Superman II

The film's message may be a clichéd staple of comic books - with great power comes great responsibility - but it's handled with sincerity and skill. Read full review

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]

The thrust of the film is to escalate the Superman idea to the point where the charm is no longer visible. A snide and knowing viewpoint has left a cloud of smudge over the original clean satire. [19 Jun 1981, p.19]