I decided to rewatched MOS and the first two Reeves films because it's been quite a while since I saw the latter two and I defend the former a fair bit. I decided to compare the two films and how they approached certain characters
Johnathan Kent
I think Johnathan Kent was handled way better in MOS than Superman 78 by far. People who say shit like Johnathan Kent taught Superman to be sympathetic and altruistic to a fault clearly aren't basing it on the Reeves film because Johnathan Kent is just as cynical as Costner is in the movie for the 5 minutes he is in it and then dies. Don't believe me other than saving Clarke at the beginning, this is his only scene in the movie. Johnathan Kent was cynical, yes, however he actually taught Clark to be non-violent even in the face of provocation. Even when it came to Johnathan's cynicism regarding how he feared Clark would be viewed, is in my opinion earned in the movie. He shows his superhuman strength by saving his bully and a bus full of kids, it's understandable why people might think he is sent from God and his father worried he taken away as a labrat. Finally, I like the fact Costner was a man of principles, so yes, he was unsure as to whether Clark should have saved a bus full of kids, he at the very least was not a hypocrite and was willing to die for it. A point the movie literally spells out yet people ignore. I liked the dichotomy between the cynicism of Costner and optimism of Crowe and I see what they were intending to do with regards to Clark's character arc.
Lois Lane
Lois Lane in the first two movies seems kinda fiery. Nothing wrong with that and her being willing to hold her own, but I kinda agree with Goyer when he says the Lois lane not realising Clark is Superman makes he look a bit like an idiot. But hey, this is a Superman story so you run with it. Lois does show some guile with how she evades Guards in Paris but she is kinda tempermental. As for Amy Adams, I thought she came across as a far better reporter, you see her put clues together as to Superman's identity and shows how much of a competent journalist she is, rather than Kidder who gets an interview with Superman purely cos he wants to fuck her. Also from her discussions with Perry you get a great idea of her journalistic ethics. Though not as fiery she does come across as brave.
Zod and Co
Stamp is way more quotable but Shannon is way more menacing. Also, I got the feeling Stamp wanted to rule over earth whilst Shannon wanted to kill every person on the planet. In S2 Zod and friends followed Superman when he flew away, whilst in MOS Zod and friends brought him back down to earth and were more proactive in harming every person within arms reach.
Lex
I found it weird how he felt the need to show how smart he was by just repeating he was the greatest criminal mind the world had ever seen. Honestly Lex's conclusions regarding Superman's origin, weakness to kryptonite and other shit show way too many leaps in logic. Say what you will about Eisenberg but he showed how smart he was not by repeating over and over again how smart he was but my manipulating Superman, Batman, journalists and politicians. Also you saw him actually do experiments to see how damaging kryptonite was to Kryptonians rather than knowing because fuck you that's why. Tricking Superman into opening the lead box was alright though.
Superman
I found it weird that Superman didn't start saving anyone till like 50 minutes into the first Superman film. Whilst in MOS Clark starts saving people pretty early on. Other things I liked by Snyder was that Superman in Donner's film just felt like a guy who wanted to play football and was upset by it. In Snyder's film he was tested throughout and I think that's what made him more heroic. He went back to save the bully Pete Ross rather than let him die, he showed restraint when bullied by kids, he didn't save his father because he wanted to do as he wished. You saw young Clark take on these lessens throughout MOS. In Superman 2 when the dude harrasses Lois, Clark needlessly gets into a fight and then goes out of his way to fight the trucker and ruin the diner owner's diner. At least he had the common courtesy to pay for damage. Meanwhile in MOS Clark showed the restraint he was taught to have as a child and walked away from the guy harassing the waitress.
Also, i found it weird Superman felt he had to be a human to be with Lois in S2. Maybe it's to give her a dicking rather than a Superdicking. I get that Superman is supposed to be selfless to a fault but yet he'd give up all the power that comes with being Superman for little to no benefit other than his mum said so for no reason unless i forgot something..
Other weird shit about the Donner flicks is that Superman was the fact he could time travel. It was kinda foreshadowed in that he was told not to interfere with human history but it still felt like it came out of nowhere
World Building
I thought the world building in MOS was way better. Oh and to get the jokes out of the way so was the world destroying. But in Superman 78 after the montage where he saves people everyone is in love with Superman even though a week earlier they wouldn't have believed a man could fly. However in MOS and BVS I feel the impact of Superman on the world is far more realistic. There is a lot more debate about him, some treat him as a God, others an alien, others fear him. Superman earned the soldiers respect after surrendering to Zod, and risking his life against Zod. You get why people say "this man is not our enemy". Great call back later in BVS. Whilst MOS has a lot more collateral damage due to improvements in special effects and Zack Snyder's sensibilities I felt 78 and Superman 2 are true products of their time when people pretty much love Superman universally. That shit would not happen
TLDR: MOS is better than Superman 1 and 2 and you're blinded by nostalgia.
