Superman II (1980)

Simply put, Superman II is one of the best action/comic-oriented films of all time. I'd rank it second only to the original Superman: The Movie and only X-Men is right up there.

The thing about this movie that bugs me is that I grew up watching the ABC expanded version. That's the version my dad taped for me, so for years I thought the expanded version was the only version. It wasn't until the mid-80s when I saw SII on HBO that I realized what the theatrical cut was and how much of the expanded version added to the film.

So if you ask me about Superman II expanded edition, I'd definitely rank that as the best comic oriented film all time. Hopefully, Warner Bros. will put together an interesting DVD on the film with all the supplemental footage, including the never-before-seen Marlon Brando segment that was completely removed from the picture. The making of this film was a big time headache. All of Gene Hackman's scenes were filmed by Superman I director Richard Donner, and then he was fired, and Richard Lester was brought in. So it would be really cool and really insightful if a future DVD came out on the making of the film. But I digress.

The (theatrical version) film, while a bit aged, is still tremendous fun. Christopher Reeve remains the embodiment of the Man of Steel and remains a case for one example of perfect casting. He makes the whole Clark Kent/Superman thing plausible by making Kent an insecure, bumbling reporter. Terrence Stamp is also wonderfully cast as arch-villain General Zod.

The climax in Times Square is still exciting and funny. And the whole relationship between Lois and Clark/Superman is brought to the fore-front.

I'd definitely put this film as a supreme candidate for the full DVD red carpet treatment complete because the current DVD lacks big time.