Reviews

I am a big fan of the original Superman II - which was for me far superior to the (slightly dull at times) first Superman. But I was surprised that many aspects of the Richard Donner cut are far superior to the original. The big bonus is Marlon Brando As Jor-El. Not his greatest performance of course, but he (literally at times) fills the screen. Consequently, the father-son relationship becomes central to the story and to Superman himself. The whole film feels more coherent as a result. The reveal of Superman scene (ie Lois pretends to shoot him) is better than in the original (ie Superman trips on a rug). It also didn't have that silly kiss scene at the end which never made any sense.

On the down side there are gaps in the story (eg what happened to Lex Luthor at the end?). I missed the "psych" fight in the fortress of solitude at the end (I know not everyone likes those scenes). But the worst thing was the ending - which reprised the 'cop-out ending' from the first Superman.

Hmm, the film has some great moments. I loved for example ...

1. The opening montage where the daggers are found and passed on to the priests 2. The performance of Sam Neil who has a suitably detachment and unearthly equality to his performance 3. The two scenes where Sam Neil 'confronts' a statue of Christ - really transgressive stuff 4. The Damien/Peter relationship - really creepy 5. The attempts at Middle East political crisis underlying the plot, although it peters out in the second half 6. The blink and you'll miss it appearance by hammer legend Hazel Court - marvellous

However, not so keen on

1. The sub 'carry on' scenes where disciples are charged with killing all boys born on March 24th (bob a job missus?) 2. The Harvey Dean plot who at times doesn't seem to know who Damien is - and is 'shocked' at being asked to sacrifice his son (which presumably is de rigour in devil worshiping circles) 3. The idea that Damien apparently has no discernible security apart from Harvey Dean 4. The priests are the most incompetent assassins I have ever seen 5. The horrendous "faggot" scene - which is not only offensive but doesn't make sense on its own terms

Overall though a good horror but not anywhere near as good as the first 2 Omen films.

I can't believe that the director allowed Laurence Olivier to get away with this performance. Truly awful.

It was great to see Gregory Peck and James Mason acting in the same film. Such brilliant actors. But the latter didn't seem very interested. A potentially fascinating idea about Hitler clones completely was undermined by a poor script and direction. I liked the tension between the old Nazi Hunter and new radical pro Israeli forces. But poor hammy performances throughout.