Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut - What Could Have Been
Written: Dec 17 '07 (Updated Jul 27 '09)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Certain things were handled better. More explanations.
Cons: There were a few inconsistencies. Reused ending from first movie.
The Bottom Line: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is finally available for fans to see Donner's vision of the story. Superman fans should watch it at least once.
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| dragonfire88's Full Review: Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut |
I was unaware of certain things that happened while Superman: The Movie and Superman II were being made until 2006. That was when I learned that Richard Donner had been filming scenes for both movies at the same time and had most of the second movie finished when it was decided he should focus just on finishing the first movie. The first movie was released and then the producers fired Donner and replaced him with Richard Lester to finish the second movie. After years of speculation, it was confirmed that there was enough footage for Donner to assemble his version of the movie. In the fall of 2006, Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was finally released.
The plot still revolved around General Zod, Ursa and Non being freed from the phantom zone and deciding to take control of Earth. Donner really intended for the first and second movies to tell one long story instead of two different stories. There was a short recap of what had happened in the first movie. The movie did start off showing how the three criminals were imprisoned in the phantom zone, this time with Jor-El being shown again like he was in the first movie. Jor-El was completely removed from Lester’s version. It was also shown how when Superman threw one of the missiles that Lex Luthor launched, it went into space and freed the criminals from the phantom zone. Everything with the terrorists in Paris was created by Lester for his version.
Lois was suspicious that Clark was Superman and did something very dangerous at The Daily Planet to try to prove her theory. The truth eventually came out in a different way that I think worked so much better than the clumsy way it happened in Lester’s version. Donner had to combine footage from screen tests for the scene, but even with the somewhat choppy look of the scene, it still worked wonderfully with the way Lois outsmarted Clark/Superman. Even in that early test footage, there was a definite connection and chemistry between the characters. Their relationship progressed the same with a few things done in a slightly different order.
One thing that never made sense to me in Superman II was just how Superman got his powers back. He was shown returning to the fortress of solitude and then he turned up back in Metropolis to face General Zod, Ursa, and Non. I was very happy that this version provided that explanation. I felt it worked very well and made the movie flow so much better. I also really liked how it incorporated Jor-El, continuing the importance of relationships between fathers and sons that started in the first movie. That importance was also carried into the newest Superman movie, Superman Returns.
In Lester’s version, General Zod, Ursa, and Non weren’t as threatening as they could have been. They were supposed to be so focused on taking over the world, but then they were taking time for Ursa to arm wrestle some guy in a bar. That did see kind of odd and out of place. Lester kept trying to add in humor that just didn’t work, like how Non was made to struggle with his power and act like he was so desperate to please General Zod, almost like a puppy craving attention. Those things did detract a bit from how bad the villains were. I think Donner handled them better. It did seem like there was a bit more action in this version. It was actually shown when General Zod, Ursa, and Non attacked the White House and all the damage they did on their way to the oval office instead of just showing a little bit of the damage after and hearing a character mention it.
The ending that Donner was originally planning for the second movie ended up being used for the first one instead. When the decision was made to stop work on the second movie to get the first one finished up for release, Donner went along with the executives that wanted to use the ending of turning the world back for the first movie. Donner had planned to figure out something different for the second movie but he didn’t get the chance since the producers fired him. Lester came up with the amnesia causing kiss. When he had the chance to put together his version of the movie, Donner decided to go with the footage he’d originally shot for the ending of the second movie instead of using the kiss Lester came up with. I don’t doubt that Donner would have figured out a stronger ending if he had been able to finish the movie originally.
Overall, I thought that Donner and editor Michael Thau put together a good movie with what they had to work with. They were able to find the footage that Donner had originally shot to use for the movie. There were some scenes that Donner hadn’t filmed before he was fired, so he did have to use some footage that Lester used for everything to connect together properly. The editing didn’t always look as clean because of how the movie had to be put together. That didn’t bother me at all, though I have read where other people were bothered by that.
I do think that Donner’s version, even with the issues it had from being put together the way it was, was the better version because the story felt more complete and flowed better. In several cases, there were only small changes, but those changes made a big impact. I don’t hate Lester’s version. I just don’t think the way he handled the material worked as well. He went too campy at times and it didn’t work that well. Donner’s version would have been even better if he had been able to finish the movie originally. I do think that the firing of Donner started the downward spiral in quality with the Superman movies that ultimately led to Superman IV: The Quest for Peace.
