Superman II

Name: Superman II
Genre: Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance
Released: June 19, 1981
Duration: 127 min
Rating: 87
Cast: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder

1981

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 12 Critics

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USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 377 Ratings

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6.6

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6.6	Your Score
6.6	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 377 Ratings

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SUPERMAN 2

Movie Details & Credits

Warner Bros. Pictures | Release Date: June 19, 1981

Starring: Christopher Reeve, Gene Hackman, Margot Kidder

Summary: A trio of Krypton villains threaten havoc on Earth, while Superman and Lois Lane are just becoming involved in a long awaited love affair -- an affair which may cost Superman his super powers. [Warner Bros.]

Director: Richard Donner and Richard Lester

Genre(s): Action, Adventure, Sci-Fi, Romance

Rating: PG

Runtime: 127 min

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Awards & Rankings

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Metascore

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Critic Reviews

100

Chicago Reader - Dave Kehr

With his perfect pacing, elegant narrative design, and depth of characterization, Richard Lester has made as good a matinee movie as could be imagined: it's a big, generous, beautifully crafted piece of entertainment, with the distinctive Lester touch in the busy backgrounds and the throwaway dialogue. Read full review

100

Entertainment Weekly - Staff (Not credited)

It boasts a more consistent tone, better special effects (such as villains throwing buses around like paper planes), and even an affecting love story. Read full review

100

Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert

It brings the fantastic into our everyday lives; it delights in showing us the reaction of the man on the street to Superman's latest stunt. Read full review

Time - Richard Schickel

A stylish, well-paced film with a good variety of moods and moves. Read full review

The New York Times - Janet Maslin

A marvelous toy. It's funny, it's full of tricks and it manages to be royally entertaining, which is really all it aims for. Read full review

Variety - Staff [Not credited]

Superman II emerges as a solid, classy, cannily constructed piece of entertainment which gets down to action almost immediately. Read full review

Washington Post - Gary Arnold

Superman II" gets off to a fast start (in part by recapitulating the plot of the original film in the credit sequence), only to evolve into a curiously absent-minded follow-up...What seems to have been lost is the straightforward heroic exuberance of the original film, despite Reeve's gallant and endearing efforts. [19 June 1981, p.C1]

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User Reviews

James

Jun 21, 2006

Better than the first.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

SythusRATINGS

Oct 18, 2014

A trio of Krypton villains threaten havoc on Earth, while Superman and Lois Lane are just becoming involved in a long awaited love affair -- an affair which may cost Superman his super powers.

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

CrisenM.

May 20, 2009

Loved it!

6 of 9 users found this helpful

JamesH

Nov 24, 2009

Very entertaining, it has a lightness about it and plenty of action. Winning performances, excellent score and in 1980 the special effects were great.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MarkT.

Jun 14, 2007

Definitely a flaw in the polling. There should be a rule that movies with less than 10 reviews do not get to be included in the ratings list of "best" and "worst" of all time. This is just kinda silly. Look at all of the others it has jumped over. A real head-shaker.

0 of 0 users found this helpful

MetalDoctor

Oct 7, 2010

Just the thought of this film being above the Godfather part1 and 2 is unbelievably angers me.We have two masterpieces and many more(like LOTR and Patton) being rated lower than this cheesy action flick.I don't think it should even be included in the High Scores list because there are just 7Just the thought of this film being above the Godfather part1 and 2 is unbelievably angers me.We have two masterpieces and many more(like LOTR and Patton) being rated lower than this cheesy action flick.I don't think it should even be included in the High Scores list because there are just 7 reviews.… Expand

7 of 13 users found this helpful76

AnonymousMC

Oct 21, 2006

If there could be one reason why Metacritic is so unpopular than it is this- they lie. This movie, when you average the mere 7 reviews receives only a 91. And, in addition to that, it is not ever a great movie. It cannot be placed so high by such a biased website. What a terrible thing!

0 of 3 users found this helpful

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