Ranking Every DC Comic Book Movie From Worst To Best

Of course it counts as another film: it has an entirely different director. And more than that, it's an entirely different approach to the same material.

Superman II as it was always intended to be made (albeit with some scenes shot by Richard Lester after Donner was unceremoniously sacked from the project halfway through).

Lester's cut is still a good movie, but the penchant for over-using comedy undermined the film's dramatic turns. When the villains attack, we get to see a man's toupee blown off: it just dilutes their power for a cheap gag that has no real need to exist. It also shows disdain for the integrity of the source material: making Superman a joke, when that wasn't the spirit of the original at all.

It genuinely feels like a far more sincere film, and the new cut restores some important material - not least the additional scenes of Marlon Brando that cost so much. It also gives Zod and his fellow villains a far better means of escaping the Phantom Zone. The result is more mature, more entertaining... Just better all round.