Rating summary

Movie		3.0
Video		3.0
Audio		4.5
Extras		2.5
Overall		3.0

Superman II Blu-ray Movie Review

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman May 8, 2023

Note: This version of this film is available as part of Superman I-IV 5-Film Collection 4K.

Both the small screen and big screen adaptations of Superman have had some notable tragedies, two of them rather weirdly involving men with rather similar last names, as has been discussed ad infinitum by some more devoted conspiracy theorists. George Reeves, beloved star of television's Adventures of Superman, met a rather ignominious and some would argue mysterious end which decades later became fodder for its own film, Hollywoodland. Christopher Reeve of course was victim of a horrifying riding accident which left him paralyzed, a situation that probably inarguably led to his own early demise. Part of George Reeves' problem may have been that he was so closely identified with the character of Superman that he felt he couldn't escape (few even remember his film career, which included a memorable bit in the very first scene of Gone with the Wind ). Christopher Reeve was able to evade if not totally elude the formidable shadow cast by the venerable superhero, which perhaps only added to the feeling of melancholy after his accident and later death. But even if Reeve was able to contribute rather memorable performances in any number of non-Superman outings ranging from Deathtrap to Somewhere in Time, in his own way he'll probably be as firmly tethered to the character of Superman as George Reeve is/was, and this new collection of 4K UHD presentations of four or five Christopher Reeve Superman films (depending on how you want to count things) should provide fans with some memories of happier times when things like Kryptonite seemed to be the only threats to safety and well being. Those happy memories may nonetheless be intermittently interrupted by some kind of odd choices Warner has made with this release, which will be discussed in the various individual reviews.

All of the films in this collection have had previous 1080 releases (and in some cases several previous 1080 releases). Anyone interested can find some older individual reviews for some of these in the database, which may (or may not) suffice in terms of providing plot summaries, in case anyone actually needs those by this point. However, they stem from the nascent days of the site and I'd frankly personally recommend those interested in prior reviews and especially technical analyses of the older 1080 releases stick with Ken Brown's The Superman Motion Picture Anthology Blu-ray review, which also has a detailed list of supplements on the 1080 discs. Ken's review is one of our "old style" reviews which combines all the discs from a bundle into one review, and in this particular case, that means citing just one review rather than several, and that may hopefully suffice for many, and maybe most. You may note that my scores for various 1080 presentations and overall films may vary slightly from Ken's, in just the latest example of my mantra "different reviewers means different opinions".

Superman II Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Note: Screenshots are sourced from the 1080 disc included in this release.

Superman II: The Richard Donner Cut is presented in 4K UHD courtesy of Warner Brothers Home Entertainment with an HEVC / H.265 encoded 2160p transfer in 2.40:1. This version can't help but suffer from some of the "test footage" that has been incorporated, but I have to say I was actually kind of pleasantly surprised with at least some improvement in color if not overall clarity and quality in some of the additional material. Some scenes which have been rather drastically altered for this version I'd argue actually look better here, as in the opening with Zod, Ursa and Non, which has none of the compositing anomalies seen in Superman II 4K. The shared footage shares both the positives and negatives that I discussed in the Superman II 4K Blu-ray review. Some may feel this deserves a slightly lower score due to the obvious deficiencies in the added footage, and so may want to adjust my score accordingly.

Superman II Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Much as with Superman II 4K, the Richard Donner cut enjoys at least some intermittent bursts of activity with its Dolby Atmos track. There are some probably unavoidable fidelity variances, if slight and basically interstitial, where the "new" footage has been inserted, and none of the new material struck me as offering overwhelming surround activity of any sort, but otherwise this Atmos track is certainly interchangeable with the theatrical cut's audio presentation in terms of shared footage. Optional English and Spanish subtitles are available.

Superman II Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

4K UHD Disc

• Introduction by Richard Donner (HD; 1:54)


• Audio Commentary is the same one from days of yore, as mentioned below.

1080 Disc

See Ken Brown's The Superman Motion Picture Anthology Blu-ray review for a complete list, including information on the commentary.

Superman II Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

I'm always in favor of directors having a say in the finished product, but in this particular case, I'm really not all that concerned about any tweaking that Richard Lester may have done to Superman II, especially since, as I mentioned in the review of the theatrical cut, it's actually my favorite among the Reeve Superman films. This is an interesting curio nonetheless with some structural changes that should provide interest at least to cineastes for a taste in editing. For the shared material at least, technical merits are on a part with the theatrical version.