Dark Souls II Review (Revisited)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, so I figured I would do another revisited post on one of my previous reviews and this will be a revisit of my Dark Souls II review, the RPG action sequel to the acclaimed original. 

So, I will do the usual expanding on sections of the review and my thoughts on the game since my previous review. Now, Dark Souls II is a very divisive game in the Souls series as there are as many fans that love as it as they do hate it. 

So, after this time, what do I think of it? Let's take another look!

And I will quickly mention a little about the story but not too much, so I won't bother with a spoilers warning as such.

STORY 

So, the story is fairly similar to the original Dark Souls, where the playable character is a human who is undead and cursed to never die and eventually become hollow, a zombie like being with no memories or purpose. So, in order to break the curse, the undead travels to the kingdom of Drangleic and is tasked by the Emerald Herald to obtain four Great Souls from powerful Old Ones whose names are forgotten and forbidden. 

And its from here that the chosen undead starts their long and incredibly dangerous journey in their battle to claim the four Great Souls to end the undead curse.

THOUGHTS

As a sequel to the original, Dark Souls II had alot to live up to but thankfully the game makers, Fromsoftware were more than up to the task this time round as DSII while it doesn't quite scale the heights of the original, its still an excellent, entertaining and gripping sequel with plenty of new features and enemies to deal with.  

The game itself also sees many different changes over the original but it does still follow pretty much the same forumla but it definitely has its own look and unique feel all the same. The game also appears to rack up the difficulty level from the original as it is filled with more bosses and even more enemies! 

It is however worth mentioning that it is available in two editions, the vanilla original Dark Souls II and the remastered updated version, Scholar of the First Sin, which features plenty more content some of which very contentious among fans of the series as there are so many more enemies and NPC invaders!

The game was also made by a different team at Fromsoft this time around as the Souls creator, Hidetaka Miyazaki was working on Bloodborne at the time, so he was not available to direct the game (even though he was given supervisor credit). And this does of course account for the change in tone from the other Souls games with much different lore and references to its predecessor and even in its successor. 

GAMEPLAY BASICS
 
As for the gameplay it follows pretty much the same patterns of the original Dark Souls with the third person perspective approach and similar move set such as running, jumping, walking the usual stuff however there are one or two changes still in terms of the controls than before. However one addition to the game is that there are certain areas where the character can use rope zip lines to traverse between different high up areas. 

The player's HUD is similar also with their health bar and endurance bar on the top left although the inventory has been given a bit of an overhaul with items positioned in a more boxed grid, which makes selecting items a bit easier. Then there is the stats screen that shows attributes such as your strength, endurance, vigor (which has replaced vitality to upgrade your health points, or HP) and what level your character is at. This is also where you can level up these stats, which now has to be done through one of non-playable characters (NPC) in the game, Emerald Herald, who is based at the central hub of the game, Majula.

In Majula, the character can come back to rest and upgrade their stats, equipment via the local blacksmith (Lenigrast) and deal with other merchants. It also leads off to other nearby areas, which again shows how the game is quite well connected similarly to the original Dark Souls.   

The player can also make the choice of character like before and select the character's gender, build and class of character e.g. warrior, knight, sorcerer, cleric or pyromancer and similar to the first game each character has their own different characteristics but more on that soon.

HEALTH AND WEAPONS RISKS

Dark Souls II also sees it set the difficulty level a bit higher when it comes to your player's weapons and health this time round because weapons can break much easier than in the previous game where most weapons didn't break at all! Your weapons however can be repaired by one of the blacksmiths in the game or if your weapon is almost broken you can return to the bonfire and it will automatically restore your weapon for you. 

Also if the player dies then their health bar will reduce a little each time they do, which can be reverse but only if the player uses certain items in the game. The player again though can replenish their health by drinking Estus flasks (same as the other Souls games) and additionally they can use a new item called life gems to do the same, which they can do when you are on the move.

HOLLOW VS HUMAN 
 
In terms of the hollowing and humanity process, things are also a little different this time because when you go hollow, as I said above you will lose a little of your health every time you die, however the game uses a new item called a human effigy to restore your player's humanity. The advantage here is that when your player's humanity is restored you can completely restore their health bar but you need to be wary that the process will repeat of them losing their health bar fractionally when they die and become hollow.  However there are also other items in the game that can reduce the amount of health you lose.

RINGS

This brings me onto the rings in the game, which feature a large variety that are spread throughout the game that can be bought via merchants or discovered in wooden boxes or treasure chests during their travels. The rings will have various abilities such as increasing your stamina, your life bar, defenses and resistances to certain things and later on enhanced versions of these rings can be found also that are +1, +2 and +3 in strength. Another improvement in the game sees the player now being able to use four rings at once rather than just the two in the original game, however the rings can also be broken during combat. 

TORCHES

A new addition to the game this time is the use of torches, which come in hand frequently as there are a number of dark or dimly lit areas to be found here. The player can either light their torch at a bonfire or light it from one another flamed source and it can also act as a key gameplay mechanic when fighting certain bosses. You do however need to find a fire source to relight your torch, so you can't equip it and un-equip it at will but the more torches you pick up it will increase the torch time you can keep them lit. 

WEAPONS

Not surprisingly in the game there is a huge selection of weapons to choose from which can be picked up either from the fallen dead or enemies or can be purchased from merchants and blacksmiths.

So, the game features all sorts of melee weapons such as swords, knives, maces, axes, spears, bows and crossbows that can be upgraded throughout the game by blacksmiths who enhance them with the use of different materials. The materials used are the same as in DS1, which are titanite shards, chunks, slabs and specific types of stone that create various effects such as magic, fire or lightning or just increase the overall power of the weapons attacks. There is also a big selection of shields that the player can access that range in all different sizes from small, medium to large shields (or great shields as they are known).

There are also other weapons in the game such as firebombs, which you can toss at enemies from a short distance that will explode on impact, throwing knives, which can be well...thrown at enemies! One thing about the throwing knives is that you can purchase ones that are covered with poision that can kill enemies quicker. In fact this reminds me that poison has a more potent effect this time round in the game as you die quicker if you are poisoned but it can be cured through poison moss. 

As for sorcerers they will have access to their own abilities that involve using a staff (or catalyst) to unleash their magic attacks and pyromancers can use a flame to launch their fire attacks and all of these attacks have various effects. Miracles on the other hand are cast using chimes and these can also be upgraded up to +10 to increase their power (just like the staffs) and effect of the miracles. 

GAME STATS, MELEE, MAGIC, PYROMANCY & FAITH 

Moving onto the game stats, this is where the game's depth really come into play as this is where it really depends on your choice of character and what characteristics they have and again things are very similar here in Dark Souls II. And as an example a melee character, who wields powerful swords and shields will upgrade their strength, endurance and their vigor (which is a new stat, which essentially increases your health bar) and adaptability (helps to maintain their poise in combat situations) to improve their performance throughout the game.

However when it comes to other characters such as a sorcerer, you may depend less on strength and endurance and more on intelligence and attunement where intelligence is used to cast spells and attunement to gain more slots to use different spells at once. As for pyromancy, intelligence wouldn't be a factor to use this but they use attunement that will improve their ability to cast faster. Clerics can probably have similar stats to melee characters with the exception of their key stat which is Faith that is used to cast their spells, which are known in the game as "miracles".

So basically in the game the stats remain much the same with the exception of two new stats of vigor (raises your health bar) and adaptability (increases your poise ability in combat i.e. so you won't stagger when attacked as well as your agility in combat). Vitality however undergoes the main change here in the game, which no longer governs the player's health but more their equipment load and defense.    

COMBAT

The combat system again is pretty similar to the original game where the player takes on enemies either in free flow or they can lock on to a single enemy.  The combat mechanics feature similar attacks such as the typical forward combo attacks but you can also parry your enemies (involves shield bashing them as they are about to strike and counter-attacking them). The backstab however that featured in the original game is now replaced with a critical attack but you can still backstab with certain weapons such as spears. You also have the option to perform a strong attack that inflicts more damage on enemies and there is options for a running attack, which has a similar potent effect.  

As for sorcery and pyromancy the attacks are very similar to the first Dark Souls only the casting speed for sorcerers is much faster than before although pyromancy appears to have only moderately been improved (I think!). You can also upgrade your casting speed via your stats as you progress with your intelligence and attunement but there are also rings that you can acquire than shorten the casting time. The same should go for pyromancers here I think but having not played as a pyro character yet I'm not sure of this myself nor of the clerics abilities in this regard as I haven't played as those characters myself.  

ENEMIES, BOSSES AND NPC's

This time round the game features a lot more enemies per area, which can range from the weaker enemies up to stronger ones. Of course a lot of the enemies that featured in the original reappear here such as hollows in various forms, skeletons, rats, mimics (the creatures that disguise themselves as a treasure chest) basilisks (the big frog-like creatures that can "curse" you with their gas). However there are of course plenty of new enemies that range from the weakest type such as infantry hollow soldiers to armoured knights (the dreaded Alonne knights!) but there are a vast array of enemies here for sure that will not leave stuck for a challenge as they can become very challenging as the game progresses! 

The game also features a much larger selection of bosses than in the previous game where this time round there are 41 bosses in total (which includes the bosses from the DLC content for the game). This is way more than any other Souls game and the bosses are in different forms such as giants, knights, sentinels, dragons, hybrid creatures and of course demons!  

Again the bosses vary in difficulty with some of them being quite easy whereas others are infuriatingly difficult but hey it is of course Dark Souls, so you have to expect that.  There are very few bosses however that can regenerate their health in the game (with the exception of the DLC boss, the Fume Knight, often considered the hardest in the game!).

Then we have the NPCs in the game who you can either interact with for trading and selling items or in the case of Emerald Herald, upgrade your stats with. There are other NPCs that you can also summon to help you fight in most boss fights (but not always!) who often prove very useful in battle and at times you can summon two of them for one fight but you need to be in human form before you can do this. However there also other NPCs that are enemies and invade you throughout the game, who are after your souls or humanity. In the first Souls game you were only invaded when you were in human form but here they can invade you in either a hollow or human state.

GRAPHICS

As for the graphics, well the original version of Dark Souls II was released in 2014 but it was given a remastered update in 2015 when they released Scholar of the First Sin, which featured revamped graphics, some additional enemies and also all the DLC content. As for the graphics, going by the Scholar version, they look terrific and the game's environments look stunning and rich with detail. 

The character models also look pretty good albeit there are more sophisticated looking ones by today's standards and the character's mouths don't appear to move when they talk! But overall the graphics for the game are very impressive and Scholar of the First Sin saw a big upgrade in Dark Souls II's visuals from their original release. 

MUSIC

As for the music, well its another fine score, which is again composed by Motoi Sakuraba with contributions by Yuka Kitmura and its filled with some great passages of music, which can be dramatic, suspenseful and even at times with poignant, such as the "Majula" theme which is the main hub of the game where the character rests.

In fact I think Dark Souls II's score while it might not hit the epic emotional heights of Dark Souls III, it is a more diverse sounding one and there plenty of highlights in there. And such examples include Fume Knight, Skeleton Lords, Vendrick, Old Dragonslayer, Ancient Dragon and the best of all is Sir Alonne's theme, which is easily one of the best tracks in the entire Souls series.   

So, Dark Souls 2's soundtrack is a very strong one for sure and to this day I often give it a listen independent of the game via Amazon.

FLAWS

As for flaws...yeah Dark Souls II does have some.

For starters the game insists on continuing its increase in difficulty over its predecessor but it does it more by bombarding the player with more enemies. Now in itself this could be seen as part of the challenge where but there are many enemies who are actually way tougher than the actual boss they are protecting that you go on to fight! So, there is a quite a bit of inconsistency in the difficulty level here as you get really tough standard enemies and at times dead easy bosses! However sometimes you do get both but the difficulty of the game certainly isn't always that balanced.

In fact further to this point, one of the game's major drawbacks is there are simply way too many bosses and DS2 would definitely have benefited from cutting out about half of the bosses, especially as lot of them are quite easy and not that memorable. And if they had cut down on the naff bosses in the game and concentrated on quality over quantity then I'm sure the game would be better received by the Souls community.   

