No, it's not "Spider-Man 2
The Superman movie series of the late '70s/early '80s
With financial and critical expectations high, the Superman franchise produced a sequel that delivered on both counts (again, sound familiar?). Fans of the series continue to debate which was the better film, "Superman: The Movie" or "Superman II" ("III
While director Richard Donner's 1978 original had a more majestic scope, many prefer the nonstop action of its sequel (partially shot at the same time as the first one but finished by "A Hard Day's Night
When Lois Lane discovers that Clark Kent really is Superman, the Man of Steel flies her to his arctic Fortress of Solitude and begins the wooing process, which includes giving her exotic flowers, making her dinner and, oh yeah, giving up his superpowers so they can be together (and, in a controversial move at the time, be together). The new couple leisurely drives home from the North Pole only to discover in a Canadian diner that three Kryptonian villains have been released from the Phantom Zone and are terrorizing the world.

"Superman II" suffers from some lazy logic (beyond the aforementioned hypnotic kiss), but it is so entertaining that you forgive it. Terence Stamp's delightfully megalomaniacal General Zod remains the yardstick against which all comic book movie villains should be measured, richly spouting such great lines as "Is there no one on this planet to even challenge me?!"
The climactic battle in and over the streets of Metropolis still excites more than two decades later, even though it was made in the days of blue screens, wires and miniatures. The vastly improved digital effects in "Spider-Man 2" (Spidey rarely looks like a video game character in this movie) can only hint at what could be done in a Superman movie today if Warner Bros. ever manages to get that franchise back off the ground and up, up and away.
But the other thing that the Spider-Man movies have in common with the Superman films is how faithful they are to the spirit of the characters. Both series wholeheartedly embrace the cornball sincerity of their heroes (unlike the far more nihilistic "Batman
So, if you're one of the millions who saw "Spider-Man 2" over the weekend and were moved by its smart balance of action and heart, you may want to check out the superhero movie that set the blueprint.
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ORIGINALLY POSTED in REWIND on MTV.COM, July 2004
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