1981 Superman 2

In 1978 we believed a man could fly, and then in 1981 we believed it even more. For me Christopher Reeve is Superman, no other actor has captured the character with the same charm and charisma. When he was Clark Kent he was clumsy and silly, and then as the man of steel he was strong and capable. He was two polar opposites, and his performance was perfect.

This sequel is born of the first movie and continues the story that was set up. Here Superman meets three super powers from his home planet, criminals sent to The Phantom Zone for punishment. They escape, and seek out the son of Krypton. The trouble is, when they find him, he has chosen to remove his powers for the love of Lois Lane...silly person.

The original director, Richard Donner, had begun shooting and some of the footage was shot during the first movie. However, a spat with the producers put paid to Donner carrying on and Richard Lester was put on board.

This sequel is more pleasing to action enthusiasts; while the first film takes its time to introduce each character and the setting, number 2 has no such problems and sets swiftly away with the story. Sequels tend to be burdened less, and while this should make for a funnier and deeper story, that is sometimes not the case.

Superman has often been described as a one-dimensional character, and his super-powers does make it difficult for him to find challenging opponents. Superman 2 dealt with that via two methods; first, he meets equal opponents, and second, he chooses to rid himself of those powers to become human. It gives this film heart, emotion and tension. One of the writers was Mario Puzo, who found fame with his novel The Godfather.

The link to the movie is below on Blu-Ray, however, the original soundtrack appears to be out of stock; seeing as how the music is so iconic and that the two films were more or less shot back to back, I have included a link to the classic first movie.