Another issue is to do with the NPC invaders, who to put it bluntly are a major pain in the ass! Now there are some invaders in the game that are tougher than others but when you are trying to simply work your way through an area and you get invaded AND get killed in the process, it becomes VERY annoying pretty quickly! I mean you get the Forlorn invaders popping up at numerous times when you are trying to get from A to B and even in areas like the Iron Keep (my most HATED area in the main game of DS2!) there are two in-game invaders that appear and then you can get one of these Forlorn a-holes spawning in on top of them as well! So, yeah the invaders are a bit much although most of them were actually added into the Scholar version as the vanilla version of DS2 didn't have half as many.

Another problem is to do with how your weapons, shields and weapons can break much easier than in the original Dark Souls after so much fighting. Now the bonfire does reset your weapon's damage but if it breaks you then have to pay a blacksmith to fix them. Now, this does make things a little more realistic I guess but it can also be a pest when you are trying to fight your way past a big number enemies but to be fair you do have a large amount of weapons at your disposal, so you can always select another one but if its your most trusted weapon then its still a nuisance. You can however get a ring that reduces weapon degradation, so that does help out a bit.

I also cannot forget to mention the problem that existed in the original Dark Souls with the action of drinking from your Estus flask to recover your health being too rigid as you were rooted to the spot when drinking Estus, which hindered you in combat. Well, in DS2 that problem is replaced by the fact that your estus drinking action is even SLOWER than it was before, although the action of it doesn't feel as rigid as in DS1.

So, this means you end up getting murdered more times than not in a fight as a result! In fact for this I have coined my own phrase (which I should try and patent!) which is "Estus Murder" where drinking from your flask too slowly gets you killed!  However, perhaps they kind of addressed this issue by introducing life gems into the game, which the player can also use to restore their health and can do it on the move, which is an improvement over your pathetically slow Estus flask drinking. 

However to be fair the animation of Estus drinking can be sped up by raising your adaptability stat, which also improves your ability to roll through enemy attacks without taking damage (aka as invincibility frames). It is however worth noting that the adaptability stat itself is a pain in that exists and has to be upgraded in the first place as it would be best left out of the game if you ask me to allow for a standard roll and drink speed as in DS1 and DS3. 

And this brings me onto another issue in the game to do with the Estus flask upgrades as here you need to try and locate what is called Estus shards in order to increase the number of Estus flasks you have at your disposal. So, this means you need to locate these shards throughout the game as they are hidden in different areas, which can also be a pain and early on if you only have a couple of Estus flasks its a pain in the ass but to be fair the life gems also help with your health are more accessible.

Update: Again however, on reflection, the estus shards aren't a bad idea because at least once you find them all, you have a set number of estus, which can be refilled at the bonfire not unlike the first DS where you had to continually kindle each bonfire to boost your use to 10 or more. 

Another fairly big problem with the game is the fall damage, which is absolutely RIDICULOUS compared to the other Souls games, it is unreal how much damage you can take falling from heights that not that high up! And in the other games you might take a bit of fall damage when falling a fair height but here it outright kills you! 

The one way you can mitigate this however is to use the Silvercat ring, which is pretty decent at cancelling out a lot of fall damage from higher falls although it isn't a perfect solution. You can also use the fall control spell to reduce fall damage as well but you would need to meet the intelligence requirement to use it. So, yeah the fall damage sucks in DS2. 

Last of all is an issue to do with how enemies progressively stop re-spawning unlike in the original Dark Souls where all enemies respawned in all areas when you rest at your bonfire. Now, this is something of a blessing but also a problem as it makes life easier when you want to get through certain areas and the enemies stop respawning so much but it can also limit the amount of souls you can "farm" in order to upgrade or purchase items. 

So, its kind of double-edged sword that the game has handed you, its good you have to deal with lesser enemies the more times you redo an area but its also annoying you cannot farm for souls as much when they stop respawning. However, this again can be resolved by using the bonfire ascetic item, which allows you to reset all enemies in the area and items but on the flipside they now have more strength and damage output.

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, to sum up, Dark Souls II is an excellent sequel to the original and it offers plenty of new features, weapons and upgrades that are all welcome additions as well as challenging enemies that can provide for a satisfying experience when you have finally defeated them. It also continues the non-linear nature of the DS1 and allows you to full explore a lot of different areas freely, which is a bonus that can allow you access to better items earlier on if you are adept enough at the game's difficulty.

However it has to be said that it doesn't quite reach the dizzying heights of its predecessor due to some frustrating issues with gameplay. Also the game makers blatant attempts to make things more difficult at times by bombarding you with extra enemies is also an issue not to mention the level of difficulty can be a bit inconsistent. And it really has to be said there are too many bosses in the game and not only that but too many of them are mediocre and forgettable.

But if you can forgive its faults and try and not let yourself be too biased by the split opinions of the game, you might just enjoy DS2 whether it be the original or the Scholar version as it is very addictive and can be great fun and its easily one of the most under appreciated games out there. Basically, its a game you need to try with an open mind and not let the reputation given to it by players and audiences get in the way of you possibly enjoying what is a game that is quite different from the others in the Souls series. However, I think is one of its strengths and I still really enjoy it myself regardless of the criticisms leveled at it. 

So, I will finish and rate Dark Souls II:

9 out of 10

That's it for now and I will be back soon with possibly a revisited look at my Dark Souls III review.

Till then, its bye for now!  

 

Wonder Woman 1984 Review

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, I figured it was time for a brand new review with new content for a change, so the subject of this post will be the superhero film, Wonder Woman 1984, which was released late last year online and not in the cinemas due to the COVID-19 pandemic. 

So, given the success of the original film, how does the sequel compare? Well, let's find out...

And I will say a bit about the plot below (but not too much!) but I will give the usual...

PLOT SPOILERS MAY BE AHEAD!!! (NOT TOO MANY THOUGH!)

STORY 

So, to save a bit of time, I have lifted part of the plot from the WW84 Wikipedia page and put it below:

"In 1984, Diana works at the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. while secretly performing heroic deeds as Wonder Woman. New museum employee Barbara Ann Minerva, a shy geologist and cryptozoologist, is barely seen by her co-workers, and comes to envy Diana. Later, the FBI asks the museum to identify stolen antiquities from a robbery that Wonder Woman recently foiled. Barbara and Diana notice one item, later identified as the Dreamstone, contains a Latin inscription claiming to grant the holder one wish.

Barbara wishes to become like Diana, but acquires the same superpowers, while Diana unknowingly wishes for her deceased lover Steve Trevor to be alive, resurrecting him in another man's body; the two are reunited at a Smithsonian gala. Failing businessman Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzano tricks Barbara and steals the Dreamstone, hoping to use its power to save his bankrupt oil company. He wishes to "become" the stone and gains its wish-granting powers, becoming a wealthy and powerful figure who creates chaos and destruction as his powers trigger worldwide instability..."

THOUGHTS

As a sequel to the original, Wonder Woman 1984 is an enjoyable follow-up but at the same time it isn't quite as good as the first film because it has to be said its scope is a bit all over the place and the film is also very long at over 2 and a half hours (but I will say more about that in the flaws). Regardless though, it is good to see the return of the super heroine and the film's characters are engaging enough for the most part. The film also has plenty of good humour and continues to act as an antidote to some of the previous dour DC entries we have seen in the past.

PERFORMANCES (No notable scenes this time but still a few spoilers might be mentioned!)

As for the performances, the cast are all excellent here and give solid performances.

Starting with Gal Gadot who is great once again in her dual role as Wonder Woman/Diana Prince, the heroic Amazonian goddess, who by now works at a museum and largely keeps to herself, however on discovering the dream stone, she wishes her former wartime boyfriend, Steve, back to life. Gal also balances both roles very well as she did in the previous film but she also plays Diana as being more mature and guarded and amusingly ends up almost reversing her role with Steve as she shows him around the modern lifestyle of the 1980s. Gal also shows an impressive display of emotion later on in the film but I won't much more than that and it shows how she has come on as an actress.

Chris Pine once again does a fine job as Steve Trevor, Diana's former lover, who died in the first film back in World War I but is brought back to life by the dreamstone (albeit in another man's body!). Chris also provides some good moments of humour in the film, especially in the scene where he tries on various cheesy 80's outfits and also later reacts to how different live in the 80s is (or was!). 

Kristen Wig also does very well in her role as Barbara Minerva, who is a shy geologist and works with Dana at the museum but later makes a wish to the dream stone that she become like Diana that transforms her and gives her superpowers. Barbara of course later on goes onto become the villainous, Cheetah, an apex predator. 

Pedro Pascal is excellent also in his role as Maxwell "Max Lord" Lorenzano, a charismatic businessman, who is well known for appearing various TV commercials but we soon discover he is actually struggling financially. Max later on wishes to become the dream stone itself and ends up making everyone else's wish come true but at quite a drastic cost. 

And the last two cast members I will mention are Robin Wright, who reprises her role as Antiope, a general of the Amazon army and aunt to Diana, although Robin's appearance is restricted purely to the opening sequence of the film set years ago when a young Diana enters an athletic event. And Robin does a pretty good overall with the little material that she has been given here. 

And lastly there is Connie Nielsen, who also reprises her role as Queen Hippolyta, the ruler of Themyscira and Diana's mother. Again, Connie does a fine job here but her role is pretty small and confined to the intro sequence of the film where the young Diana participates in an athletic event. 

DIRECTOR

Moving onto the director, Patty Jenkins, returns to direct the sequel and overall she does a pretty good job at balancing the action, drama and comedy. However, it does have to be said that the film does feel a bit overlong and the pacing definitely has its problems, which Jenkins could have fixed by trimming the film's run time. Despite that though, Jenkins still provides a solid directorial effort here.

MUSIC 

As for the music, we have the great Hans Zimmer provide the score and its a pretty good one overall although I have to say I didn't find it to be one of his more memorable ones. That aside, Zimmer provides a score that is very appropriate to the tone of the film and its good to see that he is still working within the superhero genre of film scores (despite years ago insisting that he quit doing it!).

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain the odd spoiler!)

As for flaws...yeah Wonder Woman 1984 isn't perfect.

For starters, I think the film as I mentioned, is just a bit too long with a run time of 2 hours and 31 minutes and the pacing let's it down in places. This is particularly the case in the opening sequence with the athletic contest involving the young Diana, it just drags on too long and it gets a bit boring and it feels like an unnecessary bit of preamble to the modern day setting of the film. 

The film also meanders quite a bit in terms of the whole idea of getting to the point where Max finally gets his hands on the dream stone and gets to make his wish to become it himself. I mean the whole bit with Max and his financial struggles, chat with his investor and then pretending he is a big shot businessman to everyone just drags on too making it a bit of a tiresome subplot. 

And then there is the return of Steve Trevor, Diana's deceased lover, who appears in the body of another man after Diana wishes that he would return and the dream stone brings him back to life but I just felt in a way, Steve's appearance in the film feels a bit unnecessary. He does of course provide a bit of amusing comic relief as he dresses up in a bunch of goofy, cheesy 80's outfits but I almost felt like they brought him back just for the sake of shoehorning him into the film. However, by the end of the film, it does suggest that Chris Pine might not return for a third film in future but we'll see.

I also felt the film was lacking in action scenes at times also given the film's extensive run time, there are too many talky scenes and not enough action to engage the viewer. The action scenes themselves are quite decent but nothing amazing but its just a shame there weren't more of them for the viewers to get into.  

WARNING: SPOILER AHEAD!

I also thought they left Barbara's story line unfinished as near the end, she becomes Cheetah and ends up fighting Wonder Woman but in the end, WW manages to defeat her and after Wonder Woman convinces Max to renounce his wish, she averts to normal and that's it! So, we don't get to see what happened to Barbara afterward and her story line is basically over at this point, which is a bit daft but maybe if they do a director's cut in future, we will get a proper closure for her character.

And last of all, just how the hell did Wonder Woman get that golden suit she has near the end of the film?! I mean, it just appears out of nowhere that she puts on the outfit for the final battle but unless I missed something, I don't know where she found it! Perhaps she had lying around and decided to save it for the right occasion and maybe the showdown was that right one. It just seems weird anyway that she suddenly turned up wearing it.