Johnathan Kent
I think Johnathan Kent was handled way better in MOS than Superman 78 by far. People who say shit like Johnathan Kent taught Superman to be sympathetic and altruistic to a fault clearly aren't basing it on the Reeves film because Johnathan Kent is just as cynical as Costner is in the movie for the 5 minutes he is in it and then dies. Don't believe me other than saving Clarke at the beginning, this is his only scene in the movie. Johnathan Kent was cynical, yes, however he actually taught Clark to be non-violent even in the face of provocation. Even when it came to Johnathan's cynicism regarding how he feared Clark would be viewed, is in my opinion earned in the movie. He shows his superhuman strength by saving his bully and a bus full of kids, it's understandable why people might think he is sent from God and his father worried he taken away as a labrat. Finally, I like the fact Costner was a man of principles, so yes, he was unsure as to whether Clark should have saved a bus full of kids, he at the very least was not a hypocrite and was willing to die for it. A point the movie literally spells out yet people ignore. I liked the dichotomy between the cynicism of Costner and optimism of Crowe and I see what they were intending to do with regards to Clark's character arc.
Lois Lane
Lois Lane in the first two movies seems kinda fiery. Nothing wrong with that and her being willing to hold her own, but I kinda agree with Goyer when he says the Lois lane not realising Clark is Superman makes he look a bit like an idiot. But hey, this is a Superman story so you run with it. Lois does show some guile with how she evades Guards in Paris but she is kinda tempermental. As for Amy Adams, I thought she came across as a far better reporter, you see her put clues together as to Superman's identity and shows how much of a competent journalist she is, rather than Kidder who gets an interview with Superman purely cos he wants to fuck her. Also from her discussions with Perry you get a great idea of her journalistic ethics. Though not as fiery she does come across as brave.
Zod and Co
Stamp is way more quotable but Shannon is way more menacing. Also, I got the feeling Stamp wanted to rule over earth whilst Shannon wanted to kill every person on the planet. In S2 Zod and friends followed Superman when he flew away, whilst in MOS Zod and friends brought him back down to earth and were more proactive in harming every person within arms reach.
Lex
I found it weird how he felt the need to show how smart he was by just repeating he was the greatest criminal mind the world had ever seen. Honestly Lex's conclusions regarding Superman's origin, weakness to kryptonite and other shit show way too many leaps in logic. Say what you will about Eisenberg but he showed how smart he was not by repeating over and over again how smart he was but my manipulating Superman, Batman, journalists and politicians. Also you saw him actually do experiments to see how damaging kryptonite was to Kryptonians rather than knowing because fuck you that's why. Tricking Superman into opening the lead box was alright though.
Superman
I found it weird that Superman didn't start saving anyone till like 50 minutes into the first Superman film. Whilst in MOS Clark starts saving people pretty early on. Other things I liked by Snyder was that Superman in Donner's film just felt like a guy who wanted to play football and was upset by it. In Snyder's film he was tested throughout and I think that's what made him more heroic. He went back to save the bully Pete Ross rather than let him die, he showed restraint when bullied by kids, he didn't save his father because he wanted to do as he wished. You saw young Clark take on these lessens throughout MOS. In Superman 2 when the dude harrasses Lois, Clark needlessly gets into a fight and then goes out of his way to fight the trucker and ruin the diner owner's diner. At least he had the common courtesy to pay for damage. Meanwhile in MOS Clark showed the restraint he was taught to have as a child and walked away from the guy harassing the waitress.
Also, i found it weird Superman felt he had to be a human to be with Lois in S2. Maybe it's to give her a dicking rather than a Superdicking. I get that Superman is supposed to be selfless to a fault but yet he'd give up all the power that comes with being Superman for little to no benefit other than his mum said so for no reason unless i forgot something..
Other weird shit about the Donner flicks is that Superman was the fact he could time travel. It was kinda foreshadowed in that he was told not to interfere with human history but it still felt like it came out of nowhere
World Building
I thought the world building in MOS was way better. Oh and to get the jokes out of the way so was the world destroying. But in Superman 78 after the montage where he saves people everyone is in love with Superman even though a week earlier they wouldn't have believed a man could fly. However in MOS and BVS I feel the impact of Superman on the world is far more realistic. There is a lot more debate about him, some treat him as a God, others an alien, others fear him. Superman earned the soldiers respect after surrendering to Zod, and risking his life against Zod. You get why people say "this man is not our enemy". Great call back later in BVS. Whilst MOS has a lot more collateral damage due to improvements in special effects and Zack Snyder's sensibilities I felt 78 and Superman 2 are true products of their time when people pretty much love Superman universally. That shit would not happen
TLDR: MOS is better than Superman 1 and 2 and you're blinded by nostalgia.
R Wroooong.