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut still gave a decent amount of attention to the changing relationship between Lois and Clark/Superman. I did think that certain aspects of their relationship worked better in this version. They did still attempt to have a more personal relationship once Lois figured out the truth, so people who weren’t happy with that development in the theatrical version won’t be any happier with this version. Things with their relationship basically progressed the same way in both versions, with a few things happening in a slightly different order.
This version of the movie contained the mostly the same characters and there weren’t too many changes to them. Clark was still struggling with certain things, especially later in the movie. Donner didn’t have Clark as clumsy as Lester did in his version of the movie. I think Donner’s way of handling Clark was better. Lois remained dedicated to her career and was convinced that Clark was really Superman. I think she came off smarter in this version, especially with how she outsmarted Clark to finally get the truth. Jimmy Olsen and Perry White were basically the same as they had been in the theatrical version of the movie.
Lex Luthor, Otis, and Eve Teschmacher turned up a few times. I think Lex and Eve showed up a few more times than they had in the theatrical version. I think that General Zod, Non, and Ursa seemed more intimidating in this version. There were just small differences here and there to their scenes that did make them more believable villains. Non didn’t seem to be as dense in this version, which I think worked better for the character. Jor-El, who had been completely removed from the theatrical version, was back in some short segments. I think it worked much better to have Jor-El in the movie.
Main Cast
Ned Beatty - Otis
Marlon Brando - Jor-El
Jackie Cooper - Perry White
Sarah Douglas - Ursa
Gene Hackman - Lex Luthor
Margot Kidder - Lois Lane
Marc McClure - Jimmy Olsen
E.G. Marshall - The President
Jack O’Halloran - Non
Valerie Perrine - Eve Teschmacher
Christopher Reeve - Clark Kent/Superman
Terrence Stamp - General Zod
Richard Donner - Director
DVD Information
Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut was released on DVD late in 2006. The movie was released alone and as part of the Ultimate Collector’s Edition DVD set. I have the DVD set. The set has all five of the Superman movies, an extended version of the first movie the Richard Donner version of Superman II, and hours of extras on fourteen discs. Richard Donner did a commentary for this movie and there were a couple of deleted scenes and that was it for extras specifically connected to this version of Superman II. I would have liked it if there had been some sort of documentary on how Donner went about piecing his version of the movie together more than twenty years later.
I really enjoyed Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut. I feel it is the better version of the second movie even though it isn’t perfect and has a few issues. The story just flowed and worked better overall and included some important information that was missing from the theatrical version of the movie. All fans of Superman should watch this version of the movie.
Superman Reviews
Lois & Clark: The Complete First Season ~ Lois & Clark: The Complete Second Season ~ Lois & Clark: The Complete Third Season ~ Lois & Clark: The Complete Fourth Season ~ Look, Up in the Sky! The Amazing Story of Superman ~ Superman: The Movie ~ Superman II ~ Superman III ~ Superman IV: The Quest for Peace ~ Superman Returns ~ Superman Doomsday ~ Superman and the Mole Men ~ Superman: The Ultimate Guide to the Man of Steel ~
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The Amazing Spider-Man: The Ultimate Guide ~ Batman ~ Batman Returns ~ Batman Forever ~ Batman & Robin ~ Batman Begins ~ Batman: The Ultimate Guide to The Dark Knight ~ Catwoman ~ Daredevil ~ Elektra ~ Fantastic Four ~ Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer ~ Fantastic Four: The Ultimate Guide ~ Flash Gordon ~ Ghost Rider ~ Ghost Rider Visual Guide Hellboy ~ A History of Violence ~ Howard the Duck ~ The Incredibles ~ Judge Dredd ~ The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen ~ The Legend of Zorro ~ The Mask of Zorro ~ Men in Black ~ Men in Black II ~ Mystery Men ~ My Super Ex-Girlfriend ~ The Punisher (1989) ~ Sky High ~ Spider-Man ~ Spider-Man 2 ~ Spider-Man 3 ~ Stardust ~ Transformers ~ Underdog ~ X-Men ~ X2: X-Men United ~ X-Men: The Last Stand ~ X-Men: The Legend of Wolverine ~ Ultimate X-Men ~ V for Vendetta ~ Zoom ~
Recommended:
Yes
Viewing Format: DVD
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