Anyways, that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up, Wonder Woman 1984 is an enjoyable sequel to the original film and has some fun moments, decent action scenes and features fine performances from its cast with Gal Gadot making another solid return to the main role. The film however does have some problems as it is overlong and suffers from a lack of action scenes and has quite a lot of talky scenes instead as well as ones that feel padded out. 

However, if you can overlook all that, then Wonder Woman 1984 is still worth a look even if it isn't as good as the original. 

So, I will give WW84 a rating of:

6.5 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will return sometime soon with another post.

Till then, bye for now!   

Superman III Review (Revisited again!) "Thank the Lord for Superman!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, its time for my revisit of my Superman III review since I've already done the revisits for Superman I and II and we will see how it still stacks some 38 years on from its release.

So, with the usual expansion on the sections and stuff to be ahead, let's take another look at this one...

And the usual warning is coming...

PLOT SPOILERS WILL BE AHEAD!!!

STORY 

So, the film starts with Gus Gorman (Richard Pryor) who is unemployed and down on his luck when the social security cut off his money after 36 months of unemployment.  However he soon finds out he has a knack for computers, as he takes a job with the firm Webscoe and manages to embezzle $85,000 in half cents from the organisation.  After Gus unintentionally draws attention to himself by buying a fancy sports car with his money, the CEO Ross Webster (Robert Vaughan) brings him up and decides to use his talents for hacking for his own ends.

Meanwhile Clark Kent (Reeve) get's permission from Perry White (Jackie Cooper) to do a story on his hometown school reunion in Smallville.  Enroute to Smallville however, Clark and Jimmy's bus is stopped by the police due to a series of fires at a nearby chemical plant but Jimmy and Clark sneak off the bus.  Jimmy runs off to take pictures at the plant whereas Clark changes into Superman and he helps put out the fires by freezing a nearby lake and dropping it over the plant itself.  Jimmy while taking pictures however get's injured at the plant but he is soon rescued by Superman. 

After this Clark returns to Smallville and rekindles his friendship with his childhood friend Lana Lang (Annette O'Toole, lovely).  Lana is now single and a divorcee with a young son Ricky (Paul Kaethler) however she is still pestered by her ex-boyfriend from high school, Brad Wilson (Gavin O'Herlihy).

Meanwhile Gus, is being manipulated by Webster into doing his dirty work as he makes him hack into one of Webscoe's small computer offices (coincidentally also in Smallville) where he contacts the Vulcan satelitte, which controls the weather, and makes it create a torando to destroy Colombia's coffee crop, as a result of the country refusing to do business with Webster.  However Superman intervenes and stops the tornado and dries up the crops, which incenses Webster.

So, after that, Webster now decides to try and get rid of Superman with Webster's busty blonde nutrionist Lorelei (Pamela Stephenson) tells Webster that kryptonite is the only thing that can hurt Superman.  Wesbter then gets Gus to use the Vulcan satelitte to track the whereabouts of Krypton's former location in hopes to find a chunk of Kryptonite.  The computer scans show up an unknown element in the kryptonite, which Gus substitutes as tar (taken from the content of his cigarette packet).

Superman on Ricky's birthday turns up, and the event is turned into a parade, where Gus and Webster's sister Vera (Annie Ross) drive up, dressed in an army uniforms, Gus gives a speech to the audience and hands Superman the chunk of synthetic kryptonite, which was made up from the elements scanned by the Vulcan satelitte.  However the kryptonite appears to have no effect on him, at first that is, but soon after, the kryptonite starts to make Superman behave strangely, as he becomes moody, apathetic, and commits some petty acts of vandalism, such as straightening the learning tower of Pisa and blowing out an olympic runner's torch just at the crucial moment of lighting the olympic flame.

Webster also takes advantage of Superman's immoral behaviour as he get Lorelei to lure Superman into helping them with their oil scam, as they get all the oil tankers to go to a certain destination, except one, which Superman flies to and punctures the hull, to bleed the oil out into the sea.  This also causes chaos in Metropolis as the oil pumps stop pumping after Gus hacks the computer systems controlling them.

Meanwhile Superman's mood worsens, as his sinks into depression, which culiminates with him sitting in a bar getting drunk, smashes bottles of alcohol, simply by flicking peanuts at them.  With Lana and Ricky arriving in Metropolis, they witness the drunken Superman walk out of the bar, growling at the spectators, he flies off, while Ricky calls out after him, with his words echoing in his head, Superman's torment reaches its limit, as he flies into a junkyard and let's out an anguished scream.

In the junkyard Superman persona splits into two, as Clark Kent emerges from himself, as the two of them fight it out for their right to live, and after repeated attempts to kill off Clark, the bad Superman puts Clark in a grinder, but Clark bursts out of it and strangles the bad Superman, who vanishes.  At this point Clark opens his shirt, revealing his Superman suit, as he flies off and repairs the damage he did to the tanker and goes off to find Webster.

Meanwhile this has been going on, Gus has ideas to build a supercomputer, which he has written out blueprints for and the computer is essentially an invincible machine that can counter attack and find their weaknesses and wipe out them out.  Intruiged by the possibilities of what the computer can do for him, Webster agrees to have the computer built.  The supercomputer once fully built, is ready in time for Superman arriving as the man of steel must try and find a way to defeat Webster and his formidable machine....

THOUGHTS 

Despite the mixed reviews that Superman III got at the time, it has to be said there is still much to enjoy in it despite its overly comedic tones.  And one of the things that really works in the film is Clark's development as a character, as he no longer is as bumbling and awkward as he was before and now he is more confident and self assured.  And Clark's scenes with Lana are also nicely played, especially the way they keep talking at cross purposes.  The idea of Superman turning evil is also a good one and his fight with himself in the junkyard is one of the film's highlights.  And even though Gus Gorman wasn't well received as a character given I think his own story of going from rags to riches and eventually back to rags again makes for an amusing plot development in itself.   

PERFORMANCES AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: may contain spoilers!!) 

As for the performances well things are pretty good overall here as the cast do pretty well with their respective roles.

And to kick off Christopher Reeve once again is great as Superman and his bumbling alter-ego Clark Kent.  Reeve has quite a few highlights in the film that include the scene where Superman arrives at the chemical plant to help out put out a series of fires there.  And in the scene Superman flies off to a lake and freezes it, lifting up the entire frozen lake he flies over the plant and drops it and it melts and turns it a big wave of rain that puts out of the fires.

Then there is the scene where Clark is with Lana and her son, Ricky, at a bowling alley but Rick is terrible at bowling and Lana's ex, Brad turns up to try and help the boy bowl properly but Clark interrupts.  And in the scene Clark says to Brad "I just don't think Ricky needs a bowling lesson infront of the other kids" and he sets Ricky up in position to bowl and he says "OK, Ricky, there you go, now give it your best shot".  However as Clark walks back to sit down, he trips into a cigarette ash stand and the ash from the stand causes Clark to sneeze just as Ricky bowls and the ball speeds along at a super fast rate and it destroys the bowling pins, leaving Ricky and everyone else amazed.  And Lana amazed says "Gesundheit!" and Clark says akwardly "Thank you".

Another good scene is when after Superman is given the synthesized Kryptonite, he is at Lana's home and he starts to feel the effects of it and begins to behave strangely.  And in the scene Lana tells Superman there is an accident on a bridge and can he help but instead of Supe going to help he simply says to Lana "Well, there's no rush.  Don't worry I always get there on time.  Come on, let's relax a little".  And they both sit down with Lana looking very awkward as Superman stares at her saying "You know its unusual to find a pretty girl like you all by yourself".  And Lana feeling very uncomfortable says "Look, shouldn't you be doing something about that bridge?" and Superman unaware says "What bridge?" but then he takes a moment and realises what she means and he get's up "You're right.  I have to get going".   

Then comes the scene where the now evil Superman flies to the Statue of Liberty where Lorelei is sitting on the top of it in a fake plea for help but is there to lure and seduce him.  And he says to Lorelei "Well I hope you don't expect me to save you because I don't do that anymore!" and Lorelei says "Oh, I'm long past saving!".  And Lorelei looks up at Superman and says "Well don't let me keep you from anything" and Superman says "I'm not in a rush.  What did you have in mind?" and she says "Lots of things!" and Superman grabs her by the arm and picks her up saying "Oh yeah?".  And Lorelei says "If you just do me one little favour first!" and Supe says "What's that?" and she tells him "Well. See, there's this little boat, and its not going where it's supposed to go and....".

And then there is one of the film's main highlights, the confrontation in the junkyard between the evil Superman and Clark Kent.  And the scene has some good moments that include the evil Superman goading Clark into fighting him and Clark says "I can give as good as I get!" so the evil Superman angrily yells "Well!!  Come on!!  Come on!!" as Clark charges at him and pushes him into a bath of acid, but the evil Supe simply emerges from it unscathed and blows some acid onto Clark's jacket, runing it.  And then there is the moment where the evil Superman grabs Clark as they stand near the top of a crumble car heap and evil Supe says "You always wanted to fly, Kent, now's your chance!" and he throws him off the heap down below.

Another good moment in the film comes when after Superman turns good again he flies off to confront Webster at the Grand Canyon, who uses the supercomputer to lunch some aerial missile assaults at him, which Superman survives and then he heads inside a cave where Webster is.  And in the Superman says to Webster "Alright, Webster, the game's over!" and Webster says to him "Never underestimate the power of computers!  What do you think?".  And Superman says "I think its typical of people like you, Webster!  All the four of you wan't to do is help yourselves!" and Gus who is there awkwardly says "Four... of us?  Hey, man!  I'm not with them, Superman!" and Superman says "You could have fooled me, Mister!" and walks toward them only for Vera to launch a couple of the computer's attacks at him.

Then there is the scene where Superman having defeated Webster and his computer, flies with Gus back to Metropolis.  And Gus says to him of the computer "I'm not gonna argue with you!  A man that can tricky my machine can do anything!  How did you beat my defenses?!" and Superman says "Well your defences were pretty good as long as the machine didn't know it was in trouble.  All I did was go in there with a plain old can of acid and it didn't know when that stuff hots it'll eat through anything".  And as they fly on Superman quips to Gus "I guess it died of acid indigestion!" and Gus groans at Supe's corny joke and Gus asks what of Webster and his two ladies and Superman says "Well they'll have to deal with the police now, its not your problem anymore".  And Gus nervously asks "Are we in Metropolis yet?" and Superman says "Nope, we're just gonna make a quick stop right over there!" and they land in a coal mine where Superman finds a diamond for Lana.        

And last off all when Superman lands at the coal mine with Gus, he looks a lump coal that might conceal a diamond and crushes it open and fines one and says to himself "Just right". So, Superman goes back to Gus and asks him "You ready, Gus?" and Gus says "No, I think I'm gonna take the bus from here". So, Superman says "Well, you suit yourself?" and he then asks one of the coal mine workers "Hey, does your boss have a computer in this operation?" and one of the workers says "Yeah, a little bitty one" and Superman says "Well, you tell your boss, he could do alot worse than to give Gus Gorman here a job". And Gus looks touched by Superman's kindness and says "Why, thank you, Supe!" and shakes his hand and Superman says "I'll see you around" and he flies off.

Moving onto Richard Pryor who plays the neurotic Gus Gorman and his casting was criticised at the time and to this day many people think that Pryor was horrible miscast in the film.  However I think Pryor wasn't given anywhere near enough credit for his performance as Gus Gorman and he plays the part with some nice comic neurosis and bumbling awkwardness.

Pryor has some good scenes and as a few examples for starters there is the film's first scene where he get's his unemployment benefits cut off because of his frequent unsuccessful attempts to hold down a job.  And the clerk (played by Nancy Roberts) Gus talks to at the labour exchange says to him "Mr Gorman, the city of Metropolis is generous to a fault" and Gus says "I'm not the fault!".  And the clerks says to him "You know what you are, Mr Gorman?" and Gus says "Don't call me a bum!  I'm not a bum!" and she says to him "I was going to say...you are no longer eligible!".

