“
Superman II,”
Richard Donner’s Cut on DVD.
I’ve always liked this one, perhaps better than the first film, for its rampant action and mass destruction, and for the direction of the characters.
But holy crap, they changed so much in this cut, it’s a whole new movie!
Cuts like these interest me a lot; the added/altered effects, re-edited scenes, and new scenes really challenged my memory; I had to pop in the theatrical cut and make a quick comparison. In general, I like the new cut; it really trims the fat off of the story and gets straight to the point. In a way, it’s a little more entertaining this way. There’s also a huge number of artistic choices that probably enhance the film overall; I really admire:
- Whole new beginning; an extended prologue and recap, followed by an awesome opening credits sequence.
- Lois figuring out Superman’s secret identity all on her own, very early in the film in fact, good for her! This added scene is pretty decently-done, and replaces a lot of scenes that were in the theatrical cut.
- Replacing all of the scenes in the Fortress of Solitude. The fortress itself looks slicker. And they brought back Marlon Brando, yay!!
- Going hand-in-hand with that, they showed more about how Superman got his groove back; the whole father and son theme is a great improvement.
- I think they added in more fighting in Metropolis.
- Once again,
[Show spoiler]they employed the great time-reversing technique. WTF?!! This time around, I think it looks really slick, perhaps better than in the first film, and it’s a more effective way of having Lois forget about Superman’s secret identity. I’m just not sure if it really fits with the story
.
- And finally,
[Show spoiler]Superman destroys the Fortress of Solitude. A bit of a wild turn of events, but it effectively shows how he moves on
.
The only bad things about these changes are that a number of scenes were omitted; I was really sad to see all of these parts removed:
- Zod’s initial crime.
- The whole subplot in Paris; I always thought it was cool.
- Superman returning to Clark Kent after saving the kid from Niagra Falls.
- Lois falling into the river.
- Superman getting his hand caught in the fireplace.
- Superman returning the American flag to the White House at the end.
- A lot of the scenes involving the big guy Non; I guess they were too silly for Richard Donner’s tastes…
I also feel that the altered cut is a little uneven; I think it’s because a number of transitioning shots were removed, so the movie seems to jump from one place to the next.
Aside from all that, the film is still really swell (if not a bit dated), Zod and his gang are awesome villains, the acting/writing are great, the story is pretty good…pretty darn fun overall.
4.5/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 4/5, film: 4.5/5)
Comparatively, I grade the
Theatrical Cut:
4/5 (entertainment: 4.5/5, story: 3.5/5, film: 4/5)
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. It was really interesting, and very cool. It's so different, and just goes to show that Nolan is still one of, if not the greatest Director in Hollywood, at least in my opinion. Guy Pearce was excellent as Leonard, and it may be one of his best performances. Joe Pantoliano and Carrie-Anne Moss were both good in their supporting roles as well.
I liked enough to buy it. It's just so darn real, like you said.
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