Superman II 4K 1980 Ultra HD 2160p

Story Movie

Three Kryptonian villains arrive on Earth. They have the same powers as Superman and are going to destroy humanity. Superman will have to fight the ruthless enemies and meet love.

Review 4K Movie

Richard Donner's Superman... I should have remembered that picture. A great movie about a great superhero should have gotten the fame it deserved... and it did! The sequel was just a matter of time.

And now, it came out 2 years after the original film. It's interesting - what has this picture gained and what has it lost in comparison with its predecessor?

As we recall, at the beginning of the first installment, Superman's father Jor-El captured the three rebels, convicted them and sent them to a long resort in the Phantom Zone (a space prison for particularly dangerous criminals). But a boomerang comes back-so General Zod, Non and Ursa are back to get even with Jor-El, the son of their jailer, Superman.

Their return isn't very clever though - evil and horrible terrorists bomb the Eiffel Tower, Superman throws an elevator bomb into space, a blast wave frees the dark trio. Pretty ridiculous, you must agree - especially considering that sound waves (as well as any other waves) do not propagate in space, because there is a vacuum. So minus for that - it could have been handled differently.

Then, General Zod and his brethren, having cheated with the astronauts on the moon, arrive on Earth in search of Superman. In fact, this is where it all begins.

In fact, I noticed this movie has a lower rating than the first part. No, as an ardent Superman fan I could growl something like 'you're all idiots, you just don't get it', but I'm a balanced man and so I admit there are flaws in the film.

Aside from the aforementioned beginning, I was confused by Lex Luthor's prison escape - it was too easy for him. And then he takes a couple of days to get to Antarctica in a balloon, which also looks a little strange (and also - how is he not freezing to fly in a prison jumpsuit?).

The sequel also narrowed the scope of the action, with the first film having Superman running around the East Coast chasing missiles, stopping a levee breach and saving people on a bridge, while the second film reduced the action to fighting Zod, Noon and Ursa. But you have to admit that those scenes are impressive, too. I should note that they are not the only things that keep the film going - the actors did a decent job. Christopher Reeve, I repeat, is REAL as Superman/Clark Kent. Brandon Routh from 'Superman Returns' isn't even close. And comparing Reeve to Tom Welling from 'Smallville Mysteries' is somehow wrong, since Welling played Clark there as a young man.

Who else? Margo Kidder and Gene Hackman are still as brilliant as they were in the first film. Terrence Stamp - he played Zod perfectly - a real tyrant, a despot, a conqueror. Sarah Douglas (Ursa) and Jack O'Halloran (Non) did not stand out, but they did not lose face either - Douglas was an excellent space witch, and O'Halloran played a dull and dumb, but vicious boogeyman.