Directed by: Richard Donner, Richard Lester
Starring: Gene Hackman, Ned Beatty, Terence Stamp, Christopher Reeve, Margot Kidder, Jackie Cooper
(8 votes)
Superman II is a step down from the first movie and suffers from sluggish pacing and a few instances of unfunny comedy, but is nonetheless still an entertaining sequel with decent action and great performances, particularly from the late Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder, whose chemistry with each other really is the heart of the film.
Superman II is an 1980 Action Adventure Science Fiction movie where the Man of Steel fights Lex Luther as well as three despicable Kryptonian criminals-Zod, Ursa and Non. Though highly dated, there are still some fun moments in this classic and the effects are serviceable. Christopher Reeve and Margot Kidder star.
Visible crew/equipment: Ursa throws the sewer lid at Superman sending him flying backwards into the car windshield. Watch the sewer lid carefully when Superman actually hits the windshield. You can see that the sewer lid was actually attached to a belt around his waist so that it would stay in place for the shots where he is flying backward through the air. (01:39:50)
Clark Kent: I have to go back.
Lois Lane: You can't go back, there's no way now.
Clark Kent: I have to. I've gotta try dammit, I've got to try something. Anything.
Lois Lane: It's not your fault. You didn't know this was going to happen.
Clark Kent: They knew. I heard 'em. I just didn't listen.
Trivia: Some of Gene Hackman's scenes were actually filmed with a body double and a voice impersonator. That's because he had already completed all his scenes under Donner's direction and was not obligated to return for Lester's reshoots, either due to unavailability (according to Ilya Salkind) or unwillingness (out of loyalty to Donner). The voice impersonator was also used on a lot of Donner footage for audio consistency.
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Answer: In the theatrical cut, nobody really knows why the green crystal restored his powers. However if you watch the Richard Donner cut, it is explained that the green crystal is a communication device that helps Superman talks to the residual essence/spirit/ghost of his father Jor-El. Before he died, Jor-El gave the crystal to his son. Jor-El anticipated that Kal-El might give up his powers, and he also anticipated that Zod might eventually escape the Phantom Zone, so Jor-El lets his son absorb the leftover energy of his spirit, thus restoring all his Kryptonian powers.
Matt Van Gogh