Then there is the scene where when Gus has just started his job with Webscoe he talks with one of the employees about how the computers when they divide up the wages for employees that there are half cents just floating out there, which gives Gus the idea to embezzle the company's half cents.  And as the two of them go to get their lunch, the employee asks Gus "How many sugars do you want, Gus?" and Gus says "One and a half!".

Another good scene is when Gus is orderd to go and see Webster after he pulls the embezzlement stunt and gives himself away by buying a fancy sports car.  And Gus says to Webster "I don't want to go to jail because there are robbers and rapists and rapists who rape robbers!".  And in the scene Webster reassures Gus he won't having him put in jail and instead wants him to use his hacking skills for his own ends.  And in the scene Webster introduces his sister, Vera but he first says to Gus "Gus, have you ever heard of Vulcan" and Gus says to Vera "Hi, Miss Vulcan!".

Another noteworthy scene comes when Gus arrives at one of Webscoe's computer offices in Smallville and we see Brad is a security guard there and Gus turns up wearing a ridiculous cowboy type suit (complete with an oversized cowboy hat!) and he opens a case filled with drinks and the two of them get drunk together until Brad passes out.  And in the scene Gus goes to use the office computer but it requires two security cards to be slotted in by two people to activate it and Gus, very drunk, looks at a sign which Gus reads "Both keys at the same time?!".  And he stands up and says drunkenly to the computer "You think you've won, don't you?!  The Philly flash!" and he goes off to get unconscious Brad and sits him down and ties string around his hand and puts the key in his hand and pulls the string at the same time and they slot both keys in.  And Gus then sits down ready to hack and says to himself "Now we'll see what we'll see!".    

Then later there is the scene when Gus and Vera turn up at Superman's welcome parade in Smallville and they are both dressed in military uniforms.  And Gus addresses the crowd using a loud drill sergeant type voice and he says to them "Now we all know last week half of this great nation of ours almost bit the bullet, if it wasn't for this man right here!" and he points to Superman and the crowd applaud.  And Gus says "And all I can say is thank the lord for Superman!" and he continues after moe applause "Superman, you saved our bacon and I want to show our gratitude".  And he takes out the synthetic piece of kryptonite and hands it Supe saying "This is a token of our appreciation for you saving us from a chemical plant disaster!".

And another good scene comes when Webster presents his plan to Gus for him to hack the computers so he can carry out his scheme to control all the oil but Gus starts to make some demands of his own.  And Gus says to Webster "You know you get your way all the time and its not right!  I wanna know when I get a taste".  And Webster says to him "Well you've already had a taste of freedom, unless you prefer jail?" and Gus asserts himself saying "No you can't run that jail number on me anymore, cos you know I'm more use to you out here doing things for you then being in jail doing nothing for nobody!".  And Webster asks him "What do you want?" and Gus takes some rough drawings out of his pockets and he says to Webster "There are plans, blueprints!" and Webster says "For what?" and Lorelei looking at the prints says "A computer".  And Webster says "We already have computers" and Gus says "No, not like this.  There isn't a computer like this anywhere.  You see we have to build it!".  And Webster intrigued by the idea says to Gus "Tell me" and Gus says "Well first of all, anyone that attacks this machine or anything, the computer counter-attacks it, I mean it finds their weaknesses and wipes them out!".

Then there is the scene when Gus finally arrives at the cave where his supercomputer is and he looks at it, amazed and he says "Baby!  Its daddy!" and he goes up to join them.  But when Superman arrives and Vera uses the computer to try and kill him with a kryptonite ray, Gus has a change of heart and says "Superman!  No!" and he goes off to pull the screw out to deactivate it.  And when he does, Webster goes after him and Gus says triumphantly as he has switched it off "I GOT IT!!" and Webster angrily says "Give me that screw!" and Gus says "THIS screw?!" and Webster says "THAT screw!" and Gus says "Never!" and puts it in his mouth.  And the two of them struggle but Gus manages to punch Webster but he ends up swallowing the screw himself but it is shortlived as the computer turns on again and feeds off the powerline across the country to keep itself going.  And Gus says "Its feeding itself.  It wants to live!".

And lastly there is the scene near the end where Superman drops off Gus at a coal mine but he offers him to go to Metropolis but Gus, terrified of flying says "No I think I'll walk from here".  And Superman asks a couple of mine workers if their boss has a computer and one of them says he has a little one and Superman then says "Well you tell him he could do alot worse than to give Gus Gorman here a job".  And Gus looks touched and says "Why, thank you, Supe" and Superman says "Take care" and flies off leaving Gus amazed and impessed at Superman's generosity and he says "Take it easy, man!".

So, one of the coal miners ask Gus "Well you have pretty good references if you want that job" and Gus takes a moment but turns it down and says "Nah, this isn't for me". So, one of the coal miners asks "So, you really flew with him?" and Gus says "Yeah. Haven't you seen Superman before?" and the miner says "No". So, Gus brags "You don't know about me and him? Superman?!" and he opens shirt as if he had a Superman outfit underneath but it jsut reveals he is wearing a vest, leaving Gus looking embarrassed. So, he says sheepishly "Yeah me and Superman..." and he mimics flying and says "Well, usually..." and then asks "Is there a bus stop nearby?" and one of the miners says "Yeah, there's maybe 9 or 10 miles that way" and Gus, taken aback asks "9 or 10 miles?!" and the miners nod. So, Gus says "OK! I'll walk. I think I'll walk!" and he walks off.    

Robert Vaughan is also great in his role as the main villain, Ross Webster, the CEO of Webscoe who is out to destroy Superman so he can carry on his nefarious plans.

Vaughan has some good scenes aswell that include his first scene where Webster talks to one of his employees, Simpson, and he tells him "My friend, you are yesterday. Whomever pulled off this caper, is tomorrow!".  And then Webster says "No he won't slip up at all. He'll just go on quietly taking the bread from our mouths and he'll keep a low profile and won't do a thing to call attention to himself.  Unless he is a complete and utter moron!".  And then we hear loud screeching from outside and Webster looks down below from his office window and we see Gus pull up in a Red Ferrari sports car.    

Then there is the scene when Webster has Gus brought up to him and Webster smiles slyly at him saying "You've been a little bit naughty, haven't you?".  And Gus tries to bluff him but Webster let's him off the hook saying "Oh don't worry, how is it you say these days "dig where your comin' from, brother!".  And then Webster tells Gus his plan to teach Colombia a lesson for not dealing with him regarding the coffee supplies.  And Webster says to Gus "You see there is one country that refuses to play ball and you know how that can bug a guy!" and Gus asks "What country?" and Webster expression darkens and he says with contempt "Colombia!".  And Webster says "Oh, I have tried reasoning with them, believe me I've tried.  But this one miserable PISS-ANT little country has the gall to think they can dictate the economy of the open market!".  And when Webster introduces Gus to Vera he tells him about the Vulcan satelitte and how it can "create" weather and Gus says "How can it do that?" and Webster says "Like everything else in the 20th century, Gus, you push buttons!".

Another good scene is just after Gus hacks into the Vulcan satelitte and makes it create a tornado over Colombia and Webster up on the roof of his apartment building, which has a large ski slope attached, laughs his head off watching the news of Colombia.  And he says "Turn it off!  If I laugh any harder I'll split my sides!" and he skis down the slope and says "Poor little Colombia!".  But then Gus not long after comes in and tells Webster, Vera and Lorelei that Superman saved Colombia and Gus says "Superman was bad!" and Webster angrily says "I'd say he was" and he angrily looks down, sitting in his deckchair "No! No! NO!" and he angrily hits the rests of the chair and it collapses on him.  And Webester get's up and says "He ruined it!  The lousy do-gooder ruined it!  I've got to get rid of him!".

And when they start talking about how Superman can be hurt and about Kryptonite, Webster says "You know what happens when a planet explodes?  Derbis!  Pieces floating in space.  So all we need to do is find out where in heaven Krypton used to be and get good ol Gus to contact the Vulcan satelitte!".  And as Gus says to Webster "I don't think I'm making enough money for this gig!" Webster wearily says to Gus "Gus, if there's one thing I can't stand, that's greed!".

Then there is the scene when Gus calls Webster to let him know that the synthetic piece of kryptonite failed to kill Superman.  And Gus nervously says to him on the phone "Well there was an unknown element in the kryptonite and Superman didn't die".  And Webster says disgusted "I ask you to kill Superman and you can't even do that one simple thing!" and he drops the phone, leaving Gus on the other end hanging.  

And lastly there is the scene where Superman shows up to stop Webster using the supercomputer and Vera switches on a ray that emits a beam of kryptonite, which devastates Superman, weakning him.  And Gus looks on in horror saying "That's Kryptonite!" and Webster says to him "You're a genius!  You've invented a machine that can find anybody's weak spot!  Congratulations, old buddy. You'll go down in history as the man who killed Superman!".

Annette O'Tool also does very well in her role as Lana Lang, Clark's love interest in the film but she also has her ex-boyfriend, Brad as a rival for her affections too.

Annette too has some good moments that include the scene where Lana cleans up the leftovers at the school reunion party and Clark helps her out.  And Lana says to Clark "Thanks for helping me out.  You'd be surprised how many offers I didn't get!" and she continues saying "Its just I feel like I can talk to you".  And Clark who is far away from her says "What?" and Lana yells out louder "I feel like I can talk to you!".  And at the end of the scene Lana looks at an old high school photo of Clark on the wall and she says to herself "You know years later you can look at someone and say "well that's the one that got away".

Then there is the scene where Lana and Clark go out for a picnic in a field with her son, Ricky, and Clark starts taking tubs of food out for the picnic and Clark opens one of them thinking it is pate but Lana then says "Oh no, Clark, that's Buster's dog food!" and Clark takes a beat but continues to eat it saying "That's good!  When does the dog eat?!".  And as the scene continues the two of the comfortably talk with one another and as Lana appears to move closer to Clark she says "Clark, may I tell you something..." and Clark nods but then Lana looks over his shoulder and notices something and she says "My oil pain is leaking!".

And lastly there is the scene when Brad keeps pestering Lana and he calls her up looking to rekindle their former relationship but she is not interested.  And Lana says wearily on the phone to Brad "Brad, please stop calling me!" and Brad says "You better start appreciating old Brad!  What else have you got in Smallville!" and Lana then hangs up angrily and says to herself "What else have I got in Smallville?!".  And as Ricky is trying to do his homework and he shows to Lana, who is pre-occupied with her thoughts and Ricky says "Mum, I think I've got the answer" and Lana resolutely says to herself "So have I" and she calls to book a flight to Metropolis.

Annie Ross also does well her in role as Vera, Webster's obnoxious and bossy sister and she has some good comical moments in her performance of which I'll only mention a few.

And to start off there is Ross's first scene when Vera walks angrily into the room when Webster meets with Simpson over the embezzlement of Webscoe's money.  And Vera walks in demanding who embezzled the money "By WHOM?!  That's what I want to know!  WHOM??!!".  And Webster then says "Vera, get ahold of yourself!" and to himself he says "Nobody else ever will".  And then during the scene Lorelei, Webster's nutrionist turns up for an appointment with Webster and she argues with Vera who says "Pay attention people, I'm about to take a human life!" as she lunges at Loerlei.

Another good one is when Webster unveils his plan to control the oil to Gus and Vera readies herself to give a presentation of the plan to Gus.  And Vera starts by saying "Every pump in America is run by....." and Gus interrupts excitedly "Computers I know!" prompting Vera to explode "WILL YOU STOP INTERRUPTING?!!!" and she then calmly continues "you will order the pumps to stop pumping".

And lastly there is the scene when Webster, Vera and Lorelei arrive at the cave where the supercomputer is and they go inside it and climb the stairs to the computer control console.  And Vera starts to take control and arrogantly says "I know enough about computer to put a PHD to shame!  Come now, dear brother, you didn't think I was going to let that little man run the show now, did you?!".  Vera then says to Webster "Bubba, engage those levers on your right to activate the alpha circuits and lock the modular grid" and she turn to Lorelei "YOU!  Activate circuits 29 through W7 and start full-power coordinates on exterior defensive systems!".  And Lorelei then bursts Vera's bubble and says to Webster "In otherwords push this red button" and she winks at Webster leaving Vera amazed "How did you know that?".

