I finally saw the Superman 2 Donner cut

[Flying Spaghetti Monster]

How underwhelming. I knew it wasn't a "finished" film, that screentests were used, that there'd be holes and inconsistencies, but this was so underwhelming. The commentary actually makes it worse, as tehy put down Lester and everything he did. I though Lester kept a light tone in the second while still taking the character seriously.

Then they got rid of my two favorite lines of dialogue:

"General, would you care to step outside?"

"I expect better manners from my guests."

Instead, we don't even get a final battle. Sure the teleporting and the cellophane shield were kinda cheesey but as a kid I thought it was super cool. I mean it was just supercool to see them fight in the fortress.

The only thing good about the film was the Jor-el stuff and that was overdone. I liked the bit of ambiguity as to whether his parents really gave him his powers back at the end of the film

 

[Kryton]

Still better than the released version, if only slightly so.

 

[Cicero]

I actually rather enjoyed it, to my surprise. It's the only one of the Superman movies I've at all cared for.

 

[DRMidnite]

Way better than that tripe they released to cinemas.

 

[Kirkman1987]

Love the Donner cut a lot more than the Lester version. That said, It was a huge mistake not to use Lester's ending.

 

[davejames]

I definitely think a finished Donner version of the movie would have rocked, but as it stands now, I'm going to have to stick with the more polished theatrical version.

Yeah it's pretty cheesy and cheap-looking compared to the first movie, but there are still a ton of badass scenes in it. And it's still lightyears better than most of the superhero movies made today.

 

[RandyS]

I like both versions. The original cut of II has always been my favorite of those movies, and I enjoyed seeing Donner's "alternate take" on it.

 

[msbae]

The Donner cut just plain sucked compared the the theatrical version. Cutting out all those fight scenes was a crime. Cutting out the scene at the end with Superman bringing a new flag to the White House was a crime that even Lex Luthor wouldn't commit. Richard Donner is better than this...

 

[Kelso]

I preferred the theatrical version.

 

[theenglish]

I mentioned in another thread that I would love someone to take the two cuts and do a "fan edit" version, keeping the Eiffel Tower sequence and the original ending and then using Donner's take throughout the main portion of the movie.

 

[Kryton]

The most regrettable part is that the Donner ending IS the "original ending" of the two films, only it was repurposed for the first movie...which makes it seem oddly redundant for the re-edit.

 

[msbae]

I mentioned in another thread that I would love someone to take the two cuts and do a "fan edit" version, keeping the Eiffel Tower sequence and the original ending and then using Donner's take throughout the main portion of the movie.

That would be a better film than the Donner cut...

 

[chrisspringob]

I don't really like the ending in either of the versions. Making Lois forget everything that happened is kind of a cheat. I would rather just go from Donner's scene where Supes drops Lois off at her apartment, and then immediately cut to Superman flying off into space and cue the credits....have Lois remember everything. Sure it screws up the continuity for the later movies, but the later movies are bad anyway, so who cares about that?

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

I'm still inclined to think that Lester is a hack with a tendency for slapstick, but the one thing I did like about his version is the "General, would you care to step outside?" line. If it was Lester who filmed that line, then I respect him a bit more now. (On the other hand, if it was Donner, why'd they cut it?)

 

[theenglish]

I mentioned in another thread that I would love someone to take the two cuts and do a "fan edit" version, keeping the Eiffel Tower sequence and the original ending and then using Donner's take throughout the main portion of the movie.

That would be a better film than the Donner cut...

And removing the Super-kiss at the end of the movie. Besides, having Lois know Clark is Superman fits perfectly with post-crisis continuity. Hell, the next Superman movie should just be a complete remake of Superman II.

 

[ElScoob]

Coincidentally, I just saw it for the first time myself. I enjoyed it overall; I was happy to lose a lot of the Lester slapsticky stuff. Not as happy to lose "General... would you care to step outside?"

The ending, however, completely failed to make sense. Not the turning back time thing, but Clark going back to confront the truck driver at the diner. If time got turned back to before the three villains were released from the Phantom Zone, then basically the whole movie never happened. So apart from a very uncharacteristic and obsessive need for revenge on Clark's part (presumably he would have been the only one who remembered what happened), beating up the trucker and trashing the diner served no purpose. I mean, the poor guy wouldn't even know why Kent was beating him up. Plus, the diner's proprietor mentioned just having had the place fixed up... but if the original fight never happened, than what did he need to fix?

I also missed Superman replacing the flag and apologizing to the President. Of course, that would have made no sense after reversing time, either.

Really, the movie should have pretty much ended after Clark went out to get Lois' pizza...

 

[Gojirob]

I mentioned in another thread that I would love someone to take the two cuts and do a "fan edit" version, keeping the Eiffel Tower sequence and the original ending and then using Donner's take throughout the main portion of the movie.

That would be a better film than the Donner cut...

And removing the Super-kiss at the end of the movie. Besides, having Lois know Clark is Superman fits perfectly with post-crisis continuity. Hell, the next Superman movie should just be a complete remake of Superman II.

Maybe someday the tech will be there for a truly seamless edit. I would have the time-reverse from STM be what causes the missle to go off into space, freeing the PZ trio. In fact (no time right now, maybe later today) we should list our own personal keep/lose/merge charts.

 

[Samurai8472]

Donner worked with what he had and what he had was not alot. What gets me all the time is the poorly added audio. Sometimes Reeve doesn't even sound like himself, but more like someone dubbed him over(highly likely)

Like the line "I'm not a coward Zod!" at the big fight

The screentest as footage was unavoidable

 

[Mysterion]

Either version of the second movie is a step down from the first. The first Superman movie is still one of the best superhero/comic-book movies ever. Iron Man is kind of edging it into seocnd place in my head. But it took thirty years for another movie to come along and do that for me.

 

[msbae]

Maybe I should watch this movie again to refresh my memory...