Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut (PG)
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This is, of course, the sequel to Superman. It came out in 1980 in some countries, and 1981 in others (including the United States). As with the first movie, I probably saw bits of this on TV or VHS or something, in the early 80s, but not enough to clearly recall anything about it, prior to finally watching it on DVD in 2017. And the version I'm watching is referred to as "The Richard Donner Cut," which was released on home media in 2006. So... I guess that means I haven't really seen the original version of the movie (aside from my vague recollections from childhood). And I'm not sure how different this cut actually is. See, Richard Donner was the original director, but before the movie was finished he was replaced by Richard Lester, who completed the film. And the 2006 Donner version includes some of Donner's old scenes that had been cut from the Lester version, but also includes some scenes from Lester's version (without which the movie couldn't have been complete, obviously). But I guess production of this movie had begun in 1977, at the same time as the first movie, so... it's probably best to get to see Donner's original vision for it, anyway.

It begins with the scene from the first movie, of Jor-El presiding over the trial of General Zod, Ursa, and Non, who are then sent to the Phantom Zone. Then we see bits of other scenes from the first movie, including Kal-El arriving on Earth, and Lex Luthor nearly killing Superman with kryptonite, and Miss Teschmacher saving him, and Superman throwing a missile out into space. What happens next is new: the missile explodes, and that, through an unbelievable coincidence, frees the Kryptonian criminals from the Phantom Zone. Then the opening credits roll.

Lois thinks she's figured out that Clark is Superman, but he thwarts her (unbelievably foolish) attempt to prove it. Anyway, Perry White sends them to Niagara Falls, posing as a newlywed couple to investigate a story. (Though we don't get to see them do any investigating, which is fine, because the story doesn't matter.) Meanwhile, Ursa, Zod, and Non arrive on the Moon, where they discover their newfound powers, and use them to kill a couple of astronauts and a cosmonaut. Then they decide to go to Earth, to rule it. (Incidentally, it's ridiculous that they speak English.) Meanwhile, Lex and Otis are in prison. (And Lex is bald, for some reason. I don't remember if that was explained in the first movie or not, since he had hair for the whole movie, as far as I recall.) Anyway, Miss Teschmacher breaks Lex out of prison in a hot air balloon, and Lex instructs her to head north. He has a radar device that tracks "alpha waves," which are supposed to lead him to wherever Superman flies when he goes north. (Which, as we know, is the Fortress of Solitude. What I don't know is how Lex managed to construct his device while in prison.)

So, Lex and Teschmacher find the Fortress, and play around with some crystals that contain recordings of Jor-El. From one of them, Lex learns about Zod and the others. And I guess somehow he knew they were coming to Earth, and wanted to use them. So he and Teschmacher leave. Not long thereafter, the Kryptonians arrive and start subjugating the world. Meanwhile, Lois finally manages to prove that Clark is Superman, and he takes her to the Fortress. While there, they're out of touch with what's going on in the world, so it will be some time before they find out about what the Kryptonians have been doing. And... Superman does something in the Fortress that I don't want to spoil. And ultimately it doesn't matter, because he ends up undoing it, anyway (though it means he'll never get to interact with the recordings of his father again). And then he goes to try to save the world. And Lex makes a deal with Zod to give him the son of Zor-El (which is pretty stupid of him).

And I don't want to reveal any more of the plot, but of course Superman wins in the end. And I should say that from what little info I skimmed online before watching this cut of the movie, I thought there would be some scenes that would look unfinished, or something, but there weren't. So that's good. Really, I think I liked this movie slightly more than the first one. Though it's hard to say, both because it's hard for me to compare things even if I only watched them a few months apart, and because... well, I mean, it's hard to say what I would have thought of the original cut of the film. But whatever, I liked this. It had its funny bits, and its silly bits, and... I dunno. It can be kind of serious, I guess, but it's just hard for me to take any of it very seriously. I just feel like all these movies are sort of what non-comic book fans think comic books are like, rather than what they're actually like. (Then again, my idea of what comic books are like pretty much starts with the 1990s, so it's probably a lot different from what comic books were like for all the decades before these movies were made, which means I'm the one who's wrong. But I still prefer modern comics and movies.) In any event, it was definitely fun.