Pamela Stevenson even though her character is a bit annoying also does well with her role as the sexy and busty blonde bombshell, Lorelei who is part of Webster's dastardly schemes.  Lorelei pretends to be just a ditsy blonde however she really is quite intellectual and she likes to just conceal it from the others, which is also a source of some amusment in the film.   

Stevenson has some good moments that include her first scene where Lorelei enters Webster's office to give him a massage but she ends up arguing with Vera.  And Lorelei says to Vera "Why don't you try holding your breath and maybe you'll turn blue!  Improvement!".  And as they continue to squabble at each other, Webster says "Mouths closed...eyes open!" and Lorelei says "She's a big pig!".

Then there is the scene where Superman has just foiled Webster's scheme with the crops in Colombia and Lorelei tells him Kryptonite is what can kill Superman.  And Lorelei says "Kryptonite!" and Webster, Vera and Gus all look at her and Lorelei then feigns her ditziness again and says "Kryptonham....or Kryptonheimer....I forget what its called but its the stuff that can hurt Superman".  And Vera cynically says "How would you?" and Lorelei says "Oh, I know a few things!" and Vera says "So I understand from the graffiti I've seen!".

And later on there is the scene where Webster launches his missiles at Superman when he is behind the control console of the supercomputer.  And as Webster grabs the controls for the missiles, Lorelei says "Don't tense up now, honey!" but as Superman tries to evade the missiles, Lorelei looks on concerned at the video screen and says "Come on, Superman!" and Webster glares at her and she then nervously says "Emm, let him have it, Ross!".

And last of all is the scene where the supercomputer becomes self aware and Lorelei finally drops her ditzy act to Vera and shows her intelligence by looking up at the computer saying "Oh I get it, the coaxial energy shaft is engaging the source grid factor!  We're through, frogface!  I'm splitting!".    
      
And last few I will mention are Gavin O'Heilhry who is good as Brad Wilson once a former high school jock and sports star but now a drunk who stalks Lana to try and get back into her life.

Gav has some good scene aswell but I won't mention too many of them as this post is already long enough as it is!  

But instead I will mention his last scene which is fun when Brad tracks Lana down to Metropolis and he walks into her hotel room to find Clark on his knee having just given Lana a new diamond ring and Brad reads into the scene, furious.  And he says angrily "Son of a bitch!  Kent, I hate you!  I've always hated you!  You know why?  Because your nice!  And nice guys finish last!" and he aims to hit Clark but misses and he then lunges at him but Clark ducks and as Brad runs at him he jumps onto foldable bed, which Clark lifts up, sending Brad flying onto a trolley cart, which rolls into a lift.

Marc McClure is also good again as he reprises his role as Jimmy Olsen, the Daily Planet photographer and he has a slightly bigger part than usual as Jimmy travels to Smallville with Clark but they stop off at a chemical plant where several fires have broken out.

And in that scene Jimmy sneaks off the bus taking them to Smallville, which is stopped by the police and Clark goes along with him.  And Jimmy says to Clark "You know what the chief says, a photographer always goes after a good story" but Clark warns him "that could be dangerous, Jimmy" and Jimmy smiles saying "Goes with the territory, Mr Kent!" and he gives him the thumbs up and he runs off to get some pics.

And second to last is Jackie Cooper also reprises his role very well as the editor of the Daily Planet, Perry White and he has an amusing scene where a woman, Miss Henderson walks with a tumble drum to do a bingo raffle and he also complains to Jimmy about how he took some boring pictures at Webster's banquet. 

So, in the scene, Perry says to Jimmy "I don't understand you Olsen. A boring banquet and you bring me three thousand boring pictures. Yet Superman saves a man from drowning on 3rd Avenue this morning while you stand there watching the whole thing and you don't even bring me one picture!". So, Jimmy says "I didn't have my camera with me" and Perry lectures Jimmy and says "A photographer EATS with his camera, a photographer SLEEPS with his camera!" and Jimmy mouths along with the words.   

And last of all is Margot Kidder who only appears briefly in the film as Lois Lane as she goes off on holiday at the start.  And as Clark asks Lois if she is going away, Lois says to him "Oh well, Clark, some of us get to go all the way to Smallville.  And some of us just have to settle for...." and she holds up a tiny bikini and she says "Bermuda!".

And later on at the end of the film, Lois comes back with a hefty tan and also with a top story from her antics there.  And White says to her "Lois, I've got to hand it to you, you're amazing!  I mean you turn a three week tropical vacation into a front page story that's going to blow the lid off the corruption in the Carribean!".  And Lois says to White "You know, I just knew I was onto something when that taxi driver kidnapped me!".    

DIRECTOR AND MUSIC 

So FINALLY moving onto the director, Richard Lester, who had already previously directed Superman II (well partly anyway) and here he does a pretty good job although he is guilty adding a liberal dose of slapstick to the film.  And in this respect it does kind of harm the film's credibility at times given that there are some truly stupid moments in the film but I will get to them more in the flaws section of the review.  

But for the most part Lester does well with the film and he keeps the pacing pretty tight and it rarely lags and the film itself rarely boring thanks to him keeping the tone light.  And Lester does add some pretty good action scenes aswell particularly Webster's missile attack on Superman and the evil Supe's confrontation in the junkyard with Clark Kent.     

As for the music, Ken Thorne once again provides the score, and he again incorporates some of John Williams original themes but this time around the score features more original work of his own.  And the score itself is actually quite good and it has some good tracks in it especially the music used in the scene where Superman is attacked by the supercomputer's missiles aswell as the music during the evil Supeman and Clark Kent's junkyard confrontation.  It does however lack the quality and calibre of John Williams music to the original film and there are times where the score does feel like it belongs more to a TV film than a cinematic one but overall its a good effort from Thorne.

The film also features additional tracks by Italian composer and songwriter Giorgio Moroder  however they are sparsley used in the film but one of them features in the scene where Gus get's drunk with Brad at the Webscoe office in Smallville.  Moroder's music is nothing special but it doesn't really detract from the film either and it is so rarely used its almost pointless that it was included but it still has its own charm even if it sounds very dated as it is mainly just 80s synth stuff. 

FLAWS (Warning: this section may contain spoilers!)

As for Superman III's flaws.....yes there are some to be found.

And to kick off I think as I said earlier in the review that part of the film's problem is the fact that the tone of it is overly comedic at times and is a bit too heavy handed when it comes to the slapstick.  This is especially notable in the film's opening scene where Lorelei's attractiveness sparks off a series of accidents that has one onlooker crash into another creating a domino type series of calamities.  Its a really daft opening to the film and it really doesn't belong to the Superman universe and would be more suited to some goofy comedy.

And this brings me onto another stupid scene where Gus hacks into various computers systems causing chaos everywhere such as people crossing the street only to have the green and red traffic light men symbols fighting each other.  It is about as stupid and as silly as the Superman series got up until that point (well until Superman IV came along that is, which took stupid to a whole new level!) and really have been cut out.

Then there are some plot holes of course and the first one that comes to mind is why didn't Webster put two and two together sooner regarding Gus embezzling Webscoe's money???  And he could have figured this out easy because Gus was given an expenses pay cheque with his name on it, which has the figure of 85,000 dollars also written on it!  So all Webster needed to do is have his staff check the accounts of their employees and they could have found Gus out easy without him unintentionally giving himself away in the first place!

Another daft one is how would Webster and Vera know that Superman would eventually be able to snap out his evil personae as after he defeats the evil Supe, he flies off to find the video message of Vera saying "So you finally have shown your true colours".  And this makes you wonder, do they know he turned back to being a good guy at this point or not???  It doesn't make much sense as you can know for sure they didn't have any info on just how long the affects of the synthetic kryptonite would last on Superman!  Its not like in that episode of Family Guy where Peter takes a drug that turns him gay, which is revealed by a doctor to have a time limit, so the same can't be said with the effects of the synthetic kryptonite with Superman (well it didn't turn Superman gay for starters!).

I also felt that character wise, Lorelei, Webster's busty blonde nutrionist, was all over the place in terms of her moral compass. I mean one minute she is giving Webster the info he needs to kill Superman by telling him about Kyrptonite and the next minute she is rooting for Superman III when Webster tries to kill him by launching the supercomputer's missiles at him! So, yeah she is a bit of a mixed character to say the least.   

Another thing that bugged me is to do with the scene where Gus turns up at the parade for Superman in Smallville and gives him the synthetic chunk of Kryptonite where Superman feels no ill effects when he takes it. However, isn't it a bit of a stupid idea to try and kill off Superman in front of a FULL CROWD OF PEOPLE??!! Surely it would be better if they could have tried to figure out something else as it is just a bit of high risk idea to try kill off the man of steel in such a public way!

The film also due to some of its deleted scenes being omitted from the theatrical cut also contributes to one or two moments in the film not making sense.  And as a couple of examples there is the scene when Gus get's Brad drunk and Brad says to Gus that his nickname in high school was "the Smallville flash".  And in the next scene after Brad passes out and Gus tries to use the computer but requires another person to insert the key card to do so, he says to the machine "The Philly flash!" which doesn't make sense without having seen the deleted scene itself.

And another example is during the fight between the evil Superman and Clark Kent when the bad Superman goads Clark and Clark says "I can give as good as I get" but prior to that Superman says something to him to provoke that response and again it was omitted from the theatrical release.  And I actually remember seeing the version with these scenes left in years ago on TV and with that they made alot more sense than without.  So for me that highlights a problem with the theatrical cut itself.

Its also a bit silly how we are lead to believe that they could build Gus's supercomputer could be built from his hastily put together blueprints, which were on loose pieces of paper and even a cigarette packet! Perhaps he drew them up again on a better presentation but if not, its pretty stupid to think that they could work out how to build it from Gus's shoddy blueprints.

And lastly I thought it was a bit stupid as to how the supercomputer did NOT know that the container of acid Superman brought back from the plant would be dangerous?!  It is a supercomputer after all with I'd imagine a genius computerised intellect and you even see it analyse the contents of the container but its analysis reads "Danger level: ZERO" but surely it must know that acid IS dangerous!  Also I find it silly that even a small container of acid could cause such a massive amount of damage to a giant supercomputer, which is the size of a very big house!  But hey it is just a plot device used to kill off the machine after all.

Anyways that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So to sum up Superman III for me is an underrated sequel, which got alot of unfair negative criticism  aswell as for the casting of Richard Pryor but I think the film is alot better than its given credit for as even today its get's alot of hate from fans.  And by no means do I think the casting of Pryor hurts the film in anyway and his comedic skills are used well in the film.  The rest of the cast also perform very well particularly Reeve, Vaughan and O'Toole.   

It also nicely develops Clark's character and shows him to be more assertive and confident than before and Reeve and O'Toole both share a nice chemistry together onscreen.  In fact the American film critic, Roger Ebert in his review at the time said the film was missing a big love story like Superman's romance with Lois.  But for me I think Clark's romance with Lana is a subtler one which doesn't feature stupid moments like that crap "Can you read my mind?" song in the original film when Superman flies Lois over Metropolis.

The film also features some excellent optical effects even if some of them look better than others but I for one still enjoy watching the missile attack scene on Superman, which is one of the film's highlights.  Also the effect of Superman lifting the frozen lake up and flying it over the chemical plant is another impressive special effect worth mentioning aswell.   

And yeah OK it does have some flaws as I mentioned above and it has its fair share of comedic slapstick, which is a bit out of place for a Superman film and it does harm the film's credibility.  However if you are willing to forgive all that then there is still alot to enjoy in Superman III and I personally think its a film that deserves a second look.

So, I will give Superman III a rating of:

8 out of 10

So, that's it for now and I will be back at some point in the near future with yet another post.

Till then bye for now!  

Superman II Review Revisited "KNEEL before Zod!!"

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right, as I have been revisiting the Christopher Reeve Superman films, I thought I would continue and revisit my review of Superman II although it was also a revisit of the original review, so its has been expanded pretty well but I thought I might still add in a few bits here and there. 

