Popular reviews

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  Review by 📀 Cammmalot 📀 ★★★★ 6

  ”I trust you are not wasting my time, Lex Luthor”
  “Of course not, Your Turgidness.”

  Imagine that you’ve just directed the movie that’s going to spark the publics love of superhero movies in a way that will continue to endure for the next 50 years. What kind of thanks do you think you’d get from the studio? Well, if your Richard Donner, once you’ve completed 70% of the sequel you’d get a telegram telling you that your services are no longer required. WTF?!?!

  Then the studio decides to scrap the majority of what you’ve created in favor of an alternate version that makes less sense, is less fulfilling, and fails to live up to what you were capable of…

  What…

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  Review by Shawn Peer ★★★

  Good on Warner Bros. for doing right by Richard Donner and releasing his original cut and vision for this movie, even if it was decades later. I'm sure they learned their lesson and won’t screw over another filmmaker’s original movie when they abruptly exit production again..... 👀

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  Review by Lebowskidoo 🍿📽🍿🎬🍿 ★★★★½

  "The Kryptonian prophecy will at last be fulfilled..."

  The original Superman II is my favorite Superman movie of all time. I watched it repeatedly as a kid. Learning as an adult that it was wrestled away from the original director and that a different cut was being released of unseen footage made little difference to me. I couldn't imagine it being better, these things usually are rejects for a reason, right?

  Well, although I'm perfectly happy with the Superman II we got in 1980, this is a fascinating look at what almost was or could have been. Some parts are a fan's dream come true, like the Jor-El scenes at the Fortress of Solitude. A lot of the new Lois…

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  Review by Darren Carver-Balsiger ★★★½ 4

  Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is a fascinating curio. It elevates Superman II into a much more well-rounded, meaningful movie. Though it should be noted that, similar to Zack Snyder's Justice League, this isn't the movie that would have been released if Richard Donner had his way in 1980. Specifically this cut is only the approach the film would have had if Donner had made been allowed to make both Superman and Superman II in the way he wanted. It breaks continuity with the original Superman as released, so it's a sequel to something that doesn't exist. The Richard Donner Cut is incomplete in other ways too, with footage Donner didn't shoot, scenes that were meant to be rewritten,…

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  Review by Noah Thompson ★★★★½ 1

  This order's to go.

  I'm not fully sure where to begin this review, what I want to say about it, but this feels like one of those things where I just need to go off the cuff and say what feels right. So, let's get into it. No real way to beat around the bush with this, I'll be upfront: Richard Donner I would conclusively consider one of my favorite filmmakers ever. Superman and this film right here are just great. The Omen is one of the best horror films ever made if you ask me, boasting one of my favorite musical scores in the history of cinema. Lethal Weapon is rich in its thematic substance while also being grounded…

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  Review by SUDHAKAR KUMAR ★★★½

  Superman II directed by Donner, is a funnier, scarier, and more compelling picture.

  This cut feels much more concise and better paced. Most of the campiness of Lester’s cut was removed, and Brando’s scenes were restored, giving more weight to Superman’s arc. The theme of responsibility hits harder.

  Unquestionably the superior of the two cuts. It feels more like a superman sequel.

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  Review by John-El98 ★★★★

  Superman 2: Richard Donner Cut

  Deservedly! Superman 2: The Richard Donner cut lives up to its Extraordinary reputation! As one of the greatest comic book movies. Is the cut roof? Yeah. The pace? Yeah. Is the film stand out? Absolutely!!! The performance of Superman here portrayed by Christoper Reeves is timeless. Richard Donner understood Superman! It’s a shame it’s still not his full vision! An absolute must over the original.

  9/10

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  Review by Dawson Joyce ★★★★½

  Flowing more smoothly and feeling more organized than the theatrical cut, Richard Donner's original restored vision of Superman II is bar none the definitive version of the film, with a more personal, down-to-earth approach to the material and a tone that's thankfully much more pragmatic and hard-boiled.

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  Review by MaximusSol ★★★ 17

  More epic in scope and slightly darker than its theatrical "twin," Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is deeply flawed but at once both a better and worse film than the Lester version, especially with its laughable visual effects and absolutely horrid ending.

  Fortunately I saw this film just a few days after watching the theatrical cut, so the other version was fresh in my mind for comparison purposes. First off I will say that absolutely no one should watch this movie instead of, or before the theatrical version. It's just too disjointed with the use of footage from early screen tests and is replete with special effects that make the Power Rangers look like Interstellar in comparison. It is…

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  Review by Jack🧠 ★★★★

  Christopher Reeve and Richard Donner really made us believe a man could fly. Back when Superhero movies didn't feel like homework.

  Rest in power, Richard Donner.

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  Review by Jesse ★★★★

  “The following film represents Superman II as it was originally conceived and intended to be filmed.”

  Zack Snyder owes a lot to Richard Donner. Back in 2006, Donner got to do the seemingly impossible and go back into the editing room to recut his version of Superman II. Using alternate footage, screen tests, and new special effects, he crafts a similar but tonally different film. 

  Featuring a completely different opening than the Paris sequence and much different ending, I found it is quite fun to watch both versions back to back. The special effects may be crude because they didn’t have nearly the same budget to complete them. Deciding to reuse the John Williams score is one of the best…

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  Review by OE Reviews ★★★★ 2

  In honor of Richard Donner:

  What a shame Richard Donner passed away. I wasn’t too much of a fan of his works but I respect the heck out of him. Superman 1978 whether you like the film or not is one of the most important film in the industry. It paved the way for more and more comic book adaptations and captured the heart of it all. The Donner cut of Superman 2 is my favorite of his films. It may be finished in many aspects but it is clear that he had so much story to tell. I am glad he got to released his vision in 2006. Timeline, while not as strong as the book is still quite good. And Goonies is one I don’t particularly like but the vision is clearly there. His cascade of characters, relationships, and storylines are all stories he really wanted to tell. I don’t get that feeling with many filmmakers.