_**It picks up the expansive narrative of the revolutionary first movie**_ Three criminals from Krypton find their way out of confinement in the Phantom Zone (played by Terence Stamp, Sarah Douglas, and Jack O'Halloran) and begin causing trouble for people living in America, including the president (E.G. Marshall), while Lex Luthor (Gene Hackman) tries to be friendly with them. At the same time, Lois Lane (Margot Kidder) starts to wonder if Clark Kent is Superman (Christopher Reeve) when she’s working on a story at Niagara Falls before he takes off to confront the Kryptonians. Susannah York portrays Kal-El's mother and Jackie Cooper appears as Perry White. "Superman II," released in 1980, was largely filmed alongside the initial movie back in 1977; Richard Donner had completed approximately 75% of the film before needing to concentrate on finishing the first one. When production resumed in 1978, Donner was unexpectedly let go and replaced by Richard Lester, who had already been involved with the project as a second-unit director alongside Donner. Marlon Brando’s appearance as Jor-El was removed—apparently because he requested an enormous sum of money, specifically 11.75% of US box office receipts—and re-shot with Lara (York). Regardless of what happened behind the scenes, this is a very enjoyable continuation of the story, and some even believe it surpasses the original. Several things contribute to its success: first, the three Kryptonian villains are compelling characters whose superhuman actions are captivating; second, Luthor provides amusement; third, the science fiction atmosphere and special effects were cutting-edge for the late 1970s; and fourth, the storyline involving Clark/Superman, Lois (and Perry White) is consistently entertaining. I didn't care for Otis’ silly behavior (Ned Beatty), and the movie feels a bit too long. The film has a running time of 2 hours and 7 minutes and was filmed in Paris; Norway; Niagara Falls & Calgary, Canada; Pinewood Studios (for the Metropolis scenes, etc.), Chobham Common, Surrey (the East Houston, Idaho, scenes), & London Underground, England; and St Lucia. GRADE: A/A-

Source on TMDB