So, with that said, lets take another look at the sequel to the original and see how it fairs...

And the usual is coming up...

PLOT SPOILERS ARE AHEAD!!!

STORY

So, the story begins withSuperman (Christopher Reeve) flying off to Paris to save the city from terrorists who are threatening to detonate a hydrogen bomb in the Eiffel tower, and Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) is already been sent to investigate the story.  However as Lois clambers underneath the underside of the lift, the terrorists detonate the bomb, with Lois being violently hurdled toward the ground, when Superman flies up and stops the lift, letting Lois out, he then flies the lift deep into space where it explodes safely.  

However as a result of the explosion, the three villains from the first film, the ruthless General Zod (Terence Stamp), his aid Ursa (Sarah Douglas) and the mindless thug Non (Jack O'Halloran) (who appear during the opening trial scene) are released from the phantom zone, and to make matters worse, because they are Kryptonians too, they have the same powers as Superman.  And its not long before they arrive on Earth and wreak absolute havoc, destroying anyone and anything in their way, with their super powers.

However while this is going on, Clark Kent/Superman is oblivious as he is on an assignment with Lois Lane and they are sent by the Daily Planet to Niagra Falls to investigate honeymoon hotel scams.  During their trip, Lois grows suspicious of Clark's behaviour as he conveniently disappears when a young boy falls into the Niagra Falls, only to have Superman fly out seconds later to save him.  Initially Clark manages to bluff Lois, but later on in their suite, Clark trips and his hands fall into a log fire, checking Clark's hands, Lois is amazed to find he isn't burned.  Clark finally gives in and takes off his glasses and reveals himself to Lois and they fly off to the Fortress of Solitude, where Superman explains his real background to Lois.  

Clearly Superman and Lois are in love with each other, and Superman talks with the image of his mother (a holographic image the same as in the first film played by Susannah York) and declares his love for Lois, but his mother warns him if he chooses Lois he must become human.  Superman agrees and steps into a molecule chamber, which removes his powers, on leaving the chamber, Clark and Lois go off to begin their new relationship.

While this is all going on by now, Zod, Ursa and Non have invaded the Whitehouse and forced the President to surrender his power over to them.  Meanwhile Clark and Lois go off to a diner (driving by car this time!) and Clark soon finds out when he stands up to a thuggish customer, that he is indeed vulnerable, as the customer beats him up.  At this point, Clark sees Zod on the TV with the President who declares he has given his power over to Zod.  Clark then realises, having made a terrible mistake in giving up his powers, that he must go back, but the process of losing his powers is apparently irreversible.  Nevertheless, Clark goes back to the fortress, and appeals to his father, but receives no response but as he is about to leave, he spots the green crystal that created the fortress embedded in the ground, which begins to glow brightly. 

Meanwhile Lex Luthor, having escaped prison, makes an uneasy alliance with Zod, who flies to the Daily Planet to take Lois hostage to force Superman out in the open.  And pretty soon the caped wonder flies back on the scene and challenges Zod and his two underlings to "step outside" as the four of them battle it out.....

THOUGHTS 

Superman II clearly is something of a split film, as you can see the change in tone between the scenes that were clearly directed by Richards Donner and Lester.  Donner provides the scenes with more weight, and down to earth humour, while Lester provides the more slapstick approach.  Regardless of the outcome of the conflicting styles, Superman II really works well as a film and a sequel to the first film.

And the characters continue to be developed and we start to see Clark Kent become a little bit less awkward, although he is still quite bumbling.  But its Lois we get to see develop more than anyone else, as she professes her love for Superman.  The three villains in the film also adds a nice dynamic to the story and its good to see Superman challenged by someone with the same powers that he has and it easily makes for being perhaps the most fun of all the Reeve Superman films for that alone. 

PERFORMANCE AND NOTABLE SCENES (Warning: this section is BIG and will contain spoilers!)  

As for the performances well they are pretty much all excellent starting with Christopher Reeve who is once again terrific in his dual role as Superman and Clark Kent and he nicely balances Superman's heroism and Clark's bumbling and comical nature.  

Reeve has plenty of highlights and good scenes in the film that include his opening scene where Clark speaks to his editor and boss Perry White (Jackie Cooper) at the Daily planet.  And in the scene White informs Clark of the terrorist incident in Paris where White says to Clark "Get your head out of the clouds, Kent, where have you been the last twelve hours?!" and Clark says "Home".  And White then says "Don't you watch television" and Clark replies "Frankly, Mr. White, I really don't enjoy television. Too much violence. I was just reading Dickens".  And after this Clark disappears from White's office and runs out into a back alley and rips open his shirt reveal his Superman outfit and he flies off to Paris.

Then there is the scene where Lois is suspicious of Clark being Superman and challenges him while they are at Niagra falls and to prove the point she jumps into the water below and get's carried off by the rapids.  

So, in the scene, Lois and Clark take a walk on a walkway nearby the falls and Lois says to Clark "As a good reporter, I'm not supposed to let something slip by me and I think I am finally starting to get the picture" and Clark looking around says "As usual, Lois, I have no idea what you're talking about! Tell you, what, I'm going to go back to the hotel". However as he is about to go, Lois says "What's your hurry, Superman?!" and this stops Clark dead in his tracks and he turns around. And Lois says to Clark "I gotta admit your disguise is nearly perfect, you had me fooled and I am nobody's fool believe me!". Clark however tries to disregard her claim and says "No, of course not, Lois. You just have an active imagination. Believe me, it can happen to anyone".

Lois, however gives Clark her ultimatum to him "Look, I am so sure you are Superman, that I'm willing to bet my life on it!" and Clark looks stunned and asks "What?" and Lois says "No, if I'm right, you'll turn into Superman but If I'm wrong, you've got yourself one hell of a story!". Clark then laughs incredulously and says "You really think I'M Superman? Boy, you certainly have some imagination, Lois! For a minute, you almost had me convinced! For a minute". Lois however then decides to put her theory to the test and says "Bye bye, baby!" and she jumps off the bridge into the rapids below and Clark looks on aghast and says "Oh, my God!" and runs after her. And in an effort to save Lois, he discreetly uses his X-ray vision to break off a tree branch, which Lois eventually manages to grab hold off and she manages to drag herself ashore with Clark's help, who falls into the water too but they clamber to the shore. Lois then deeply embarrassed looks at Clark and says "And you're what I thought was Superman?!" and Clark sheepishly says "Sorry!" and Lois says "This is really embarrassing!".   

Another good scene is of course when Clark finally reveals his identity as Superman to Lois at the hotel where Clark trips and his hand falls into the log fire and Lois finds it isn't burnt and Lois in amazement says "You ARE Superman!" and Clark says "Oh Lois don't be....." and he gives up, turns around and takes off his glasses.  And Clark says to Lois "I don't know why I did that" and Lois says "Maybe you wanted to" and Clark says "I don't think I did" and Lois says "Well maybe you didn't mean to, but you wanted to with your heart".  And Clark says "We better talk" and Lois says "I'm in love with you" and Clark smiles and says "We really better talk!". 

Clark then says "We can't talk here. Perry is gonna phone at six to see what is happening" and Lois says "What's happening?! That's the understatement of the year!". Clark then suggests something to Lois and says "Lois, now that you know, you should know it all. Let's go to my place" and Lois says "Maybe I should change into something first. And maybe you should change too!" and Clark looks at himself and smiles.   

Then later there is the scene where Clark and Lois after he has lost his super powers, go to a diner where Clark is beaten up by a rough customer.  And in the scene Clark challenges the customer saying "Excuse sir, would you care to step outside?  I said would you care to step outside?!" and the customer get's up and says "After you" and as Clark begins to walk out the customer punches Clark in the back and he crashes into a window.  And Clark looks and sees that he is bleeding and in shock says "Blood!  Real blood" and he weakly says "Looks like from now on you'll have to have a bodyguard with you".  And Lois says "I don't want a bodyguard I want the man I fell in love with" and Clark says "I know, Lois, I wish he were here".

And when Clark sees General Zod on the TV, ranting and raving and challenging Superman to meet him and bow down before him, he decides he must go back to the fortress to try and get his powers back. 

So, after the diner owner shuts the TV off as Zod yells to Superman to kneel before him, Clark asks the owner "Here? When?" and the owner "Where have you been, Mac? On a desert island?!" and Clark simply nods. Clark then says to Lois "I have to go back" and Lois "But you can't go back now" but Clark insists "I HAVE to! I have to try something damn it! I have to try anything!". Lois however tries to appease him "This isn't your fault! You didn't know this was going to happen!" and Clark says "They knew, I heard them. I just didn't listen".   

And then after this there is the scene when Clark returns to the fortress of solitude and he makes a desparate attempt to reach out to his father Jor-El.  And Clark says "I really wish you could hear me.  You see, I've failed" and Clark get's no response so he cries out in dispair "FATHER!!!!!!!!" but there is nothing and he just kicks some of the burnt crystals but then suddenly spots the green crystal glowing in the icy ground of the fortress and he picks it up.

Then later is the scene where Superman returns with his powers fully restored he flies up to the Daily planet office window just outside White's office where Zod his seized control and Superman challenges Zod.  And in the scene Superman says "General Zod, would you care to step outside?!" and Zod yells "Come to me son of Jor-El!!  KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!!" and they fly out the window after him and begin their epic battle in Metropolis.

Then there is the scene where Zod, Ursa, Non, Lex and Lois fly to Superman's fortress and they look around and Zod insults the place by saying "Scruffy. Morbid. A sentimental replica of a planet long since vanished. No style at all!" and Superman off camera says "I expect better manners from my guests, Zod!". And in the scene as Superman plays mind games with them using holograms to confuse Zod and the others, Superman says to Lois "I used to play this game at school. I never was very good at it!" and Lois tries to hug Superman but goes right through him. Zod then standing next to the real Superman is grabbed by him and Superman tells him "Wrong again, Zod!" but Ursa and Non then grab Lois's arms and Ursa warns him "Release the general, or we'll tear her apart!" and Superman finally relents and shouts "Alright!!" and let's Zod go. 

Then there is the scene at the Fortress of Solitude where Superman has his final battle with Zod, Ursa and Non and they are joined by Lois and Lex Luthor.  And in the scene after they fight, Superman is forced to surrender to Zod but then he talks discreetly with Luthor and says " Try and get them all into this molecule chamber. It takes away their powers, see... and turns them into ordinary human beings. Now if you could..." but Zod approaches and Superman shushes Luthor.  But Luthor betrays Superman by telling Zod about the chamber and Superman angrily says "Luthor, you poisonous snake!".  

And Superman is forced to go into the chamber where it activates and apparently makes him human although he still has his cape and instead Superman has in fact turned the tables on Zod and the others to make them human, which he proves by kneeling before Zod and then crushes his hand! Superman then picks up Zod and throws him away and he hits the wall and falls into a deep chasm with Non following suit as he tries to fly and Ursa is knocked into the chasm by Lois's right hook.

So, after this, Lois hugs Superman who asks her if she is alright and she nods and Superman turns to Lex and says "I knew you'd double cross me, Luthor! A lying weasel like you couldn't resist the chance!". Lex however tries to bluff his way out of it and says "You kidding?! That was beautiful! Did you see they way they fell into our trap?!" and he laughs loudly but Superman sees through it and shouts "TOO LATE, LUTHOR! Too late!" and he flies off with Lois and abandons Lex at the fortress.  

And last of all is the amusing scene near the end of the film where Clark returns to the diner to get revenge over the bully that beat him up earlier on. So, in the scene, the bully sits in the diner munching on his meal and he shouts "Get me another plate of your garbage!" which the female worker takes offense to as its her special. So, Clark suddenly appears at the door and says "Gee, that's funny! Never seen garbage eat garbage before!" and the bully looks over and sees Clark, who moves slowly toward him and says "Excuse me, sir, I think you're sitting in my favourite seat!" and the bully says "Come and get it, four eyes!".

