"Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut" finally reveals the long-forgotten original version of Superman II as intended by its original director, Richard Donner. Both Superman I and II were shot simultaneously in 1978, but after a fallout with the producers, Richard Donner was replaced and new scenes were shot under the direction of Richard Lester. Surprisingly, much of the original Donner version had already been completed by the time Warner Brothers had hired Lester to re-direct Superman II. Many of the deleted scenes had been found lying in dusty vaults at Warner Brothers, and because some scenes had never been filmed, several test shots had to be substituted in order to provide for continuity. The final product is familiar in many regards (a large number of scenes come from the Lester version), but this one represents a departure in character development, especially the growing love story between Lois Lane and Clark Kent/Superman, as well as the relationship between Superman and Jor-El as son and father.
While I liked some aspects of the "new" version, especially the fact that much more is explained about the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, I found this version oftentimes tedious, long-winded, and slow. Many of the Donner scenes, for example, include superfluous dialogue and banter between Lex Luthor and his cronies, as well as the three Kryptonian antagonists. Perhaps the scene that I found least likable- but which Donner reportedly felt was critical- was a scene where Lois Lane attempts to "prove" that Clark Kent is actually Superman by jumping out of the Daily Planet thirty stories up. This scene was entirely unnecessary- Lois Lane's suspicions could have been revealed in a much more, shall I say, sane way. A woman jumping out of a building to prove a point- even if she is dead on target- is truly disturbing. Even if Clark Kent transforms into Superman in order to save her life, he will probably not want to have a romantic relationship with this sort of nutty woman, let alone conceive giving it all up for her.
In a later scene, which was actually a test shot- Lois Lane fires a blank at Clark Kent to once again "prove" he is Superman. Again, this seems a bit imbalanced for Lois. It is even more awkward that in the very next scene the two are madly in love with each other and Superman is ready to give up his super powers- against his father's wishes (at the same time, fey and nutty Lois seems unbothered by the fact that Superman will give up the powers he could use to save the world just for her- what kind of woman is that?). It seems as if Superman himself has gone insane (in the Donner version, Marlon Brando as Jor-El tells his son that if he gives up his powers now he is making a big mistake. Yet Superman decides that it is worthwhile to give all of this up for a woman who just jumped out of a building and tried to shoot him). The transition and "revelation" of Kent's true identity was significantly more credible in Lester's theatrical version.
To be fair, the producers of the Donner cut did not have the original actors to work with (of course, we all know that, sadly, both Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve have passed away). Even were Donner able to bring back all of the original actors, they could not re-film their scenes almost thirty years on. So Donner and crew did a pretty good job splicing the original scenes into this version.
That said, I do not feel that this movie is a substantial improvement upon the original. If Donner had been able to complete his original film, it might have been significantly better, especially from a character development standpoint. Even with Lois Lane's crazy antics, we can tell that there is much more going on in this movie than in the original 1980 theatrical release. And I am especially impressed by the dialogue between Reeve and Brando as father and son, something that creates a powerful continuity with the original movie and which symbolizes the passing of the baton (apparently, Brando's scenes, which had been filmed along with those for Superman I, were cut because the film's producers were too cheap to pay Brando royalties for the second movie).
This movie appears, unfortunately, unfinished, with many segments (especially dialogue between Reeve and Kidder, and Reeve and Brando) that symbolize the potential brilliance of a movie that could have been. Other scenes should simply have been left on the cutting room floor (many so-called director's cuts have the problem of including entirely superfluous scenes and dialogue). If you love the original Superman movies, this version will give you an interesting perspective on the original vision of Richard Donner, but for me at least, the original theatrical release is still the better, more focused and tight version.
While I liked some aspects of the "new" version, especially the fact that much more is explained about the relationship between Clark Kent and Lois Lane, I found this version oftentimes tedious, long-winded, and slow. Many of the Donner scenes, for example, include superfluous dialogue and banter between Lex Luthor and his cronies, as well as the three Kryptonian antagonists. Perhaps the scene that I found least likable- but which Donner reportedly felt was critical- was a scene where Lois Lane attempts to "prove" that Clark Kent is actually Superman by jumping out of the Daily Planet thirty stories up. This scene was entirely unnecessary- Lois Lane's suspicions could have been revealed in a much more, shall I say, sane way. A woman jumping out of a building to prove a point- even if she is dead on target- is truly disturbing. Even if Clark Kent transforms into Superman in order to save her life, he will probably not want to have a romantic relationship with this sort of nutty woman, let alone conceive giving it all up for her.
In a later scene, which was actually a test shot- Lois Lane fires a blank at Clark Kent to once again "prove" he is Superman. Again, this seems a bit imbalanced for Lois. It is even more awkward that in the very next scene the two are madly in love with each other and Superman is ready to give up his super powers- against his father's wishes (at the same time, fey and nutty Lois seems unbothered by the fact that Superman will give up the powers he could use to save the world just for her- what kind of woman is that?). It seems as if Superman himself has gone insane (in the Donner version, Marlon Brando as Jor-El tells his son that if he gives up his powers now he is making a big mistake. Yet Superman decides that it is worthwhile to give all of this up for a woman who just jumped out of a building and tried to shoot him). The transition and "revelation" of Kent's true identity was significantly more credible in Lester's theatrical version.
To be fair, the producers of the Donner cut did not have the original actors to work with (of course, we all know that, sadly, both Marlon Brando and Christopher Reeve have passed away). Even were Donner able to bring back all of the original actors, they could not re-film their scenes almost thirty years on. So Donner and crew did a pretty good job splicing the original scenes into this version.
That said, I do not feel that this movie is a substantial improvement upon the original. If Donner had been able to complete his original film, it might have been significantly better, especially from a character development standpoint. Even with Lois Lane's crazy antics, we can tell that there is much more going on in this movie than in the original 1980 theatrical release. And I am especially impressed by the dialogue between Reeve and Brando as father and son, something that creates a powerful continuity with the original movie and which symbolizes the passing of the baton (apparently, Brando's scenes, which had been filmed along with those for Superman I, were cut because the film's producers were too cheap to pay Brando royalties for the second movie).
This movie appears, unfortunately, unfinished, with many segments (especially dialogue between Reeve and Kidder, and Reeve and Brando) that symbolize the potential brilliance of a movie that could have been. Other scenes should simply have been left on the cutting room floor (many so-called director's cuts have the problem of including entirely superfluous scenes and dialogue). If you love the original Superman movies, this version will give you an interesting perspective on the original vision of Richard Donner, but for me at least, the original theatrical release is still the better, more focused and tight version.