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But blessings on everyone. The writers, freed of the fake historical-biographical imperative that weighed down their earlier effort, have lightened up and smartened up. Less is distinctly more when it comes to dialogue in this kind of movie, and the brisk inventiveness of the plotting helps too. Decent acting in movies of this sort is, of course, merely an extra added attraction—a sort of dish night for the sobersides. But Christopher Reeve makes his transitions from Clark Kent to Superman something more than a matter of fluffing up his cape; the man has a quiet sense of irony about him. Margot Kidder is a perfect Lois Lane. She makes one believe that inside that ambitious reporter there just may be a lady who reads lyric poetry on her nights off. The pair were the best thing about Superman I, and they are even better here. So are the special-effects people, whose work is far more polished technically than it was before. Taken together, all these people have contributed to the creation of something that is increasingly hard to find these days—an entertainment that actually achieves a near weightless state. It is unfair to burden such a work with excesses of praise. Suffice it to say that Superman II is a movie no kid need be ashamed to take his parents to.
—By Richard Schickel