So, Clark calmly and slowly walks towards the bully, whom the diner owner warns him that he just got the place fixed up after his last fight with Clark. So, as Clark stands in front of the bully, the bully takes a swing and punches Clark in the gut only for it to have no effect and he grasps his hand in great pain. So, as the bully sits down, Clark spins his seat around really fast, which makes the bully dizzy and Clark lifts him onto the counter and says to the owner "This order is to go!" and shoves him across the counter and he crashes into a pinball machine at the end of the room. Clark then offers some money to the owner and says "I'm terribly sorry about the damage, sir" and he before he goes, he says "Oh, I've been..." and he mimes lifting weights "...working out!" and he walks out.

Margot Kidder is excellent again as Lois Lane and she plays the part to near perfection as she gives her character the right amount of feistiness and her character is nicely developed as she falls further in love with Superman.

Kidder some good scenes aswell that include her scene at Niagra falls where she notices that Clark has disappeared while Superman suddenly appears to rescue a boy who falls over a rail into the falls below.  And Lois suspicious says to herself "Superman just happens to be in Niagra falls and Clark is not around as usual.....hmmm!" and after Clark reappears, Lois suspicisouly asks him "Where we you?" and Clark says "I was away getting hotdogs".  And Lois says "Well, it seems kind of strange to me that every time Superman's around, you disappear" and Clark feigns surprise "Wow Superman was here?!" and and Lois says "And you weren't . . . as usual. So what have you got to say about that?!".  And Clark makes an excuse "Damn, I forgot the orange juice" and starts to walk off but Lois stops him saying "Clark!" and Clark says awkwardly "No orange juice?".

And then there is the scene where Lois confronts Clark over his secret identity and she says to him "What's your hurry, Superman?!" and it stops Clark dead in his tracks and Lois says "I gotta admit, you know. Your disguise is nearly perfect. You had me fooled. And I am nobody's fool, believe me!".  And as Clark tries to bluff her again, Lois says "Listen, I'm so sure you're Superman, that I'm willing to bet my life on it" and she then says "Now, if I'm right, you'll turn into Superman.  And if I'm wrong, you've got yourself one hell of a story!".  And Clark again denies her accusations and starts to walk away leaving Lois say "Bye bye baby!" and she jumps over the rail and goes into the falls.  But after Clark manages to rescue Lois without turning into Superman, soaking wet she turns to an also wet Clark and says "And you were what I thought was Superman?!  This is really embarrassing!".

And later on at the fortress of solitude there is the scene where after Superman tricks Zod and the others into losing their super powers, Superman throws Zod into the chasm of nothingness below.  And after Non stupidly tries flying also falls to his doom below, which then leaves Lois to turn to Ursa and say "You know something?  You're a real pain in the neck!" and she punches her and she falls into the chasm as well.

And lastly there is the scene near the end where Lois, now knowing Clark's secret identity is torn about it and she sobs and says Clark doesn't need to worry about her and he says "I like worrying about you".  And Lois tearfully says "Would you stop? Don't you know that this is killing me? Do you know what it's like to have you come in here, every morning, and not be able to talk to you? Not be able to… show I have any feelings for you, not… be able to tell anyone I know who you are? I don't even know what to call you!".  And Clark says "Lois, I don't know what to say" and Lois says "I dunno....just say you love me" and Clark takes off his glasses and he kisses her which appears to erase her memory of his identity and cause her to faint. 

And after Lois goes back to normal and asks "What was I talking about before?" and Lueene says "If I know you it would have been about Superman!" and Clark sighs and says "Oh, him again!" and Lois says "Clark, Clark! You gotta stop feeling threatened every time the guy's name is mentioned! I mean appreciate you" and Clark smiles and asks "You do?" and Lois says "Sure I do! Especially if you get me a hamburger!" and Clark awkwardly asks "A hamburger? At 10am?" and Lois "Yeah, with everything on it and..." and Clark says "...orange juice, freshly squeezed!". So, Clark walks off to get Lois's burger orders and Lois then says to Lueene "Ain't he a nice guy?!" and she then asks Lueene "Lueene. What's happening in the world?" who just rolls her eyes and walks out.

Gene Hackman is also great as Lex Luthor once again and he evidently relishes in playing the character and has his share of fun moments.

And to start off there is the scene where Luthor in jail with Otis, laments over his failure to defeat Superman during the events of the first film. However, Lex has already hatched a plan to try and escape prison and locate a way to travel North to find Superman's fortress of solitude. 

So, in the scene, Otis tells Lex how every time they try and locate Superman, he flies off North and Lex asks "Why?" and Otis suggests "To ski?" and Lex says to him "Every man his vulnerable point. You, Otis, have more than one! I didn't see Superman's in time. But with time, patience and skill...my little black box is almost ready". Otis then says loudly "Oh! That little black box in our cell?!" and Lex loudly sushes him and Otis quietly asks "What does it do?" and Lex tells him "That little black box goes beyond any conventional radar. It tracks alpha waves" and Otis pretending to know what he means says "Ahhh! Alpha waves" and Lex turns away and shakes his head in disbelief. Lex then says "Those alpha waves will take me North to his secret and his secret will give me Superman!". 

Then there is the scene where Lex turns up at the White house after Zod, Ursa and Non have taken it over.  And Luthor turns up waving a handkerchief as a peaceful gesture and he addresses himself to them "Hi, Lex Luthor.  LEX LUTHOR! Possibly you've heard the name? the Greatest Criminal Mind on Earth!".  And as Zod and the others move menacingly toward him Luthor backs away saying "WAIT! I can give you anything! The... the... the... the Brass Ring, unlimited freedom to maim and kill! PLUS! Lex Luthor's keen mind, Lex Luthor's savvy...." and he puts his hand on Ursa's and says "Lex Luthor's school of career guidance.." and she begins to crush it.  And Luthor then reveals a valuable piece of info that might keep him alive as he says to Zod "Oh Great One, what I am bargaining with is what YOU do not have: The Son of Jor-El".  And Zod says "Come!  We will bring him to his knees!" and as they make to walk out Luthor stops them saying "WAIT!  First you must find him... and Lex Baby is the only one who knows where he is".

Then there is the scene where Zod, Ursa and Non invade the Daily planet and Non smashes his way into White's office.  And after Luthor arrives and says to himself "Even with all this accumulated knowledge, when will these dummies learn to use a DOOR KNOB?!" and he walks into White's office and says " Hi! You should see the White House; they'll be cleaning it for months!". Zod however is not impressed when he sees that Superman isn't there and says to Lex "You promised me the son of Jor-El!" and Lex awkwardly says "Oh, your grace...what I've given you is the next best thing! All you need to do is hold onto that little lady there and he'll show up. They're the best of friends!" and he laughs furtively and says "You know what I mean?".  

And when Zo threatens to kill Lex once again and orders for the others to be killed, Superman finally shows up outside and challenges Zod to "step outside". So, at this point, Luthor out of character shows a sign of relief and says to himself "Superman, thank God!" and Zod glares at him and Luthor quickly says "I mean, get him!".

And lastly is the confrontational scene at the Fortress of Solitude where Superman whispers to Luthor about the molecule chamber and how it can take away the supervillain's powers but Luthor decides to betray Superman by letting him know.  And Luthor says to Zod "Don't go in there, General, its a trap.  That's a molecule chamber. It turns people like you into people like me".  And after Superman has defeated the evil trio he says to Luthor how he knew he would double cross him and Luthor tries to backpedal and says "Are you kidding? That was beautiful! Did you see the way they fell into our trap!" but Superman shouts "Too late, Luthor! Too late!". Lex then tries to make one last ditch attempt to appeal to Superman and says "Look, Superman, I know I owe you one. But if you take me back, I promise I will turn over a whole new leaf!" but Superman leaves him behind. 

Terence Stamp is also great as the main villain, General Zod, the ruthless Kyrptonian who leads his group of supervillains and threatens to take over the Earth.

Stamp has a great role and he appears to really revel in it (and why not?!) and he has his fair share of great moments that include the scene where Zod, Ursa and Non kill a NASA space crew on the moon as they talk about their great new powers. 

So, in the scene Ursa says to Zod "Something is happening" and Zod says "Yes, to all of us. The closer we come to a planet with one sun, a yellow sun. The more our molecular density gives us unlimited powers". Ursa then says "They come from there. A place called Houston" and Zod says to her "Then we will go there to rule. Finally to rule!" and they take off and head for Earth. 

arrive in a small town in America and they wreak havoc as the army turn up but they are defeated easily.  And Zod says after Ursa destroys a helicopter by blowing at it "I win!  I ALWAYS win!  Is there no even on this planet that will challenge me?!".  

And then after Zod announces on himself on television and he says to one of the army generals " So you are a General? And who is your superior?!" and the General says "I only answer to the president" and Zod angrily says "And he will answer to ME!  Or else all his cities will end up like this one!" and he rips off the general's star from the shoulder of his uniform and throws it away.

Another good scene for Stamp is when Zod, Ursa and Non invade the White house and they enter the oval office and Zod confronts the president.  And one man steps forward and Zod says to him "Now kneel before Zod" and the man obediently kneels straight away and Zod says "You are not the president.  No one who leads so many would kneel so quickly" and the real president (E.G. Marshall) then reveals himself and says "I will kneel before if it will save lives" and Zod says "It will, starting with your own".  And the president says "What I do now, I do for the sake of the people of Earth. But there is one man on this planet who will NEVER kneel before you" and Zod says the great line "Who is this imbecile?  Where is he?" and the president says "I wish I knew" and he kneels saying "Oh God" and Zod unwittingly corrects him "Zod!".     

Then there is the big fight scene between Zod and Superman in Metropolis and Superman turns up and asks him to step outside and Zod shouts out "Come to me, son of Jor-El!!  KNEEL BEFORE ZOD!!" and he flies smashing through the window as do Ursa and Non.  And in the scene Superman flies to a building site and Zod lands on a building across from him and says "Son of Jor-El, we were beginning to think you were a coward!" and Superman says "I'm not a coward, Zod" and Zod uses his heat vision powers to break off the side of a building and he grabs with both hands and aims to launch it at Superman and shouts "Then die as you deserve to!" and he throws it at Superman who destroys it with his heat vision.

And later there is the final confrontation at the Fortress of Solitude where Zod and the others finally arrive and Zod mocks Superman's home saying "Scruffy. Morbid. A sentimental replica of a planet long since vanished. No style at all!".  And after their fight, Superman surrenders and Zod says "Did you think we would give up our advantage? No. The son of Jor-El will be my slave... forever. Or else, the millions of Earthlings you protect shall pay for your defiance!".  And after Superman is forced to step into the molecule chamber and it activates, Superman steps out looking weak and he moves toward Zod who says "And now... finally. Take my hand and swear eternal loyalty to Zod" and Superman takes Zod's hand and crushes it and lifts him up and throws him into the chasm below!   

And the last few cast members I will mention include Sarah Douglas who is good as Ursa, Zod's villainous second in command. Interesting enough, Douglas's dialogue was partly dubbed over by Annie Ross, who appeared in Superman III as the villainous Vera Webster.

And Douglas has some good moments also that include the scene just after the supervillains arrive on Earth in the woods and Ursa picks up a snake and it bites her and she uses her heat vision to kill it and in surprise she says "Did you see that? Did you see what I did? I have powers beyond reason here!" and Zod replies "We all have them, my dear".

Then there is the scene where Zod and Ursa walk into a bar and survey it and notices two men doing an arm wrestle and the winner looks over at Ursa leeringly.  And Ursa walks over to him and sits down and holds out her hand to wrestle and she smiles saying "Let's just hold hands" and the man takes her hand and says "Let me know if this tickles!" and Ursa swiftly twists his arms and knocks him off the table which breaks in half.

And then there is the scene just after where a television crew have arrived to report on the havoc wreaked by Zod and the others but Zod then steps out and tells him to continue his report.  However Ursa quickly get's fed up and says "Enough of this! If the whole planet is watching, cannot we show them something more interesting?!".  And as the army show up and a major orders them to surrender and "this is an order!" Ursa says "General Zod does not take orders!  He gives them!".

