in 1980, well before those scenes would have been shot. He sure didn't resemble Jimmy Carter.
Collin Freeman
2025-01-19 18:45:13 +0000 UTCIf the Salkinds wanted to replace that tone, they shouldn't have put Richard Lester in as the replacement director.
Collin Freeman
2025-01-19 18:42:58 +0000 UTCEarbuds make a lot of sense because it stops us from saying “you missed the most important dialogue when you were talking (ie reacting)!” You have an out and can say you heard it anyway.
Paul Hess
2025-01-19 13:23:28 +0000 UTCThis isn't a movie for serious analysis but it is a lot of fun and very rewatchable. That's more than I can say for the Henry Cavill films, the Brandon Routh film, or half of the MCU films.
Ken R
2025-01-19 11:15:02 +0000 UTCWhen Clark was lying on the floor in the diner saying "oh God", it takes me back to the first day getting up to go to work after turning 30. I do agree the humor can be quite forced a lot of the time. The underlying story is good if flawed, but it can get goofy at times. Always have to laugh at the one guy going "I know some judo" after they "killed" Superman. Like these guys can fly, shoot lasers out of their eyes, lift thousands of tons, and are bulletproof, and you think judo is gonna do shit? "What bravery" as Zod would say. I will say, there is 1 scene in the Donner cut I'm especially looking forward to just for the (unintentional) comedy factor.
Timothy Nikiforovs
2025-01-19 11:01:48 +0000 UTCThe reason for the goofier tone was that the 1966 Batman was the template for live action superheroes. The producers wanted to replicate that tone, Donner didn’t, which is part of the reason for the falling out. Thanks for the great reaction. If you have extra time I’d recommend the animated film “Superman vs the Elite.” A Smallville reaction would also be really cool.
Matthew McKinnon-Gray
2025-01-19 06:34:24 +0000 UTCI'd almost forgotten how much product placement there is in the big fight. Still a fun movie.
KatWithAttitude
2025-01-19 06:31:07 +0000 UTCIf you think the tone is all over the place, it is because some of this is still directed by Donner, the tilting toward comedy stuff is directed by Lester. And they had him direct enough of the movie so that they would not need to credit Donner at all.
Mike Rogers
2025-01-19 06:08:01 +0000 UTCAnd if he was not fired the ending of the first movie would have been different.
Mike Rogers
2025-01-19 06:06:44 +0000 UTCJust one thing about the phantom zone and the nuclear blast. I'm pretty sure, there's a scene where the phantom zone prism was caught in the trail of Kal-El's ship and that they've been floating in the solar system since he landed. Secondly, the best depiction of Lois and Clark's relationship with the most resemblance to the first two films is Superman and Lois tv series. The actress is channeling Margot Kidder.
Linda Thackeray
2025-01-19 05:59:41 +0000 UTCThe Donner cut is the better version overall (without spoiling it it literally does what you asked for afterward in some places) but yeah...The ending. Plus there are some better line readings and cuts here and there. I dunno. It's a toss up for me. I agree with James H, a hybrid would be the best version. But sadly due to the firing a good ending was never to be.
Karl Dutton
2025-01-19 05:49:04 +0000 UTCIt's definitely not the same actor, but I thought E.G. Marshall as the President sounded and talked a lot like the chancellor from TNG's First Contact from last season.
tyranusfan
2025-01-19 05:02:08 +0000 UTCDonner filmed all of the moon sequences, the attack on the White House, both diner scenes, and every scene that had Gene Hackman. Btw Rocky (the diner bully) was a professional wrestler. Everything else was filmed by Lester and also a year or so later. In both the Daily Planet and the climax in the Fortress of Solitude you can tell when it switches from Donner to Lester (and back again) because Marc McClure and Margot Kidder’s hair changes repeatedly (and Kidder’s weight changes…she lost a lot of weight during the Lester shoot) Trying not to spoil the Donner cut but I can tell you that the entire Eiffel Tower opening was not in the original script.
Column Meanie
2025-01-19 04:34:51 +0000 UTCMarlon Brando and John Williams were cut from the film to cut budget. Gene Hackman refused to do additional scenes over the Donner firing.
Jonathan
2025-01-19 03:00:33 +0000 UTC"Kneel before Zod!" I like 2 more than 1. I have never seen the Donner cut, though I have to admit I am not a Richard Lester fan.
Collin Freeman
2025-01-19 02:58:35 +0000 UTCWatching this as a kid the goofiness was fun, watching it now it’s stupid. They did a decent job cutting what is almost two separate movies together. I like the Donner cut plan more. The President in this was one of the 12 Angry Men.
Jonathan
2025-01-19 02:55:11 +0000 UTCThe sheriff is also in the James Bond film "The Man With The Golden Gun", same actor and manorism. So, James Bond and Superman is in the same universe.
startrekiborg
2025-01-19 02:46:46 +0000 UTCI thought the power to erase memory was a dumb addition, but I later found out that it's actually comic book accurate.
startrekiborg
2025-01-19 02:19:38 +0000 UTCThey didn’t film Sup 1 and 2 back to back. They filmed them simultaneously. The studio forced the crew to finish 1 and so they did and then Donner was fired prior to the resumed production of 2.
Column Meanie
2025-01-19 02:12:38 +0000 UTCThe Donner Cut was made with what they had. It’s not what the film would’ve looked like had Donner not been fired.
Column Meanie
2025-01-19 02:09:17 +0000 UTCEven when I first saw it, I thought it had too much slapstick jokes. As a New Yorker, I always thought we would be stupid enough to stand and watch. Until 9/11. And you're not alone Alex. I had the hots for Ursa too.
startrekiborg
2025-01-19 02:07:20 +0000 UTCSuperman, as a concept, has always seemed clear to me. I’m Jewish and the two creators of Superman were Jewish. The fumbling seems like the experience of someone who is not deemed to be a jock or fit in with society. Lois wouldn’t see him as romantic material because he’s not the American man that women prefer. Secretly, he, like many men and children of immigrants, has wonderful abilities.
Geoffrey Linehan
2025-01-19 01:51:43 +0000 UTCJames H cut reaction???
Josh (Target Audience)
2025-01-19 01:22:13 +0000 UTCThe Donner cut is good, but it has its own serious deficiencies. Eventually I made a personal edit of the film using both versions.
James H
2025-01-19 01:15:39 +0000 UTCThat guy from Cheers was in the first one.
startrekiborg
2025-01-19 00:44:16 +0000 UTCSo much cringe in this movie. East Houston stuff is just embarrassing. Niagara Falls stuff is full of cliches. Best stuff is everything shot by Donner.
Column Meanie
2025-01-19 00:22:22 +0000 UTCI've been waiting for this.
startrekiborg
2025-01-19 00:11:12 +0000 UTCYay, can’t wait to watch this. After Superman 3, please don’t forget about 1984’s Supergirl... it’s very much part of the same universe as these films - and should make for a really fun reaction. 🙏
Matt Everkoul
2025-01-19 00:02:58 +0000 UTCRichard Donner cut of S2 coming - I can't wait!!!
The Ninth Doctor
2025-01-19 00:01:34 +0000 UTCNow I have to buy a copy of superman 2
Patrick Smith
2025-01-18 23:47:06 +0000 UTC