And lastly there is the scene where Zod, Ursa and Non invade the Daily planet offices and they find White and Lois and Ursa mockingly says of Superman "What an undemanding male this Superman must be!".  And Lois retorts "Yeah, and you could use a tuck here and there yourself, sister!" and Ursa moves at her but Zod stops her.  And later after the fight is over and Superman retreats, Zod and the others fly back to White's office and Ursa says of Superman "If he cares so much for these humans...." she then grabs Lois "...why not take his favourite?!".

Jackie Cooper is also pretty good in his role as Perry White, the tough no nonsense editor of the Daily planet.

Cooper also has some good moments although I will only mention his opening scene where he informs Clark about the terrorist incident at the Eiffel tower.  

And Clark is unaware of the situation which prompts Perry to say "Get your head out of the closet, Kent! Where've you been for the past twelve hours?!".  And at this point Jimmy Olsen (Marc McClure) tells Clark that terrorists have seized the Eiffel tower "in Paris!" and Perry says to Jimmy "He knows where the Eiffel Tower is, Olson!" and he has an afterthought and says "You do, don't you, Kent?!".  And Perry says "Yeah, but that's just petty anty stuff. These guys claim that if the French government doesn't meet their demands, they've got a hydrogen bomb ready to level Paris" and Clark says "Well jeez, Mr White that's terrible!" and Perry says "That's why they call them "terrorists" Kent!".

Clark then asks Perry "Does Lois know about this?" and Perry says to him "Does she know about it? She's IN it! If Paris is gonna kaflooey, I want my best reporter in it!". Clark asks Perry "But jee, Mr White, don't you think that's a bit dangerous?" and Perry says "It goes with the territory, Kent!". Perry then says just as Clark discreetly walks out of the office "Don't worry if I know Lois, she will come back with a Pulitzer prize winning article with the headline "What makes me tick?!". Perry then turns around and says "Now don't stand around, Kent..." and he is surprised to see Clark has already left. 

Jack O'Halloran even though he has no dialogue at all in the film given that his character is mute does well as Non, the not-too-bright supervillain who likes to wreak havoc, chaos and destruction.  And O'Halloran best moments come when he tests out his heat vision against a truck in the small town and he starts to get the hang of using it and he looks pleased with himself and later as the army attack he uses the heat vision to full strength and destroys an army truck with it and he grins and looks to Zod, who looks fairly impressed.

And lastly there is the scene where the supervillains invade the offices of the Daily planet and Non literally smashes his way into Perry White's office.  And Non then walks right up to Perry's desk and Perry makes a feeble attempt to hit Non as he picks up his atlas globe and throws it at Non and it simply bounces off his head and Non smashes Perry's desk in half and he grabs him and lifts him up to the ceiling and puts his head through the roof, knocking Perry out.

And the last few I will mention starts with Ned Beatty who has fun reprising his role as Lex Luthor's dim-witted sidekick, Otis.  

Beatty only really appears early on in the film while Lex is still in prison but he some good moments that include the scene where Otis does laundry and he tells Lex that Superman always travels North.  And Luthor muses "North... Why does he always go north?" and Otis offers a suggestion "To skie?!".  And later there is the scene where Luthor and Otis try to escape and Miss Teschmacher turns up in air balloon for them both and Luthor climbs up the ladder but as Otis tries to climb onboard his weight causes the balloon to sink leaving Luthor to kick the ladder off and leaving Otis behind with the guards surrounding him.  

Valerie Perrine is also reprises her role very well as Miss Teschmacher, Luthor's assistant and girlfriend who helps Luthor escape from prison.  And Perrine has a good moment when Luthor and Teschmacher arrive at the Fortress of Solitude and Miss Teschmacher subtly drops the hint that she needs to go to the toilet.  And Luthor says to her "Its beautiful! I has everything!" and Miss Teschmacher says "Wrong!" and she gives him a look that tells him she needs the loo and he asks "Why didn't you go before we left?" and Miss Teschmacher sharply says "That was two days ago!".

Susannah York also returns and does well in her brief role as Superman's mother, Lara and her main scene comes when Superman speaks to her image at the FOS and he asks her permission and approval to be with Lois.  

And Lara warns him that "If you intend to live your life with a mortal, you must live as a mortal.  Then you will become an ordinary man and you can be hurt like an ordinary man. But be warned if you choose this path, there is no going back".  And then she walks out of the crystal block she appears on into as a more solid figure and she pleads with Superman "Oh, my son, are you sure?" and Superman says "Mother, I love her" and she disappears.  

And last of all is Marc McClure who also reprises his role the young Daily planet photographer, Jimmy Olsen.  

And McClure's role is quite small here but I will mention the one scene where Lois anxiously awaits the return of Superman from the Fortress of Solitude to fight against Zod, Ursa and Non. So, in the scene, Jimmy tries to reassure Perry and Lois that Superman will turn up "I bet he's on his way here now, chief. Lois knows his plays better than anybody!" and Lois, worried, says "Yeah...better than anybody". And then we hear a large rumble as the office shakes violently and Jimmy says "It sounds like an earthquake!".   

DIRECTOR(S)

Finally moving onto the direction, unusually this time round there were two involved given that Richard Donner worked originally on the first Superman, he also filmed a fair amount of Superman II aswell as the two films were initially to be shot back to back.  However Donner had run into some problems with the film's producers Alexander and Ilya Salkind and Pierre Spengler off screen and he was then replaced by Richard Lester who had previously directed two of the Salkind's films with production being halted during 1977 and restarted again under Lester's direction in 1979.

And it safe to say that you can easily notice the shift in tone of the film due to the change of directors as Donner's scenes have a more grounded and serious tone to them even though they have humour aswell.  However Lester's scenes have a more slapstick and comical feel the tone of those scenes are generally more light hearted which can be seen as both a criticism but also in a way plus.  Its difficult to say which director provides the better effort here as both of them brought something valuable to the film despite their different styles so overall Donner and Lester both did a commendable job in putting Superman II together.

Although I have to say I still prefer Lester's version of the film as it works better as a film overall as Donner's cut which was later released in 2006, which is a bit uneven and some of the scenes feel a bit disjointed especially the scene where Lois works out Clark's secret identity which was taken from Reeve's screen test.  It just doesn't feel that natural as a film in places and for that reason I have to go with Lester's take on it.   

MUSIC 

Also finally a little note on the music score by Ken Thorne, which is mostly an adaptation and variation on John Williams main score from the original film.  Williams was not available at the time of the production of the film as he was working on the score for The Empire Strikes Back so he suggested Thorne, who was a personal friend of Williams (Thorne sadly since then passed away in 2014, aged 90). Although, it was also said that Williams did not get on well with the producers, the Salkinds and he decided not to come back to score the sequel as a result.

And I think its safe to say that Ken Thorne's score isn't in the same league as John Williams, in fact there are at times you think you are listening to the score from a TV movie.  But overall he doesn't do a bad job at orchestrating the music for the film, and he adds in a couple of good passages of music himself, the scene where Lois ascends the Eiffel at the start of the film is one that comes to mind and where Clark makes his way back to the Fortress of Solitude.

FLAWS 

As for the film's flaws.....yes Superman II has some worth mentioning.

So to start off one of the problems I have with the film is to do with Lester's direction as he does lean towards slapstick a bit in the film which does undermine its credibility at times.  And this is particularly notable in the scene where Zod, Ursa and Non all use their superpowers to blow away the people of Metropolis as they aim to try and fight them after Superman appears to have been "killed" by the bus crash.  Its a pretty tedious scene and it features some unecessary slapstick in it especially with the man in the telephone booth still talking as the booth is blown over and the man is dragged along the ground with it!  Its just a stupid daft scene and I think it has no real in the movie.

Then there are some plot issues with the film too such as the one where it seems to take ages for Superman to fly from Metropolis to Paris when at the end of the first film he flew around the world many times as quick as a flash!  Its another pretty silly moment in the story that doesn't quite ring true but obviously is thrown in to build up the suspense of Superman arriving just in the case nick of time.

Then we have the scene where Lois starts to suspect that Clark is in fact Superman after he conveniently disappears when the boy falls into the Niagra falls.  And despite the fact that the boy fell into the falls some 15 or 20 seconds before Clark managed to change into Superman suggests that the kid would hit the water before Superman realistically would have been able to change and fly in to rescue him!  So basically the boy should have been dead by the time Superman would have got to him!   
And this brings me onto the age old problem of just how incredibly obvious it is that Clark is in fact Superman and how a pair glasses can conceal this from Lois and everyone else for that matter!  And it takes Lois a movie and a half before she begins to piece it together despite being such a supposedly great journalist with finely tuned instincts to sniff out something! 

Another daft moment for me was just how did Zod and his underlings know how to get to the White house?!  I don't image they stopped to ask anyone for directions!  Its just like they have a built-in GPS or its part of their super powers to know just where to find it!  But again its just something that is taken for granted in these superhero films that the villains always just know where to go without a single hint or clue!   It would have been fun if Zod stopped and asked one of the generals or soldiers "How do you get to this White house?!" it might have been daft but it would have been a bit more logical. 

I also thought it was a bit strange how the image of Superman's mother, Lara, did not tell him about the fact that Zod, Ursa and Non had arrived on Earth when she had told Lex Luthor in a message to him earlier in the film!  I mean at this point in the film, Zod had arrived and started terrorising the small town so surely she SHOULD have warned him about it!  Instead Lara doesn't tell him and let's Superman lose his powers, leaving the world in a vulnerable state and at the mercy of the ruthless Zod.  Yep, smart move, mum!

Its also a bit strange that Miss Teschmacher suddenly disappears from the film later on as she only appears in the earlier scenes at the prison breakout and the FOS and it makes you wonder what happend to her????  Also its strange how Luthor decided to trust Miss Teschmacher again after she betrayed him in the first film by saving Superman from drowning in the pool after Luthor put the chain of Kryptonite around his neck.  But I guess at this point he had little choice and decided he needed her help to break out anyway.

I also thought there was a weird inconsistency in the display of the supervillains strengths and this particularly notable in the scene where Non smashes his way into the Daily Planet and some office staff try to stop him but he just brushes them aside. However, earlier we saw Zod do this as he pushed aside a man in a diner and he went right through the wall but in Non's scene, he merely brushes the office staffers to the side and they DON'T go through the wall, which you really think given Non's strength they should have! 

Then we have Superman's final confrontation with Zod which has some silly moments especially that one where Superman throws a large plastic "S" cover from his chest which surrounds Non who flies right at him only for the plastic cover to absorb into or disappear from Non's body.  Its another strange addition to the story that makes no sense whatsoever and you are just left guessing as to what it is!

Also this scene raises a rather morally dubious point about Superman killing people as he clearly kills off Zod at the end as he crushes his hand, picks him up and throws him into the chasm of nothingness below in the fortress.  And Lois Lane does the exact same to Ursa as she punches her into the chasm aswell, making her a murdered aswell but its something that never causes a problem for her and she never questions herself after (well Clark erases her memory later anyway!).

And this last of all brings me onto that kiss between Clark and Lois at the end where Clark takes off his glasses and kisses her which causes her to have her memory wiped of Clark being Superman.  Its a pretty stupid moment for sure and makes no sense either as to just how one single kiss from Superman could easily do that!  However it is slightly better than the alternative in Donner's version where Superman simply spins around the world again to make time go backward so Lois would have no memory of her discovery and we see the events of the world go backward including Perry White brushing his teeth and tooth paste sliding back onto his brush!  Now THAT is stupid!

Anyway that's it for the flaws.

SUM UP

So, in summing up, Superman II is a very entertaining sequel to the original and it features again a fine cast, lead by Christopher Reeve who confidently continues the role of the man of steel as well as being backed up by Margot Kidder, Gene Hackman and Terence Stamp who makes a great villain as Zod.

It still does have some problems as mentioned above and it misses John Williams at the helm in terms of scoring the music as Ken Thorne does a decent job but it just isn't the same without the great master composer in Williams.  Also the styles in direction do make for an inconsistent tone in the film at times too, which is a bit bothersome but it doesn't ruin the film experience and Superman II overall is still a very good sequel. 

So, I will finish and give Superman II a rating of:

8.5 out of 10.

So, that's it for now and I will be back soon with another post.

Till the next one, its bye for now!